JACKSONVILLE – Disability Rights Florida, Inc., the Protection and Advocacy Agency for the State of Florida, with the assistance of attorneys from the Florida Justice Institute, Jacksonville Area Legal Aid, today filed a civil rights lawsuit in the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Florida against three Surfside Apartment complexes in Jacksonville Beach, […]
FJI & ACLU Succeed in Having Prison Gerrymandering in Jefferson County Declared Unconstitutional
After a year of litigation, a federal court has ruled that district maps for elected offices in Jefferson County, Florida, which included state prisoners, unconstitutionally diluted the voting power of voters in the other districts. In an order issued in a lawsuit filed on behalf of residents of Jefferson County by the American Civil Liberties Union […]
FJI, on behalf of Disability Rights Florida, Sues Florida Department of Corrections for Systemic Violations of Disability Laws
January 26, 2016 – Disability Rights Florida, Florida’s federally-funded Protection and Advocacy organization for individuals with disabilities, has filed a federal lawsuit against the Florida Department of Corrections (FDOC) over its systemic failure to comply with federal measures intended to protect individuals with disabilities incarcerated throughout the state. The suit, filed with the assistance of the Florida Justice Institute […]
Prison Legal News Files Opening Brief in Appeal of Censorship Case Against Florida Department of Corrections
PLN has filed its Opening Brief to the Eleventh Circuit. The brief was authored by former U.S. Solicitor General Paul Clement, a partner at Washington, D.C.-based Bancroft PLLC. On appeal, Clement noted that Florida, “alone among the fifty States, the federal Bureau of Prisons (BOP), and every county jail in the country, is violating Prison Legal […]
FJI and Other Human Rights Groups Urge Federal Investigation Into Florida Prisons
A coalition of human rights groups, including the Florida Justice Institute, has sent a letter to the U.S. Department of Justice urging the DOJ to open an investigation into Florida prisons. The letter details the many deaths in Florida prisons that have not been investigated, as well as several examples of abuse and torture that have […]
FJI Sues Apartment Complex for Race Discrimination on Behalf of HOPE and Other Applicants
The Florida Justice Institute has filed a lawsuit against the owners and operators of Aventura Harbor Apartments for race discrimination against prospective tenants. The case is brought on behalf of Housing Project Opportunities for Excellence (HOPE), a local fair housing organization that sent testers of different races to ask about the availability of apartments, and several individual […]
District Court Issues Order After Prison Legal News Censorship Trial
The District Court has issued an Order from the bench trial. Unfortunately, the Court concluded that PLN’s First Amendment rights had not been violated. However, the Court held that PLN’s Due Process rights had been repeatedly violated because the FDOC failed to provide timely and adequate notice to PLN when its magazine was censored. The […]
FJI Files Class Action Lawsuit Against Florida Department of Corrections and Corizon for Failure to Provide Hernia Surgeries
On September 16, 2015, the Florida Justice Institute (FJI) filed a class action lawsuit against the Florida Department of Corrections (FDOC) and its private medical contractor Corizon, LLC for failing to provide necessary hernia surgeries, resulting in possibly hundreds of incarcerated people being left in severe pain, unable to engage in normal activities, and at […]
Access to Justice Petition Filed with Fla. Supreme Court Seeks to Fund Legal Services for the Poor
July 10, 2015 Update
On June 16, 2014, the Access to Justice Petition was filed with the Florida Supreme Court on behalf of 522 Florida bar member petitioners seeking increased access to legal services for the poor. The Petition was filed by former Florida Supreme Court Justice Raoul G. Cantero of the law firm White & Case, who was […]
State Pay $600K in Attorneys’ Fees to FJI and ACLU Over Lawsuit Declaring Suspicionless Drug Testing Unconstitutional
The State has also paid $600,000 in attorneys’ fees to FJI and the ACLU for their victory in this case. Read the press coverage about the total amount of taxpayer money was spent defending the State’s failed drug testing policies.
FJI Secures $150K Settlement For Formerly Incarcerated Man Who Lost Eye in Brutal Attack
FJI has settled a lawsuit on behalf of Jeremy Barrett, who was formerly incarcerated in the Florida Department of Corrections (FDOC). While serving his three-year sentence, Mr. Barrett was transferred to a cell with another inmate who had a history of attacking his cellmates, and warned corrections officers that, because of his mental condition, he […]
FJI & ACLU Secure Near-$100K Settlement for Paralyzed Man Whose Wheelchair Was Withheld by Prison Officials
For years, Richard Jackson has needed a wheelchair for mobility, and used one without incident during his stay in prison. When he was transferred to Santa Rosa Correctional Institution, however, prison officials took away his wheelchair while in his cell. He was locked alone in his cell for over a year, only permitted to leave for […]
FJI & FILS Settle Case for Mother of Deceased Pepper-Sprayed Inmate for $175,000
FDOC Announces Rule Change to Prohibit Chemical Agents on People with Respiratory Illnesses
FJI, co-counseling with Florida Institutional Legal Services, sued the Florida Department of Corrections for the death of Rommell Johnson. Mr. Johnson was severely asthmatic and one day suffered an asthma attack that required a nebulizer treatment in his cell. Later that evening, he was sprayed with chemical agents (pepper spray) for allegedly making noise in […]
FJI Files Two Lawsuits for Race Discrimination in Apartment Rentals
FJI, on behalf of Housing Opportunities Project for Excellence, has filed two lawsuits alleging racial discrimination in the renting of apartments. The Complaints are available here and here. HOPE sent fair housing testers to two apartment complexes–one in Miami and one in Opa-Locka. The tests revealed that, on the same days, the Black testers were […]
FJI Obtains Hernia Surgery for Incarcerated Man
FJI, on behalf of an incarcerated man with a serious and debilitating hernia, filed a lawsuit against the Florida Department of Corrections and Corizon (the private prison medical provider), seeking to secure an immediate surgery to repair his hernia. A motion for preliminary injunction was filed, and a hearing was held in Tallahassee in September […]
FJI Settles for $1.125 Million Over Fatal Shooting of Travis McNeil by Miami Police Department – Updated Feb. 27, 2015
UPDATE 2/27/15: Yesterday the City of Miami Commissioners approved a $975,000 payment to the Estate of Travis McNeil to settle a civil rights case stemming from McNeil’s fatal 2011 shooting by a Miami police officer. Mr. McNeil’s Estate had already reached a $150,000 settlement with federal agencies who were also participating in the operation that resulted […]
FJI and ACLU Sue Leon County Jail Over Postcard Only Policy
Joining with other jails around the country, in 2014 the Leon County Jail in Tallahassee adopted a policy that required all incoming mail to inmates to be in postcard form. Family and friends were prohibited from sending letters in envelopes, or enclosing any information like report cards or newspaper articles. Because of the Postcard Only […]
FJI Takes Prison Legal News Censorship Case to Trial
After the Court denied both parties’ motions for summary judgment, a bench trial was held in January 2015. A decision from the Court is pending.