Florida Supreme Court Enacts Rules Regulating “Super Sealing” of Court Records by David Reutter Florida Supreme Court Enacts Rules Regulating "Super Sealing" of Court Records by David M. Reutter On April 5, 2007, the Florida Supreme Court implemented new rules that "provide a procedural vehicle for making circuit and county …
Sawchuck v. Jenne, FL, Order on SJ, Attorney-Client Communications, 2007 Case 0:06-cv- 61182- KAM Document 51 Entered on FLSD Docket 09/21/2007 Page 1 of 14 UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT SOUTHERN DISTRICT OF FLORIDA Case No. 06- 61182- Civ- MARRNJOHNSON JOSEPH SAWCHUCK and RICHARD SPENCER individually and on behalf of all …
Guards Settle “Sick Building” Claim at Florida Jail for $495,000 by Guards Settle "Sick Building" Claim at Florida Jail for $495,000 A year after John Hauser began working at Florida's Volusia County Jail in 1991, he began getting sick. He wasn't alone. In 2003, over one-third of the jail's 300-plus …
Florida Jails: State’s Largest Mental Health Providers by David Reutter Florida Jails: State's Largest Mental Health Providers by David M. Reutter Florida's policy of allowing mentally ill citizens to languish without treatment until they have encounters with law enforcement has turned the state's county jails into the primary provider of …
20 Florida Prison Officials Fired or Suspended After Prisoner Beating, Party by David Reutter by David M. Reutter Continuing his quest to clean up the chronically corrupt Florida Department of Corrections (FDOC), Secretary James McDonough fired or suspended at least 20 officials at Hendry Correctional Institution (HCI) for actions related …
Florida’s Civil Commitment Center Exhibits Little Change Despite New Contractor by David Reutter Florida's Civil Commitment Center Exhibits Little Change Despite New Contractor by David M. Reutter Despite recent scandals and a new private contractor, the Florida Civil Commitment Center (FCCC) is still a facility with little direction other than …
Florida Homeless Sex Offender Ruling Reversed, FDOC Changes Policy Anyway by David Reutter by David M. Reutter Florida?s Fifth District Court of Appeals has reversed, on procedural grounds, an order by the Volusia County Circuit Court that enjoined the Florida Department of Corrections (FDOC) from engaging in the ?practice of …
CCA Fined for Florida Jail Escape; County Commission Poised to Impose More Fines by After a series of escapes, prisoner suicides and thefts by employees over the past year, Corrections Corporation of America (CCA) promised it would take action to prevent similar incidents at Florida?s Hernando County Jail (HCJ). The …
Six Florida Federal Prison Guards Convicted, Sentenced On Rape and Corruption Charges by Matthew Clarke by Matthew T. Clarke Five former prison guards convicted in federal court on criminal charges stemming from a sex-for-contraband scandal at the Federal Correctional Institute (FCI) in Tallahassee, Florida have been sentenced; four received prison …
Prison Privatization Launders Taxpayer Dollars into Political Contributions by David Reutter by David M. Reutter If you know a company is not saving you money or performing its contractual obligations, why would you continue to use that company? The normal consumer would end the relationship quickly. When it comes to …
Florida Prison Nurses Net $1 Million for Sexual Harassment by Prisoners by A Florida federal jury has awarded twelve nurses employed by the Florida Department of Corrections (FDOC) nearly $1 million for sexual harassment by prisoners in confinement cells. The complaint in that lawsuit was filed by twenty-eight FDOC employees …
Florida Boot Camp Death Results in Manslaughter Charges Against 7 Guards and Nurse; Civil Claims Settled for $7,425,000 by After two autopsies and an 11-month investigation, aggravated manslaughter charges were issued in the death of 14-year-old Martin Lee Anderson at a Florida boot camp. Anderson?s death at the Bay County …
Seminole County Jail Settles Strip Search Suits; Judge Removed From Bench by A settlement has been reached in a class action lawsuit involving persons arrested in open court and illegally strip searched upon arrival at Florida?s Seminole County Jail. The suit was filed after the plaintiffs were arrested for failure …
Florida Newspaper Revokes Permission to Post Article Critical of Judge by Shortly after the Miami Daily Business Review (DBR) was designated as ?the record newspaper for Courthouse publications,? the DBR revoked permission for an unflattering article about Broward County?s Chief Judge Dale Ross to be posted on a defense attorney …
Florida Eliminates DNA Testing Deadline by During its 2006 Legislative session, the Florida Legislature enacted a law that eliminates deadlines for when prisoners can request DNA testing. That law comes on the heels of numerous prisoners being released from death row and imprisonment on lesser sentences for crimes they did …
Governor’s Task Force Recommends Changes in Florida’s Prison System Mission by Governor's Task Force Recommends Changes in Florida's Prison System Mission Recognizing that 90% of all Florida prisoners will eventually be released into society, former Governor Jeb Bush commissioned the Ex-Offender Task Force (Task Force) on February 7, 2005 to …
Private Prison Companies Bilk Florida Taxpayers Out of Millions by David Reutter by David M. Reutter From its inception, privatization of Florida prisons has been touted as a way to save taxpayers money. Yet, a 2005 audit by Florida's Office of Program Policy Analysis and Government Accountability (OPPAGA) revealed that …
Florida Court Without Jurisdiction to Impose Confinement Condition Sanctions at Sentencing by Florida?s Third District Court of Appeals has held that a trial court has no jurisdiction to impose sanctions that regulate the treatment of prisoners in conjunction with a criminal sanction. Henry Cuesta is a prisoner serving a life …
U.S. Supreme Court: State Felon’s Deportation Order Reversed Where Underlying Offense Amounted Only to Federal Misdemeanor by U.S. Supreme Court: State Felon's Deportation Order Reversed Where Underlying Offense Amounted Only to Federal Misdemeanor On December 5, 2006, the U.S. Supreme Court reversed the federal deportation order of an alien who …
Florida’s Broward County Jail: Abuse and Misconduct As Usual by David Reutter Florida's Broward County Jail: Abuse and Misconduct As Usual by David M. Reutter Despite Florida's Broward County jail (BCJ) being under the supervision of a court-appointed monitor, recent incidents reveal prisoners are still at danger. BCJ has been …
