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 […]
FJI and JALA File Lawsuit Against Three Apartment Complexes for Failing to Be Wheelchair Accessible
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 […]