About Richard L. Rosenbaum
Richard Rosenbaum attended Duke University where he was Captain of the swim team for two years. There, he was named to the Atlantic Coast All Conference Swim Team both years. Richard Rosenbaum transferred to the University of Florida to swim for the 1980 Olympic Swimming Coach. He was required to forego college competition for one year because of the transfer. He then “lettered” with the Gator Varsity Swim Team. He was a member of the team which won the Amateur Athletic Union National Championship for two years. In 1979 he competed internationally in distance free style and butterfly events against teams from East Germany, Canada, Spain and England.
Richard Rosenbaum attended and graduated from Nova Southeastern Law School with a Juris Doctor degree. He was admitted to the Florida Bar in 1984 and is currently a member of the United States Supreme Court, 2nd Circuit Court of Appeal, 3rd Circuit Court of Appeal, 5th Circuit Court of Appeal, 7th Circuit Court of Appeal, and the 11th Circuit Court of Appeal.
A 30 year lawyer, Richard Rosenbaum was a former intern with Florida Supreme Court Judge, The Honorable Joseph A. Boyd, Jr. Richard Rosenbaum is an “AV” rated lawyer, the highest rating given by Martindale-Hubbell. In December 2004 Richard Rosenbaum was the recipient of the Unsung Hero Award for outstanding work and dedication to protecting the rights of youth. Richard Rosenbaum was named a Top Lawyer in the White Collar Criminal Defense Litigation Area by the South Florida Legal Guide in 2008 and 2009. In 2010, Richard Rosenbaum was named one of the Top Lawyers in South Florida in the category of Criminal Law. He was also a finalist in the Daily Business Review’s Most Effective Lawyers 2010 in the Criminal Justice category.
Richard Rosenbaum was the 2010 recipient of the Harry Gulkin Memorial Award for Character, Competency, Credibility and Honesty.
As a lawyer in private practice, Richard Rosenbaum was involved in many high profile civil and criminal trials and appeals. This includes the case against Lionel Tate, a 12 year old indicted by a Grand Jury as an adult in the murder of his 6 year old relative. Lionel Tate was the youngest individual in America ever sentenced to life imprisonment without parole. The defense blamed professional wrestling on the child’s death. The jury convicted Lionel Tate of First Degree Murder. When Richard Rosenbaum got involved in the case post trial, he successfully drafted and argued the appeal which resulted in reversal of the conviction and sentence and a subsequent successful resolution of Lionel Tate’s case.
Richard Rosenbaum was also one of the lawyers representing high profile former baseball player, Jose Canseco, when he was charged with violating community control by using steroids. Defense counsel established that the steroids could have been in Canseco’s system since before he was placed on community control. Thus the State dropped the violation charges.
Richard Rosenbaum represented approximately two dozen “John Does” involved up in the Kathy Willets (the Tamarac Nymphomaniac) Prostitution case. Richard Rosenbaum was the first lawyer to research, draft and file a “Motion for Closure of Proceedings,” which earned a temporary stay of disclosure of the names of “The Johns on the List” at the Fourth District Court of Appeal level. The case was later reversed by the Florida Supreme Court by a decision of 6 to 1, with the Court devising a new standard for establishing one’s right to privacy in court proceedings.
Richard Rosenbaum has successfully appealed death penalty cases concerning James Franklin Rose, William Strausser and Jeffrey Weaver. He was “penalty phase counsel” in the case of State of Florida v. Omar Lourerio. Mr. Lourerio was originally convicted and sentenced to death on remand after the Judge’s disclosure of a “relationship” with the prosecutor throughout trial. Mr. Lourerio was again convicted. However, with Richard Rosenbaum at the helm acting as penalty phase counsel he secured a life recommendation during the re-trial.
Civilly in federal and state courts, Richard Rosenbaum has successfully prosecuted and defended at trial and on appeal cases regarding substantial money damage claims and forfeiture matters.
Richard Rosenbaum has been a speaker throughout Florida and the nation on various topics. Most recently Richard Rosenbaum was one of the speakers at the “Death is Different” program sponsored by the Florida Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers (FACDL) speaking on the topic of “Thinking of Raising an Insanity Defense – You Must be Crazy.”
Richard Rosenbaum is frequently called upon by the news media for opinions and discussion on various legal issues being debated in the country and our community. He has appeared on 20/20 with Barbara Walters, ABC – Good Morning America, The Today Show, The O’Reilly Factor, Fox News, CNN, Headline News, CNN: The Morning Show, Wolf Blitzer Report, MSNBC News, Greta Van Sustern’s “The Point”, Court TV, American Justice, A&E, National Public Radio, and many more international television and radio shows. Richard Rosenbaum is a frequent legal expert on the Fox News Channel and has appeared on the front pages of newspapers such as the New York Times, Chicago Tribune, Miami Herald, Sun Sentinel, Daily Business Review, South Florida Daily Business Journal , as well as numerous other magazines and periodicals across the country.
Richard Rosenbaum has published articles entitled “What Monster Lies Behind Door # Two? – Thinking Ahead in Jury Selection: A Primer,” (Rosenbaum, Richard L. 16 Fla. Defender 1, pg. 7), “Child’s Play No Longer: Children Charged and Tried as Adults in Florida – Ending Up in Prison for Life Without the Possibility of Parole,” (9 Fla. Defender 4, pg. 29), and a Law Review Article entitled “Child’s Play No Longer” (Nova Law Review Vol. 28, n. 3 2004). He was further published in “Rosenbaum, Richard L. ‘Suggestions from an Appellate Perspective: Lodging a Contemporaneous Objection and Protecting the Record’” Rosenbaum, Richard L. “Child’s Play No Longer: Children Charged and Tried as Adults in Florida – Ending Up in Prison for Life Without the Possibility of Parole” (11 Verdict 2, pg 3) and “Does a Withheld Adjudication Actually Mean ‘Convicted?’”
In addition, Richard Rosenbaum is well-versed in the constitutional law arena having argued cases both at trial and on appeal in state and federal courts. One of the more notorious cases Richard Rosenbaum was involved in, representing serial killer Danny Rolling in Rolling v. Attorney General, involved an attack on the state and federal constitutionality of the “Son of Sam.”