Lawyers from the Florida Justice Institute (FJI) have filed a federal lawsuit alleging housing discrimination on the basis of race against a Miami apartment complex. Housing Opportunities Project for Excellence (HOPE), a local fair housing center, sent testers to ask about the availability of apartments. The Black testers were told that no apartments were available, […]
FJI and ACLU File First Amendment Lawsuit Against Flagler County Jail Over Postcard Poliy
When the Flagler County Jail adopted a policy that required all correspondence sent to inmates to be on postcards—no letters, books, magazines, etc.—FJI, co-counseling with the ACLU of Florida, filed a class action lawsuit on behalf of all persons who have friends or family in the jail and would like to write to them, alleging […]
FJI Assists ACLU Attorneys in Defending Historic Pottinger Agreement to Protect Homeless Individuals
The Pottinger Agreement is a consent decree entered in 1998 between the City of Miami and ACLU attorneys after a decade of hard-fought litigation and intense negotiations. The Agreement prevents City of Miami police officers from arresting homeless individuals for committing certain life-sustaining conduct misdemeanors in public if there is no available shelter bed to […]
FJI, On Behalf of HOPE Fair Housing Center, Settles Lawsuit Against Real Estate Companies for Housing Discrimination
FJI, on behalf of Housing Opportunities Project for Excellence (HOPE), filed a lawsuit against a real estate agent and two realty companies after the agent repeatedly told HOPE testers that children were not allowed to live in an apartment building, which is a violation of the Fair Housing Act. This was after the realtor had […]
FJI Files Lawsuit Against St. Lucie County Jail Over Post-Card Only Policy
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 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 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 […]