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 […]
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 […]