Felix Garcia, a profoundly deaf incarcerated man, just wanted to be able to hear the television, using a simple hookup to his hearing aid and a radio transmitter from the television. When the FDOC would not allow him to have the equipment, he filed a lawsuit pro se and litigated it for years until FJI […]
FJI & ACLU Reach Settlement with Santa Rosa County to Repeal Postcard Only Policy from Jail
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, 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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]