Attorneys for FJI, on behalf of Prison Legal News (PLN), have filed a lawsuit against the St. Lucie County Sheriff over the Sheriff’s recently adopted policy that prohibits people incarcerated in the St. Lucie County jail from receiving any mail other than postcards. The policy also prohibits inmates from receiving any books or magazines through […]
FJI Seeks to Vindicate Religious Rights By Ensuring Incarcerated Muslims Receive Halaal Meals
Back in 2007, FJI filed a lawsuit on behalf of several incarcerated Muslims who sought a halaal meal to comply with their religious dietary requirements. The FDOC refused to provide a halaal meal, even though they were providing kosher meals to Jewish inmates. The FDOC eventually decided, in the middle of the case, to eliminate […]
FJI Helps Secure Wheelchair Ramp for Elderly Woman
Linda Joyner uses a wheelchair for mobility, but found herself a prisoner in her own home. She was having trouble installing a permanent wheelchair ramp to get in and out of her house, after the temporary ramp she used eventually became too heavy for her to lift. Initially her landlord would not allow her to […]
FJI Files Amicus Brief Supporting Cert Petition to U.S. Supreme Court on Strip Search Issue
Following the Supreme Court’s narrow decision in Florence v. Board of Chosen Freeholders of County of Burlington, 132 S.Ct. 1510 (2012)—which held that the Constitution does not forbid suspicionless strip searches of minor offense detainees if they must be housed in the general population—the Eleventh Circuit took this narrow decision and extended it a step […]
FJI Objects to Proposed PREA Rule
The Prison Rape Elimination Act (PREA) is a federal law that requires all state corrections agencies to develop rules that provide ways for inmates to easily report sexual abuse, and to ensure proper documentation and investigation of sexual abuse in prison. The Florida Department of Corrections proposed rules to comply with PREA; however, we believed the […]
FJI Secures Needed Surgery for Incarcerated Man with Painful Condition
An inmate who contacted FJI suffered from an extremely painful condition that can be cured by a simple surgery. However, despite years of requests, the FDOC refused to approve a visit to a surgeon for a consult. FJI sent a letter to the FDOC reminding them that failure to treat an inmate’s severe pain is […]
FJI Settles Case for Incarcerated Man Whose Hand Was Crushed by Guard’s Attack
While locked behind a steel door in his cell, an FDOC inmate put his arm outside of the door’s food flap to ask an officer about an upcoming medical appointment he had. The officer ran over to the door and kicked the food flap shut, crushing the inmate’s hand, requiring surgery and months of physical […]
FJI Settles Case with Bureau of Prisons for $600,000 Over Lack of Medical Care
FJI, co-counseling with the firm Alan Goldfarb P.A., filed suit on behalf of former federal prisoner Robert Hernandez. Mr. Hernandez was in good health when he entered the federal Bureau of Prisons, but one day he experienced a terrible pain in his hip. Although he complained constantly to the BOP medical staff—none of whom were […]
FJI Successfully Objects to Proposed Rule That Would Limit Inmates’ Abilities to Have Materials Posted to Internet
Attorneys at the Florida Justice Institute have successfully persuaded the Florida Department of Corrections to withdraw a proposed rule that would have prohibited inmates from having third parties post anything on the Internet. After the FDOC proposed the rule, FJI quickly sent a letter, signed by the Florida Institutional Legal Services Project of Florida Legal […]
FJI & Tripp Scott Settle Case for Spanish-speaking Couple Against Dania Beach Housing Authority
Carlos and Isabel Pomales are disabled, cannot work, and speak very little English. They tried to apply for a Section 8 housing voucher in Dania beach, but no application was available in Spanish, and all the employees of the Dania Beach Housing Authority refused to speak to them in Spanish. Because of their limited English […]
FJI Joins as Amicus in Prison Legal News First Amendment Case
FJI joined an amicus brief filed in Prison Legal News’ First Amendment Challenge to Pinal County Jail policies on publications. Although the court in the Pinal case found that the Jail had been censoring PLN’s books and magazines, it refused to grant injunctive relief because the Jail had changed its policy and had indicated that […]
FJI Settles Housing Discrimination Case for HOPE Against Real Estate Company and Condo Association
FJI, on behalf of Housing Opportunities Project for Excellence (HOPE), filed a lawsuit against a real estate company and condominium association for violations of the Fair Housing Act. HOPE testers discovered that the association had a policy prohibiting children under a certain age from living in the condo, and the real estate company published an […]
FJI Settles Case Against FDOC for Mother of 24-year-old Inmate Who Died of Asthma Attack for $250,000
Daniel Wolfe was a 24-year-old man who was six months shy of getting out of prison when he suffocated to death in his cell of a predictable asthma attack. This was not his first: Daniel had already suffered from a number of serious asthma attacks, including one where he passed out in his cell and […]
FJI Files Summary Judgment Motion in Censorship Case Against Florida Department of Corrections
Back in 2003, the FDOC began to censor the magazine Prison Legal News—a monthly publication of legal news, analysis, and commentary on the prison system—on the basis of certain advertisements that appear in PLN. During that litigation, the FDOC amended the relevant rule and assured the court they would no longer censor the magazine, and the […]
FJI Ends 30-year-old Consent Decree with Monroe County Jail that Drastically Improved Conditions
First filed in 1980, the case of McIntyre v. Perryam resulted in a consent decree against the Monroe County Jail in Key West for its horrific and unsanitary conditions. The buildings were infested with vermin, the plumbing hardly worked, fights were commonplace, medical care was atrocious or nonexistent, and inmates went months without outdoor rec […]
FJI Settles Four Housing Discrimination Complaints on behalf of HOPE Fair Housing Center
FJI, on behalf of Housing Opportunities Project for Excellence (HOPE), filed a series of lawsuits against various real estate companies and condominium associations for violations of the Fair Housing Act. HOPE testers discovered that the associations had a policy prohibiting children under a certain age from living in the condo, and the real estate companies […]
FJI Secures Hearing Equipment for Incarcerated Deaf Man; FDOC Pays $237,500 in Attorneys’ Fees
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 […]