When the Santa Rosa County Jail adopted a policy that required all outgoing correspondence from inmates to be on postcards—no letters in envelopes—FJI, co-counseling with the ACLU of Florida, filed a class action lawsuit on behalf of all jail inmates, alleging that the policy violated the First Amendment. After months of litigation, the parties reached […]
Santa Rosa Inmates Can Exchange Letters
PENSACOLA, Fla. (WALA) – Federal judge Casey Rodgers signed an order reversing the Santa Rosa County Sheriff’s “post card only” mail policy and ordering the jail to again allow inmates to exchange letters through the U.S. mail. It’s the result of a legal challenge to the policy brought by the ACLU of Florida and the […]
FJI Files Lawsuit Against Florida Department of Corrections Over Censorship of Prison Legal News
The ACLU of Florida (ACLUFL) and the Florida Justice Institute, representing Prison Legal News (PLN), a project of the Human Rights Defense Center (HRDC), today filed a federal lawsuit against the Florida Department of Corrections (FDOC) for preventing Florida inmates from receiving publications about the legal rights of prisoners. The complaint, which was filed in […]
Court Declares Suspicionless Drug Testing Program Unconstitutional
FJI and the ACLU of Florida, on behalf of Luis Lebron, filed a lawsuit challenging a state law requiring drug testing of all applicants for Temporary Assistance to Needy Families (TANF) benefits. We alleged that this requirement, which was to be conducted without any suspicion whatsoever, violated the Fourth Amendment as an unreasonable search. District […]
FJI, FILS, Holland & Knight Achieve Historic Victory for Incarcerated People with Mental Illnesses
This case resulted in one of the most significant victories for prisoners’ rights in Florida, and allowed FJI to collaborate with the law firm of Holland & Knight, as well as Florida Institutional Legal Services. The three firms filed suit on behalf of eight incarcerated people with serious mental illnesses who were being sprayed with […]
Judge Halts Enforcement of Unconstitutional Law Mandating Drug Tests for Temporary Assistance Applicants
ORLANDO–(ENEWSPF)–October 24 – As the result of a lawsuit brought by the ACLU of Florida and the Florida Justice Institute (FJI), today U.S. District Judge Mary Scriven halted enforcement of Florida’s new law mandating drug tests for all applicants for the state’s Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) program. The judge ruled that the compelled drug […]
FJI & ACLU File Lawsuit to End Suspicionless Drug Testing of TANF Applicants
FJI and the ACLU of Florida, on behalf of Luis Lebron, filed a lawsuit challenging a state law requiring drug testing of all applicants for Temporary Assistance to Needy Families (TANF) benefits. We alleged that this requirement, which was to be conducted without any suspicion whatsoever, violated the Fourth Amendment as an unreasonable search. All […]
FJI Achieves $500,000 Settlement for Parents of Incarcerated Woman Who Committed Suicide
FJI sued the FDOC, as well as two private health care companies, for negligence and deliberate indifference to serious medical need, after Aleshia Napier committed suicide while incarcerated at Broward Correctional Institution. She was 18 years old. Despite suffering from serious mental illnesses such as bipolar disorder and having attempted suicide in the past, FDOC […]
FJI & LSGMI Achieve Policy Change and $254,000 Payout from Hialeah Housing Authority
The eight courageous plaintiffs in this case all attempted to apply for Section 8 housing vouchers from the Hialeah Housing Authority (HHA), but encountered numerous obstacles. The HHA refused to make accommodations in the application process for people with disabilities, requested decades-old documents that they were not permitted to request, and otherwise made it difficult […]
Hialeah Agency Agrees to Make Changes to Settle Housing Lawsuit
Hialeah Housing Authority operations will change under a settlement with low-income residents who were denied Section 8 rent subsidies. Read more.
A Better Idea on Pardons
Gov. Charlie Crist and the Cabinet will be wasting their time and our tax dollars when they consider a pardon for the dead Doors frontman Jim Morrison.
Sheriff Sued Over Mail Policy at Santa Rosa Jail
The lawsuit against Sheriff Wendell Hall, filed in the federal court in Pensacola on behalf of three inmates, claims that the policy put in place on July 26 violates the inmates’ free-speech and privacy rights and restricts their ability to communicate with their friends and family. In a federal lawsuit in 2008, the ACLU was successful in […]
Boca Raton Condo Association Sued Over Ban on Children
The Fair Housing Center of the Greater Palm Beaches has filed a federal lawsuit against the Boca Teeca Condominium No. 9 Association. The suit, filed on Monday, accuses the condo complex of violating the federal Fair Housing Act of 1968. The Palm Beach County Office of Equal Opportunity investigated a complaint from real estate agent Margo […]
Judge Declares Invalid an FDOC Rule Requiring the Opening of an Estate Before Family Members Can Obtain Medical Records
Co-counseling with Carlton Fields, P.A., FJI represented the Christies in an administrative rule challenge to a proposed rule by the FDOC that would have served to limit access to medical and mental health records. Mr. and Ms. Christie attempted to get the medical records of their daughter, who had recently passed away in FDOC custody, […]
FJI & Carlton Fields P.A. Settle Medical Malpractice Case for $400,000 Against Bureau of Prisons
Co-counseling with Carlton Fields, P.A., FJI filed a Federal Tort Claims Act case against the Federal Bureau of Prisons for failing to meet the standard of care in treating his chest pains and eventual congestive heart failure. The plaintiff was seen multiple times in the days leading up to his eventual hospitalizations, however the Bureau […]
They’re Lawyers of ‘Last Resort’ Justice Institute Takes Tough Stands for the Needy
They called it the “The Texas Jail.” A ramshackle cluster of cells purchased from the Lone Star State, shipped to Key West on a barge and placed by crane on the second floor of the Monroe County Jail. Randall Berg was executive director of the new Florida Justice Institute when he first took an interest […]