Justices R. Fred Lewis, Barbara Pariente and Peggy Quince filed a court motion to block the conservative Southeastern Legal Foundation from moving forward with 22 depositions in a merit-retention case. The foundation is targeting the justices for their liberalism.
Florida Supreme Court
Conservatives Press Attack as Florida’s Liberal Justices Are Cleared of Campaign Wrongdoing
An investigation into the filing of qualifying papers for Florida Supreme Court Justices Fred Lewis, Barbara Pariente and Peggy Quince has been closed, but the controversy about the trio’s place on this fall’s ballot is likely to continue.
Lesbians’ Parental Rights Case Challenges Florida’s “Birth-Mother Only” Law
The lesbian couple’s case, now before the Florida Supreme Court, is unprecedented in Florida because the fertilized egg of one woman was implanted in her then-partner, who gave birth. The couple began raising the child together, but a legal battle began after a break-up that included the birth mother moving to Australia with the child.
Florida Supreme Court Is Asked To Decide What Constitutes a Life Sentence for a Juvenile
An appeals court today ruled that a 70-year prison sentence for Shimeek Gridine of Jacksonville, for an armed robbery and attempted murder committed when he was 14, doesn’t amount to lidfe in prison, but the 1st District Court of Appeal asked the Supreme Court to hear the case.
Term Limits for County Commissioners? Florida Supreme Court Will Decide
The cases, brought by voters in Broward and Sarasota counties, presented the court with the question of how much power charter counties have to impose qualifications and disqualifications on candidates for county commission.
R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Loses as U.S. Supreme Court Refuses to Take Appeals of Florida Cases
R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Co. was forced to pay tens of millions of dollars to the families of dead smokers, part of a flood of tobacco litigation moving through Florida’s courts, and the first of their kind to reach the U.S. Supreme Court.
Charles Canady and Ricky Polston, Florida Supreme Court’s Scalia-Thomas Duo
The Florida Supreme Court in recent months has split by a 5-2 margin on a series of cases, with Chief Justice Charles Canady and Justice Ricky Polston siding together and offering conservative — and sometimes-stinging — dissents.
Appeals Court Lets Lawsuit Over School Funding Proceed, Florida Supreme Court Next
An 8-7 ruling by the First District Court of Appeals overturned the state’s effort to stop the lawsuit and may lead to a momentous decision by the Florida Supreme Court interpreting the state’s responsibility to adequately pay for education under the Florida Constitution.
Lethal Edict: Florida Supremes Rule “Isolated Mishaps” Aren’t Enough to Stop Executions
Clearing the way for executions by lethal injection, a unanimous Florida Supreme Court ruled invalid death row inmate Manuel Valle’s objection to pentobarbital, one of the three drugs used to put inmates to sleep–and to euthanize animals.
Supreme Court Says Rick Scott Overstepped His Authority By Usurping Rule-Making Powers
In a stinging rebuke of Gov. Rick Scott’s interpretation of his powers, the Florida Supreme Court, in a 5-2 ruling, declared the governor’s attempt to blunt and circumvent state agency rule-making invalid.