Today, the Florida Justice Institute (FJI), in partnership with Fort Lauderdale lawyers Mara Shlackman and Frantz J. McLawrence, filed a lawsuit challenging the City of Pompano Beach’s anti-panhandling ordinance as an unconstitutional restriction of free speech. The Ordinance prohibits the solicitation of donations, business, or sales during certain times and at certain intersections, and otherwise […]
FJI Returns to Court to Enforce Brevard Jail Overcrowding Consent Decree
The Florida Justice Institute (FJI) has filed a Motion for Order to Show Cause to enforce a Consent Decree that prohibits overcrowding in the Brevard County Jail. The Decree requires the jail population to remain below a certain level, but in recent years the population has exceeded that level. FJI has been monitoring the Decree […]
FJI 2019 Year in Review
It’s been quite a year for FJI, and we want to thank you for all the support that has made our work possible. While we mourned the loss of our dear friend and founder, Randy Berg, we continue to celebrate his life by advancing the work that he started. Some of this year’s accomplishments include: We […]
FJI, Representing Disability Rights Florida, Sues Florida Department of Corrections for Breach of Settlement Agreement Protecting Incarcerated People with Disabilities
TALLAHASSEE, DECEMBER 4, 2019– Disability Rights Florida, Florida’s federally funded Protection and Advocacy organization for individuals with disabilities, has brought suit against the Florida Department of Corrections (FDC) over its systemic failure to comply with a settlement agreement signed by both parties in July 2017. DRF is represented by the Florida Justice Institute and Morgan […]
New Lawsuit Challenges Use of Solitary Confinement for Children in Florida
Case Filed by Southern Poverty Law Center, Florida Justice Institute, and Florida Legal Services
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. –Citing scientific, medical and mental health evidence likening solitary confinement to torture and demonstrating its dangers to the development and rehabilitation of children, the Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC), Florida Legal Services (FLS), and the Florida Justice Institute (FJI) have filed a federal class action lawsuit against Florida’s Department of Juvenile Justice (DJJ) […]
Class Action Lawsuit Challenges Massive Overuse of Solitary Confinement in Florida Prisons
Case Filed by Southern Poverty Law Center, Florida Justice Institute, and Florida Legal Services
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. – Admire Harvard has spent nearly 10 years locked up in solitary confinement in the Florida prison system. Harvard, a 28-year-old black transgender woman, has been subjected to solitary confinement in a men’s prison since September 2009. Due to conditions in solitary confinement, she suffers from depression, anxiety and auditory hallucinations, and has […]
Court Issues Final Order in Prison Class Action Requiring Treatment for All Incarcerated People with Hepatitis C
On April 18, 2019, Judge Mark Walker of the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Florida issued a final order in the Florida Justice Institute’s (FJI) prison class action, granting the plaintiffs’ request to require the Florida Department of Corrections (FDOC) to provide treatment to all incarcerated people with Hepatitis C (HCV), including […]
Class Action Lawsuit Filed Against Florida Department of Corrections For Unlawfully Confiscating Millions of Dollars of Digital Music and Books
MIAMI/TALLAHASSEE – Today, the Florida Justice Institute (FJI) and the Social Justice Law Collective (SJLC) announced the filing of a federal class action lawsuit against the Florida Department of Corrections (FDOC) for confiscating the lawfully purchased digital music and books of thousands of Florida prisoners. After years of selling digital music and books to Florida prisoners […]
FJI Helps Secure First Amendment Victory for Individuals on Sex Offender Registry
FJI attorneys, along with attorneys Valerie Jonas and Beth Weitzner, have secured an important First Amendment victory for individuals on the sex offender registry. As a result of our lawsuit over a law requiring registrants to report their Internet identifiers to the state, a federal judge has issued an Order prohibiting the state from associating […]
FJI Files Wrongful Death Lawsuit against Florida Department of Corrections for Prisoner Murdered at Dade CI
The Florida Justice Institute, Inc. (FJI) today filed a wrongful death lawsuit on behalf of Mr. Vidal’s family alleging that Anthony Vidal’s death was caused by negligent guards at Dade Correctional Institution (DCI). Not only did these guards fail to help him once the attack began, guards at Dade CI knowingly put a very violent […]
ACLU, FJI, and Others Return to Court to Enforce Historic Pottinger Agreement Protecting Miami Homeless
From the ACLU
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE – June 1, 2018 MIAMI, FL – The Greater Miami Chapter of the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) of Florida has filed a motion urging a federal court to enforce a historic legal agreement protecting the rights of homeless persons in Miami, in response to recent actions by the City of Miami that […]
Advocates File Lawsuit Over Threat to Eject and Arrest People Left Homeless by Miami-Dade Residence Restrictions
Legal Services of Greater Miami, Florida Justice Institute, and ACLU of Florida Greater Miami Chapter seek court order to prevent evictions and arrests of individuals forced to live in encampment in Hialeah due to onerous residence restrictions
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE – May 7, 2018 CONTACT: ACLU of Florida Media Office, media@aclufl.org, (786) 363-2737 MIAMI, FL – Attorneys from Legal Services of Greater Miami, Florida Justice Institute, and the ACLU of Florida’s Greater Miami Chapter have filed a lawsuit on behalf of a group of homeless individuals encamped at NW 71st Street and NW 36th Avenue, challenging […]
Court Enters Preliminary Injunction Requiring Evaluation and Treatment of Prisoners with Hepatitis C
Judge Mark Walker of the Northern District of Florida has entered a Preliminary Injunction requiring the Florida Department of Corrections to evaluate and treat prisoners with Hepatitis C with life-saving medications called direct-acting antiviral drugs. The Order also imposes deadlines for those evaluations and the initiation of treatment. The Court had previously granted Plaintiffs’ Motion […]
Florida Justice Institute and Freidin Brown Reach $730,000 Settlement with Miami-Dade County for Man Who Suffered Kidney Failure Because of Deficient Jail Medical Care
The Florida Justice Institute, Inc. (FJI) and the law firm Freidin Brown, P.A., have reached a settlement with Miami-Dade County and the Public Health Trust (PHT) for $730,000, resolving claims that deficiencies in the Miami-Dade Jail’s medical system caused an incarcerated man to suffer kidney failure and eventual loss of his kidney. The Plaintiff, Pascual […]
Court Orders Treatment for Incarcerated People with Hepatitis C, Granting Preliminary Injunction Motion
Court Also Grants Class Certification to Class of Florida Prisoners With Hepatitis C
In a 32 page order, U.S. District Court Judge Mark Walker in Tallahassee granted Plaintiffs’ Motion for Preliminary Injunction and ordered the Florida Department of Corrections (FDC) to submit a plan to treat incarcerated people with Hepatitis C, with Direct-Acting Antiviral (DAA) medications. The Court noted “that Defendant must move with ‘alacrity.’ This Court will […]
FJI Settles Landmark Lawsuit Against Florida Department of Corrections for Systemic Violations of Disability Laws
Disability Rights Florida, Florida’s federally-funded Protection and Advocacy organization for individuals with disabilities, has settled an historic federal lawsuit against the Florida Department of Corrections (FDC) over its systemic failure to comply with federal measures intended to protect individuals with physical disabilities incarcerated throughout Florida’s prisons. The suit was brought with the assistance of attorneys […]
FJI Files Class Action Lawsuit Against Florida Department of Corrections for Not Providing Hepatitis C Treatment
The Florida Justice Institute (FJI) has filed a class action lawsuit against the Florida Department of Corrections (FDC) for failing to provide incarcerated people with life-saving medications for hepatitis C, resulting in thousands being left at risk for liver failure, liver cancer, and a very painful death. The case is brought on behalf of three prisoners—Carl […]
Judge Preliminarily Approves Settlement with Fla. Dept. of Corrections and Corizon Over Failure to Provide Hernia Surgeries
TALLAHASSEE. On September 22, 2016, U.S. District Court Judge Robert L. Hinkle preliminarily approved a class action settlement between a class of incarcerated people and the Florida Department of Corrections (FDOC) and its former medical contractor Corizon, LLC, resolving claims that the Defendants had a policy and practice of unlawfully denying medically necessary hernia surgeries […]