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Response Letter to FOIA Request, Department of Defense, 2018

Publication • March 21, 2018

Filed under: Freedom of Information Act, Mail, Publications/Books, Military

Response Letter to FOIA Request, Department of Defense, 2018

$25,000 Jury Award to Florida Man in Police Brutality Suit

Article • March 2, 2018

Filed under: Excessive Force (Police)

$25,000 Jury Award to Florida Man in Police Brutality Suit by Christopher Zoukis by Christopher Zoukis A Fort Lauderdale, Florida man was awarded $25,000 after suing the Broward County Sheriff's Department for civil rights violations in a dispute over a citrus tree. In June 2002, workers for the state's Department …

Florida Sheriff: Sex Offenders, People with Warrants Not Welcome at Hurricane Shelters

Article • February 22, 2018

Filed under: Police Misconduct, Sex Offenders (Discrimination), Arrest Warrants

Florida Sheriff: Sex Offenders, People with Warrants Not Welcome at Hurricane Shelters by Mark Wilson "If you go to a shelter for #Irma and you have a warrant, we'll gladly escort you to the safe and secure shelter called the Polk County jail," warned Florida's Polk County Sheriff's Department Twitter …

Broward County Deputy Jailed for Sexual Assault of a Minor

Article • February 22, 2018

Filed under: Assault by Police, Police Misconduct

Broward County Deputy Jailed for Sexual Assault of a Minor by Christopher Zoukis by Christopher Zoukis A police officer with the Broward County, Florida sheriff's office has been arrested and charged with illegal sexual activity involving a teenage girl. Leon Campbell, a 37-year-old deputy sheriff, was jailed October 19, 2017, …

Florida Deputy Arrested for Burglarizing 85-Year Old's Home

Article • February 22, 2018

Filed under: Police Misconduct, Police, Property

Florida Deputy Arrested for Burglarizing 85-Year Old's Home by Derek Gilna by Derek Gilna West Palm Beach Sheriff's Deputy Jason Cooke was arrested for burglarizing the home of a terminally-ill Boynton Beach, Florida man who had been transported to a hospital by paramedics for a medical emergency on September 12, …

Driver’s License Required for Conviction as Florida Habitual Traffic Offender

Article • February 16, 2018 • from CLN March, 2018

Filed under: Criminal Prosecution, Criminal Procedure

Driver’s License Required for Conviction as Florida Habitual Traffic Offender by David Reutter by David Reutter The Florida Supreme Court held that possession of a driver’s license is a prerequisite to a conviction as a habitual traffic offender under section 322.34(5), Florida Statutes. Daryl Miller was charged with a third …

Florida Sheriff Threatens Arrest of Refugees from Hurricane

Article • February 8, 2018

Filed under: False Arrest

Florida Sheriff Threatens Arrest of Refugees from Hurricane by David Reutter by David Reutter A looming disaster from Hurricane Irma, which was the strongest storm on record, would seem a time when everyone would bind together to assure the safety of all. Florida’s Polk County Sheriff Grady Judd used the …

Hand v. Scott, FL, Order for Summary Judgment, Voting Rights, 2018

Brief • February 1, 2018

Filed under: Voting, Summary Judgment

Hand v. Scott, FL, Order for Summary Judgment, Voting Rights, 2018 Case 4:17-cv-00128-MW-CAS Document 144 Filed 02/01/18 Page 1 of 43 UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT NORTHERN DISTRICT OF FLORIDA TALLAHASSEE DIVISION JAMES MICHAEL HAND, et al., Plaintiffs, v. Case No. 4:17cv128-MW/CAS RICK SCOTT, in his official capacity as Governor of …

Federal Circuit: Reasonable Suspicion Required to Search Prison Employee's Car

Article • January 3, 2018

Filed under: Threats by Staff, Guards/Staff, Employee Litigation

Federal Circuit: Reasonable Suspicion Required to Search Prison Employee's Car by On May 12, 2003, the court of appeals for the Federal Circuit held that reasonable suspicion was required to search a federal prison employee's car. Derrick A. Wiley was employed as a teacher at a federal Bureau of Prisons …

No Qualified Immunity for Officer Who Beat and Tasered Mentally Ill Man to Death

Article • December 27, 2017

Filed under: Stun Guns/Tasers, Civil Procedure, Qualified Immunity, Police--Excessive Force, Excessive Force (Wrongful Death), Excessive Force (Police)

No Qualified Immunity for Officer Who Beat and Tasered Mentally Ill Man to Death by Christopher Zoukis by Christopher Zoukis The United States Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit has ruled that an excessive force claim made by the estate of a man killed by police during an arrest …

Claim of Right to Counsel Infringement Survives in Detainees’ Claim of Recorded Attorney Calls

Article • December 26, 2017

Filed under: Attorney Client, Civil Procedure

Claim of Right to Counsel Infringement Survives in Detainees’ Claim of Recorded Attorney Calls by A Florida federal district court granted in part and denied in part a defendant’s motion for summary judgment in a civil rights action that alleged the sheriff of Broward County violated the constitutional attorney-client privileges …

Jail Records Protected Conversation: Federal District Court Does Not Dismiss Suit

Article • December 26, 2017

Filed under: Jail Misconduct, Attorney Client, Civil Procedure

Jail Records Protected Conversation: Federal District Court Does Not Dismiss Suit by A Florida federal district court denied a motion to dismiss a civil rights action that alleged the sheriff of Broward County violated the constitutional attorney-client privileges of a group of pre-trial detainees. The motion sought to dismiss Broward …

$82,056 Jury Award in Florida Excessive Force Case

Article • December 20, 2017

Filed under: Excessive Force (Police)

$82,056 Jury Award in Florida Excessive Force Case by Christopher Zoukis by Christopher Zoukis A Florida jury has awarded $82,056 to a man who claimed he was beaten by a Hallandale Beach police officer. Kenneth Salazar, a 37-year-old schoolteacher, was driving in Hallandale Beach October 30, 2009, when he was …

$88,616 to Florida Woman Falsely Arrested

Article • December 20, 2017

Filed under: Police--Excessive Force, False Arrest

$88,616 to Florida Woman Falsely Arrested by Christopher Zoukis by Christopher Zoukis On May 13, 2007, Orlando real estate broker Ana Maria Hazleton was at home when Orlando police officers responded to a call that there was a disturbance on her front lawn. The four officers, Brandon Loverde, Fernando Trinidad, …

$36,000 Settles Palm Beach False Arrest

Article • December 19, 2017

Filed under: False Arrest

$36,000 Settles Palm Beach False Arrest by Christopher Zoukis by Christopher Zoukis A lawsuit brought by the fiancé of a Ft. Lauderdale, Florida cop against a Palm Beach County detective settled for $36,000 on January 10, 2007.The case involved a series of thefts committed by Steven Hipsher while he was …

U.S. Supreme Court Decision Temporarily Throws Florida’s Death Machine Into Disarray and Prompts Change to State’s Death Penalty

Article • December 19, 2017 • from CLN January, 2018

Filed under: Death Penalty/Death Row

U.S. Supreme Court Decision Temporarily Throws Florida’s Death Machine Into Disarray and Prompts Change to State’s Death Penalty by David Reutter by David M. Reutter Following the 2016 U.S. Supreme Court ruling in Hurst v. Florida, 136 S. Ct. 616 (2016), which concluded that Florida’s death penalty sentencing scheme violated …

Reform of Florida’s Criminal Justice Laws Urged

Article • November 30, 2017

Filed under: Prison Reform, Criminal Prosecution, Criminal Procedure

Reform of Florida’s Criminal Justice Laws Urged by David Reutter by David M. Reutter Florida taxpayers spend around $2.3 billion annually on the state’s Department of Corrections--twice what they spend on Florida’s 28 public colleges combined. At least five other states also led by Republican governors and GOP legislative majorities--Alabama, …

Eleventh Circuit Holds Defendants Voluntarily Consented to Search in Police Ruse to Search Home Purportedly to Investigate Burglary

Article • November 16, 2017 • from CLN December, 2017

Filed under: Police Misconduct, Searches, Police Searches

Eleventh Circuit Holds Defendants Voluntarily Consented to Search in Police Ruse to Search Home Purportedly to Investigate Burglary by David Reutter by David Reutter The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit upheld a warrantless home search that was consented to as a result of a ruse by law …

$102,437 Jury Award in Miami Beach Florida False Arrest Case

Article • October 24, 2017

Filed under: Excessive Force, False Arrest

$102,437 Jury Award in Miami Beach Florida False Arrest Case by Christopher Zoukis A Florida jury found for the plaintiff in a false arrest claim on February 28, 2013. The plaintiff, Dale Picardat, Jr., alleged that he was accosted by Miami Beach police officer Glenn Teboe when he was walking …

$3.1 Million Awarded in Florida False Arrest, Malicious Prosecution Case

Article • October 24, 2017

Filed under: Injury -- Misc., False Arrest

$3.1 Million Awarded in Florida False Arrest, Malicious Prosecution Case by A A Richard Sakharoff, a 49-year-old insurance agent, was asleep on his couch on June 17, 2001 when Boca Raton, Florida police officers knocked on his door and ordered him out. Officers were led to Sakharoff's home by a …