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 […]
Disabled Attorney Sues Hotel After Using Trash Can for Toilet
A quadriplegic attorney from California, forced to use a trash can for a toilet, filed a discrimination suit Monday against a Miami Beach hotel. Jennifer Kern, 47, of Berkeley claims a violation of the Florida Civil Rights Act and seeks damages for mental anguish. Kern planned a trip to Miami Beach on the end of a visit […]
Civil Rights Groups Protest Prison Internet Ban
“The Florida prison system’s attempt to stop prisoners from communicating on the Internet has run into a threat of legal action by three inmate-rights advocacy organizations that contend inmates don’t give up their First Amendment rights at the prison gate. The Department of Corrections this month withdrew a proposed administrative rule forbidding inmates to use […]
Supreme Court: California Must Continue Prisoner Release
WASHINGTON — A divided Supreme Court ruled Friday that California must proceed with the release of nearly 10,000 prisoners from its overcrowded prison system. In a ruling by Associate Justice Anthony Kennedy, the court’s lone Californian, the justices refused to grant the state a reprieve based on progress on prison overcrowding. Read the full article.
FCC Bars High Rates For Long Distance Phone Calls In Jails and Prisons Nationwide
The Federal Communications Commission today took long-overdue steps to ensure that the rates for interstate long-distance calls made by prison inmates are just, reasonable and fair. Studies make clear that inmates who maintain contact with family and community while in prison have reduced rate of recidivism and are more likely to become productive citizens upon […]
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 […]
Justice Department Finds Miami Police Used Excessive Force in Shootings
For the first time, a federal judge will monitor the Miami Police Department to enforce sweeping institutional changes involving use of force, after the U.S. Justice Department Tuesday found that several police-involved shootings were unjustified during a four-year period. The Justice Department took the unprecedented step after reviewing 33 police shootings of individuals — including seven black […]
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 […]
A Smarter Way to Run Florida’s Correctional System
There are many reasons the Legislature should embrace “Smart Justice” legislation, including significant benefits to public safety. But as the House and Senate get down to the nitty-gritty of adopting a final budget, there is an even more compelling reason: money. A lot of it. The Florida Department of Corrections is working hard to eliminate […]
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 […]
Prison Policy Initiative Releases Report on “Post-card Only” Mail Policies in Jails
Over the past five years, dozens of local jails across the country have followed a harmful new policy trend: mandating that all personal written correspondence to or from jail take place via postcard. The postcard-only trend began in 2007, when controversial Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio instituted a ban on any incoming non-legal mail except […]
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 […]