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 …
$27,000 Paid in Florida Jail Prisoner's Sexual Harassment by Guard by Kayren Burns was a prisoner at Florida's Flagler County Jail on August 8, 1996, when guard Paul Chambrey requested that Burns have sex with him. When she refused, he masturbated, in front of her. Burns brought suit alleging psychological …
$39,000 Awarded in Florida Jail Prisoner's Slip and Fall by While held at Florida's St. Lucie County Jail in 1994, the female prisoner slipped and fell upon stepping out of the shower in her cell, causing a herniated disc at C5-6. She alleged the jail failed to provide footwear designed …
Florida Prisoner's Respiratory Injury Nets $112,000 by A 32-year-old female Florida prisoner sued the Department of Corrections (DOC) after she suffered respiratory dysfunction from inhaling chlorine gas while changing a chlorine cylinder at her prison's water/sewage treatment plant. Because she was not trained or certified to perform the work assigned …
$150,000 Paid in Guard's Assault of Florida Jail Prisoner by While held at Florida's Duval County Jail in April 1991, a 39-year-old detainee requested to use the rest room. His second request was granted, but he had to urinate at the far end of the outdoor compound. Later, he had …
$30,000 Paid for Broadcasting Florida Jail Strip-Search by After being arrested for battery on a law enforcement officer, resisting arrest with violence, and disorderly conduct, the plaintiff in this case was taken to Florida's Delray Beach Police Department's holding cell to await his transport to the Palm Beach County Jail. …
Burned Foot Nets $9,000 for Florida Jail Prisoner by While incarcerated at Florida's Volusia County Jail in March 1993, the prisoner plaintiff in this case was working in the jail's kitchen, which was operated by Szabo Correctional Services. Boiling water from the steam kettle spilled onto the prisoner's right foot, …
