$35,000 Paid to Florida Jail Nurse for Assault by On November 12, 1988, while employed as a nurse at Florida's Palm Beach County Jail, Ella Donald was assaulted by a prisoner on suicide watch after a guard opened the prisoner's cell. The prisoner charged through the door, striking Donald. She …
$10,000 Florida Jury Award for Injunction and Confinement by False Claim by On June 10, 2002, a Florida jury awarded a man $10,000 against his ex-wife for 191 days of imprisonment caused by her false accusations. Caryl and Marilyn Brown were being divorced in 1988. She falsely claimed he made …
Fla DOC Cannot Alter Concurrent Sentence by The Florida Supreme Court held the Florida Department of Corrections (FDOC) must comply with the terms of a court's sentencing order and cannot refuse to carry it out. A Florida prisoner received a 13-year habitual offender sentence to run concurrent and conterminous with …
Fla. Prisoners Have Liberty Interest to Remain in General Population by The Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals (now the 11th Circuit) and the Florida Department of Corrections (FDOC) had implemented regulations that created a liberty interest to remain free of segregation. This 42 U.S.C. §1983 action was filed by a …
Failure to Accommodate Blind Prisoner Violates ADA by A Florida federal district court has held that a private medical contractor, EMSA Correctional Care, Inc. (EMSA), and Sheriff Ken Jenne violated a blind prisoner's rights under the Eight Amendment and the American with Disabilities Act (ADA) when they failed to provide …
Delay in Treating Broken Foot States Cause and Shows Deliberate Indifference by The Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals held that the delay of a few hours in treating a prisoner's broken foot states a constitutional claim. This action was filed by a prisoner of the Hamilton County Jail. The prisoner …
Florida Statute Decreasing Gain-Time Award Unconstitutional by The Supreme Court of Florida held that a revised gain-time statute was Constitutional as to increased gain-time award, but violated ex post facto as to decreased gain time award. Donald Waldrup, a Florida state prisoner sentenced to 15 years for 1980 and 1982 …
Due Process Required In Florida Forfeiture Actions by The Supreme Court of Florida held that the Florida Contraband Forfeiture Act (FCFA) was constitutional as long as it was applied in comportment with state due process requirements. After his arrest on drug trafficking charges, the state initiated forfeiture proceedings against Charles …
Florida: Federal Court Awards Jail Builder $2,300,677 In Contract Action by A construction company tired to build a Volusia County branch jail in Daytona Reach, Florida, was awarded $2,300,677 for extra work the company was required to perform and for the outstanding balance on the contracted construction price. Plaintiff Noonan-South, …
Florida: Assaulted Escambia County Prisoner Awarded $1,000,000 by In this case published by the Florida. Jury Verdict Reporter in October 1989, an Escambia County, Florida, jury awarded $1,000,000 to a man who suffered organic brain damage and paralysis after being attacked by another prisoner in an. Escambia County jail. In …
Florida Good Time Statute Ruled Ex Post Facto by The Supreme Court ruled that a retroactively applied Florida good time statute was unconstitutional. The ruling came in response to Florida's decision to repeal and replace a previous good time statute with one that substantially reduced the amount of good time …
Florida Jail Guard's Discrimination, Due Process Claims Dismissed by The United States District Court for the Southern District of Florida dismissed a former jail guard's state and federal complaints of, among other things, race discrimination, retaliation and due process violations. While employed as a guard by the Miami-Dade County Corrections …
Sixth Amendment Right to Counsel Requires Initiation of Formal Criminal Proceedings; Strapping Violent Arrestee to Bed Constitutional by Sixth Amendment Right to Counsel Requires Initiation of Formal Criminal Proceedings; Strapping Violent Arrestee to Bed Constitutional The Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals held the Sixth Amendment did not apply to an …
Private Vendor Must Comply With Florida's Public Records Act by Florida's Second District Court of Appeal has affirmed an order of a Polk County Circuit Court that held Prison Health Services (PHS) must comply with Florida's Public Records Act. The Lakeland Ledger Publishing Company sought records pertaining to a settlement …
FL Cops Sic Dog On Suspect; Court Remits Damage Award by On January 29, 2003, Broward County sheriff's deputies went to an apartment in Ft. Lauderdale, Florida to arrest Henry Lafavors. Deputy Olarte entered the apartment and deployed a police dog to subdue Lafavors, who sustained numerous dog bites. He …
FL Country Club Settles For $475,000 With Golf Cart Driver by On August 6, 2002, Joseph Gautette was driving a golf cart at the Cobblestone Country Club in Stuart, Florida. He was injured when he collided with a maintenance vehicle being driven by a prisoner in a work release program. …
Florida Prison Visitor Awarded $43,000 for Slip and Fall by On October 24, 2002, a Florida court awarded $43,302.52 to a woman who injured her back when she slipped and fell in the visitation area of the Baker Correctional Institution. Dorothy Jackson, 65, was visiting her son, a state prisoner …
$60,000 Paid in Failure Florida Jail Prisoner to Protect Claim by While imprisoned at Florida's Duval County Jail in October 1998, a 39-year-old prisoner was assaulted by his cellmate, suffering multiple facial fractures, visual impairment, loss of teeth, facial nerve damage, headaches, and emotional distress. The prisoner plaintiff's complaint alleged …
Chileans Allowed to Sue for Wrongful Death in U.S. 26 Years After Family Member was Slain by Chileans Allowed to Sue for Wrongful Death in U.S. 26 Years After Family Member was Slain In 1973, Armando Fernandez-Larios (Fernandez) was part of a Chilean military unit which murdered Winston Cabello a …
Florida Sexual Predators Act Upheld by Everett Milks, a Florida sex offender, challenged Florida's Sexual Predators Act (Act) in Florida's Second District Court of Appeals (2nd Dist.). He claimed the Act's requirement that he register as a sex offender without a hearing to decide if he was dangerous violated his …
