A federal class action lawsuit accuses the Florida Department of Corrections of stealing millions of dollars of inmate-purchased digital music and books from prisoners. The lawsuit, filed in the Northern District of Florida by the Florida Justice Institute and the Social Justice Law Collective on behalf of lifer William Demler, names state Corrections Secretary Mark […]
Press Coverage
In this section you'll find press coverage of our work.
Lawsuit: FDC illegally requiring inmates to repurchase music, books From the Tallahassee Democrat
Two social justice organizations announced on Tuesday a class-action lawsuit alleging the Florida Department of Corrections forced inmates to surrender millions of dollars in downloaded books and music so they’ll have to repurchase them from its new vendor. The complaint, filed in U.S. District Court in Tallahassee, says FDC sold digital media files to prisoners […]
Florida prisoners could form class action to demand refund on confiscated media players and files From the Florida Times-Union
The Florida Department of Corrections is facing a potential class action over recently forcing inmates to forfeit millions of dollars worth of mp3 and other multimedia files purchased under a since-axed media player contract. William Demler, a 74-year-old incarcerated man at South Florida Reception Center is the lead plaintiff in the case, which was filed […]
Hepatitis C Fight Hinges on Prisons From the USA Today
INMATES AND THEIR advocates are pushing for legal and political fixes to fight hepatitis C, a public health problem experts say can’t be solved in the U.S. overall without first tackling it within prison walls. The hepatitis C virus attacks the liver and can turn deadly: Research shows it was associated with more fatalities in 2013 than 60 […]
Attorney Randall Berg, defender of downtrodden, retires after ALS diagnosis From the Palm Beach Post
For more than 40 years, Randall Berg fought for the rights of the downtrodden, disabled, disenfranchised and even the despised. As founder and executive director of the Florida Justice Institute, the soft-spoken 70-year-old Miami attorney battled powerful landowners and intransigent state agencies — most notably the Florida Department of Corrections — to right wrongs suffered by people who society often […]
Florida Justice Institute Wins Daily Business Review’s 2018 Most Effective Public Interest Lawyer Award From the Daily Business Review
Once costly drugs were produced to cure hepatitis C, the state Corrections Department dragged its feet on treatment with direct-acting antiviral drugs, which are effective 95 percent of the time. The Florida Justice Institute sued on behalf of as many as 20,000 inmates, and U.S. District Judge Mark E. Walker quickly responded. The lawsuit was filed […]
As he was strangled by his cellmate at Dade prison, guards did nothing, complaint says From the Miami Herald
Anthony Vidal was sentenced to 15 years in prison — not to death — for a non-violent robbery in 2006. But he died by the actions of the Florida Department of Corrections anyway, alleges a wrongful death lawsuit filed by the Florida Justice Institute against the department in Miami-Dade circuit court Tuesday morning. Vidal was […]
Video Shows City Workers Destroying Property of Homeless Miamians From the Miami New Times
The morning of April 17, Wilbur Cauley left all of his belongings in their usual place: stacked by a fence under the I-395 overpass at NW First Court and 13th Street. It was in the middle of a four-block area where about 30 homeless Miamians live. That morning, Cauley, an Army veteran in his late […]
Hepatitis C Drugs Save Lives, but Sick Prisoners Aren’t Getting Them From the New York Times
By Ted Alcorn March 15, 2018 Any national campaign to eliminate hepatitis C, an insidious virus that kills tens of thousands of Americans a year, would almost certainly involve prisons. One in seven state inmates are believed to be infected, and the regimented environment of a prison has its advantages when it comes to screening and treatment. […]
Friday Editorial: Florida’s Department of Corrections makes another costly blunder From the Florida Times-Union
Yet another bungle by the state’s Department of Corrections may cost taxpayers millions of dollars this year. Florida is being forced to pay attention to a problem it’s been ignoring for years. This time it’ll be a big “oops” for a dysfunctional state department that’s been called on the carpet for years for its treatment […]
