Politics & Law
Monetary award to wrongly imprisoned man is a landmark for FL’s conviction review process
Clifford Williams, a Jacksonville man wrongly imprisoned for 43 years for a murder he did not commit, was granted $2.15 million in compensation from the state of Florida this month in a landmark case reflecting the work of a new kind of prosecutor. In 2018, Melissa Nelson, state attorney for the 4th Judicial Circuit, based […]
COVID cases in Florida surge past the 100,000 mark some five weeks after reopening began
Florida has broken the 100,00 threshold for COVID-19 cases, reflecting a spike in new cases since the beginning of June as Gov. Ron DeSantis continues his policy of reopening the state’s economy. The new numbers are from the Florida Department of Health and reflect 3,173 total deaths. However, deaths have been on the decline, with […]
Gov. DeSantis won’t interfere with cities that require residents to wear face masks in public amid COVID spike
Update: Gov. Ron DeSantis staged a news conference Saturday as as the daily number of new COVID-19 cases exceeded 4,000, and appeared to shift his explanation for the rising caseload from increased testing to community spread among young people. He reiterated that the median age for new infections has shifted from seniors to people in […]
FL Gov. DeSantis’ Juneteenth proclamation draws attention to Confederate holidays still on the books
As Gov. Ron DeSantis issued a proclamation Friday commemorating the day slavery ended in the United States, questions have been raised about the state’s approach to observing public holidays that represent racial injustice and whether Juneteenth will be added to the list of public holidays. According to Florida statutes, Florida observes legal holidays such as […]
As the state budget deadline looms July 1, key organizations ask DeSantis to deliver on long-awaited proposals
As Gov. Ron DeSantis prepares to make state budget cuts, a letter signed by 35 Florida organizations calls on the governor to protect longstanding public services by finding funds from every route possible. “The governor must protect crucial programs and services, or else we will see existing racial and economic disparities exacerbated in Florida,” Sadaf […]
DeSantis pushes voters to go to the polls; concedes little to elections supervisors’ ambitions for vote by mail this fall
Gov. Ron DeSantis has rejected calls by Florida’s supervisors of elections to extend early voting to avoid meltdowns at the polls this summer and fall, but will allow them to get a head start on counting what promises to be a mountain of vote-by-mail ballots. Meanwhile, the governor essentially is encouraging voters to go to […]
Florida TaxWatch suggests COVID-inspired trims to state budget, including postponing teacher raises
Gov. Ron DeSantis can absorb some of the COVID-19 shock to state tax revenues by trimming next fiscal year’s budget of local projects, reducing travel, and postponing the governor’s teacher pay raises until the pandemic subsides, a government watchdog group said Thursday. During a virtual news conference, Florida TaxWatch also recommended boosting tax receipts through […]
Supreme Court rejects Trump administration challenge to DACA
WASHINGTON — The U.S. Supreme Court on Thursday salvaged an Obama-era program that has allowed hundreds of thousands of young, unauthorized immigrants known as “Dreamers” to remain in the country without immediate fear of deportation. In a 5-4 decision, Chief Justice John Roberts sided with the court’s liberal wing in finding that the Trump administration […]
State budget now in Gov. DeSantis’ hands, giving him two weeks to make COVID-related cuts
The Florida House and Senate on Wednesday sent the $93.2 billion state budget to Gov. Ron DeSantis, exactly two weeks before it is scheduled to take effect. The budget was presented to DeSantis on Wednesday at 10:45 a.m. Now he’s free to apply his line-item veto against spending provisions approved by the Legislature. DeSantis has […]
Chief justice’s order sets Florida on the path toward reopening its trial courts
Florida Chief Justice Charles Canady took another step Wednesday toward reopening the state’s trial courts in a COVID-19 world, resuming limited in-person litigation with a strong preference for remote proceedings using telecommunications technology. Four jurisdictions have met the criteria Canady has set to begin limited in-person proceedings, subject to protective measures: The 9th Judicial Circuit, […]
Law enforcement leaders push to “rebuild trust and accountability” in communities through new guidelines
Discussions on better police standards and practices are underway, with police chiefs across the state leading efforts to build more trust between police officers and the people they serve. In the wake of the George Floyd killing, the Florida Police Chiefs Association, a large statewide police organization, announced in early June the development of a […]
U.S. Senate GOP unveils police reform bill that draws Democratic rebukes
WASHINGTON — Senate Republicans unveiled a police reform bill Wednesday that takes a markedly different approach to police reform efforts backed by congressional Democrats. The Senate GOP bill would incentivize police departments to ban chokeholds, increase the use of body-worn cameras, improve training in de-escalation tactics and take prior records into greater account when making […]