Although people are sent to prison as punishment for a crime, as human beings they are still entitled to adequate medical care. In addition to being the morally right thing to do, it improves the chances that they can rejoin society ready to make positive changes in the world. Unfortunately, in Florida prisons, the medical […]
FJI participates in Give Miami Day and hopes to raise $75,000 with your help!
Give Miami Day is on November 17, 2022! Mark your calendar and join us for this day of mass philanthropy. Your generous support is vital in allowing us to continue our mission of serving poor and disenfranchised residents throughout Florida. Here are two meaningful ways that you can increase your impact leading to Give Miami Day: […]
FJI was able to help Lucy get a wheelchair and give her peace of mind.
We want to share with you a story of one of the individuals we were able to help through our case helping incarcerated people with physical disabilities. Meet Lucy*. Lucy – 74 – lived her whole life serving others as a registered nurse. She developed painful arthritis that left her with chronic pain and in […]
FJI helps Elmer Williams receive Compassion Release and other resources
Elmer was a 32-year-old father when he was sentenced to 40 years in prison for a nonviolent burglary. Now 56-years-old, he has advanced prostate cancer and only six months to live. Having successfully gotten conditional medical release for Elmer, Florida Justice Institute was able to help him get the medical support he needed upon his […]
FJI goes to trial
Last week, FJI attorneys went to court to stop the criminalization of poverty in our communities. Trials in two separate cases took place last week on whether panhandling ordinances violate the First Amendment, or whether cities can needlessly arrest people for requesting donations. In McDonald v. Pompano Beach, we originally challenged an ordinance which imposed […]
Jacksonville agrees to stop requiring sex offenders to post “no candy” signs at Halloween
by Andrew Pantazi September 22, 2022 This Halloween, the city of Jacksonville will stop enforcing a local ordinance that required registered sex offenders to post a “no candy or treats here” sign every year. The city agreed to stop enforcing the law in response to a federal lawsuit it faced challenging the law’s constitutionality. The lawsuit had cited […]
Florida Department of Corrections Pays $350,000 to Family of Incarcerated Man Brutally Murdered at Dade Correctional Institution
The family of Anthony Vidal, who was brutally murdered while incarcerated at Dade Correctional Institution (Dade CI), has settled a civil rights lawsuit against the Florida Department of Corrections and other individual officers for $350,000. The family was represented by the Florida Justice Institute (FJI), a nonprofit law firm dedicated to safeguarding civil rights in […]
Three Brevard County Residents To Attend First Brevard County Commission Meeting Fully Open to the Public Following Amendment to Sex Offender Ordinance
The doors to the Brevard County Government Center are finally open to all. On May 17, 2022, Vincent Rinaldi, Charles Munsey Jr., and Charles Violi—plaintiffs in a lawsuit challenging a Brevard County Ordinance that prohibited them from entering the County government building—will be allowed to attend a Brevard County commission meeting for the first time […]
Lawsuit Challenges Palm Beach County Ordinance that makes it a Crime for People to Solicit for Charitable Contributions or Business along any Road.
MARCH 3, 2022, WEST PALM BEACH – Yesterday, the Florida Justice Institute (FJI), with West Palm Beach attorney Sabarish Neelakanta, filed a lawsuit against Palm Beach County seeking to invalidate a County ordinance that makes it a crime for people to solicit for charitable contributions or business along any road. The ordinance also criminalizes displaying […]
Florida’s troubled prison system wants to shut down lawyer-to-inmate phone calls that can reveal cruel and illegal conditions
Florida’s troubled prison system wants to shut down lawyer-to-inmate phone calls that can reveal cruel and illegal conditions By Noreen Marcus,FloridaBulldog.org Florida prison officials want to change a rule to keep lawyers from talking to inmates who may need their help; the new rule would place inmates who could be defense witnesses completely out of earshot. […]
Letter requesting stop to the prosecution of individuals under Palm Beach County’s ordinance.
Florida Justice Institute, together with lawyer Sabarish Neelakanta of SPN Law have sent a letter to the West Palm Beach State Attorney to request a stop to the prosecution of individuals under Palm Beach County’s ordinance concerning solicitation and distribution, or panhandling. A local judge found the ordinance unconstitutional, but police continue to arrest individuals […]
Letter Objecting to Attorney Call Rule
Florida Justice Institute, along with other civil rights organizations and individual lawyers, are urging the Florida Department of Corrections (FDC) to reject proposed revisions to a rule that would limit the ability of attorneys to arrange calls with incarcerated people. The changes appear to state that an attorney may only arrange a private, unmonitored telephone […]
3 Brevard County registered sex offenders file federal lawsuit against county
Finch Walker – Florida TodayView Comments Published 12:56pm Three Brevard County registered sex offenders are plaintiffs in a federal lawsuit against the county, alleging violation of their First Amendment rights when they could not attend public County Commission meetings because doing so “would place them within 1,000 feet of a school and they feared being arrested and […]
Lawsuit Challenges Brevard County Ordinance Prohibiting People on Sex Offender Registry from Attending County Commission Meetings as Unconstitutional
January 5, 2022. Today, the Florida Justice Institute (FJI), in partnership with Brevard County attorney Jessica J. Travis of DefendBrevard.com, filed a lawsuit challenging a Brevard County ordinance that prohibits people on the sex offender registry from attending County Commission meetings at the County Government Center in Viera, Florida. The ordinance prohibits the Plaintiffs, and […]
West Palm Beach Repeals Ordinance Criminalizing Requests for Help, Advocacy Groups Jointly Dismiss Lawsuit
December 14, 2021 WEST PALM BEACH, FL – Advocacy groups and the City of West Palm Beach today jointly dismissed a federal lawsuit in response to a settlement agreement under which the City of West Palm Beach paid damages and repealed its ordinance prohibiting people from asking for donations in certain public spaces. Southern Legal […]
Florida prisons will soon have more disability accommodations
HANNAH CRITCHFIELD – Aging and seniors reporter Published Dec. 2 Here’s what that means for the state’s aging incarcerated population. Change is coming for members ofFlorida’s aging incarcerated population who live with disabilities. The Florida Department of Corrections and Disability Rights Florida have reached a settlement following allegations that the state prison agency was failing to […]
City of West Palm Beach considering removal of panhandling restrictions
WPBF News
Steve King, Reporter WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. — Panhandling could soon be legal in West Palm Beach, as the city commission gets ready to discuss rolling back restrictions. The city commission will discuss possibly repealing the city’s panhandling ordinance, which makes it unlawful to panhandle or solicit in certain areas, during Monday’s meeting. Go to […]
Settlement Reached with FDOC Requires Improved Treatment of People with Disabilities
November 10, 2021, TALLAHASSEE Disability Rights Florida, the state’s designated Protection and Advocacy system for individuals with disabilities, has reached a settlement with the Florida Department of Corrections (FDOC) requiring the FDOC to improve its treatment of incarcerated people with physical disabilities. The settlement resolves a lawsuit, brought with the assistance of attorneys from the […]