Our Recent Work
At FJI, we are committed to defending civil rights and advocating for justice in Florida.
Explore the current cases we are passionately pursuing to protect and empower our community.
FJI Urges Passage of the Tristin Murphy Act
March 6, 2025 March 6, 2025; MIAMI/TALLAHASSEE, FL. The Florida Justice Institute (FJI), a nonprofit civil rights organization, expresses its strong support for the Tristin Murphy Act (SB 168), and urges the Legislature to pass it. The Act creates a mental health diversion program that would allow people arrested for
FJI Win Ends With Lake City Repealing Solicitation Ban, Paying Settlement
November 25, 2024 Following FJI’s lawsuit against a Lake City ordinance that prohibited standing, soliciting, or leafletting at certain intersections, the City repealed the ordinance and the case has been resolved with the acceptance of a $75,000 offer of judgment. FJI’s lawsuit, brought on behalf of the nonprofit Cosac Foundation,
FJI Files Lawsuit Over Sweltering Heat at South Florida Prison
Florida Justice Institute (FJI) filed a lawsuit against the Florida Department of Corrections (FDC) on behalf of those incarcerated at Dade Correctional Institution (Dade CI), seeking relief from the sweltering and oppressive heat that all incarcerated people must suffer through each summer.
FJI and SLC Lawsuit Challenges St. Johns County Law That Criminalizes Requests for Help
Florida-based legal aid organizations Southern Legal Counsel (SLC) and Florida Justice Institute (FJI) today filed a federal lawsuit challenging a St. Johns County ordinance passed in May 2023 in an effort to stop panhandling. The lawsuit, filed today in the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Florida, Jacksonville
FJI Settles with Columbia County over Solicitation and Loitering Law
September 9, 2024 FJI has reached a settlement with Columbia County, resolving its lawsuit against the ordinance which prohibited solicitation and loitering on county property with a building. The ordinance had prevented the plaintiff Cosac Foundation from distributing its magazine the Homeless Voice and requesting donations in front of the
FJI and SPLC Challenge $500,000 Florida DOC Lien Against Incarcerated Man Beaten Blind
PASCO COUNTY, Fla. – In a motion filed last week, Jason Baez challenged a $547,850 lien imposed by the Florida Department of Corrections (FDC) in July 2024 after he settled a lawsuit against FDC officers who beat him so severely that he lost an eye. If this lien is allowed