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Category archives for: Rights & Liberties

Floridian Wins 2nd Case at Supreme Court Over Arrest During Public Comment

FlaglerLive | June 19, 2018

Justices, in an 8-1 decision, sided with Fane Lozman, who filed a lawsuit against the city contending that the arrest involved retaliation for his outspoken criticism of officials in the Palm Beach County community.

Cruel and Usual Trump

FlaglerLive | June 17, 2018

The Trump-Sessions zero-tolerance policy of separating children from their parents at the border has no precedent except in America’s slavery times.

The Truth About ‘Sanctuary Cities’

FlaglerLive | June 11, 2018

The term “sanctuary city” typically refers to a jurisdiction that wants to limit the use of local law enforcement resources to carry out federal law enforcement work, in violation of constitutional protections.

Pious Homophobes Win One

FlaglerLive | June 10, 2018

The Supreme Court in its wedding-cake ruling declared gays once again second-class citizens, at least when their sexuality has to compete with someone else’s more stone-throwing version of Christianity.

Bunnell Short-Lists Six Men For City Manager, But May Have Violated Sunshine Law

FlaglerLive | June 7, 2018

The Bunnell City Commission short-listed six city manager candidates out of 18 outside of a public meeting, a method courts have found to violate the Sunshine law.

Court Largely Sides With Florida State In Weapons Dispute With Florida Carry

FlaglerLive | May 29, 2018

An appeals court Friday backed Florida State University in much of a legal battle with a gun-rights group about weapons on campus, though the case goes back to circuit court.

To Protect Public Use of Private Beachfronts, Flagler Calls on Memories of
Long-Timers’ Customs

FlaglerLive | May 23, 2018

To ward off a new state law potentially allowing private property owners to fence off beach sands, the Flagler County Commission is enacting an ordinance to preserve public use and forbid fencing.

Brushing Aside 1st Amendment Claim, Appeals Court Uphold Florida Ban on a Prison Magazine

FlaglerLive | May 22, 2018

Florida alone among 50 states bans Prison Legal News. Paul Wright, the publisher of the magazine, intends to appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court.

Israel’s Mass Shootings

FlaglerLive | May 20, 2018

You can always depend on Israel periodically to mass-murder bunches of Arabs in proportions as lopsided and unforgiving as our own mass shootings in the U.S., then scapegoat the bloodletting.

Haspel, Spies and the Destruction of Evidence

FlaglerLive | May 13, 2018

The CIA official who ordered the destruction of videotapes that had documented the treatment of terror suspects, says he told Gina Haspel what he intended to do.

State Objects to Anonymity of 19 Year Old Woman Seeking to Join NRA Lawsuit

FlaglerLive | May 7, 2018

Lawyers for Attorney General Pam Bondi asked a federal judge to deny the anonymity request, calling it unjustified, and open court proceedings more important.

Compromise Over School Deputies in Flagler, But Look Beyond False Security of “Hardening”

FlaglerLive | May 3, 2018

There’s an effective way to end the stalemate between the Flagler Sheriff and the school board over deputies in schools without breaking the bank or compromising security.

With Sharpton Headlining, Rally Calls For Restoring Felon Rights After Stinging Court Defeat

FlaglerLive | April 26, 2018

The long-planned march followed a late-night ruling from a federal appeals court that gave Gov. Scott a victory in a bitterly fought challenge to the state’s voter-restoration system.

With Social Media Surveillance, Flagler School District Is Breaching Community Trust

FlaglerLive | April 22, 2018

With its contract with Social Sentinel, a social media snooping company, the Flagler school district is going into the secretive surveillance business for a much heavier cost than advertised.

A Palm Coast Resident Says “School Shooting” In a Facebook Video That Has Nothing To Do with School Shootings. Cops Show Up.

FlaglerLive | April 18, 2018

Tony Lagano, 35, was upset over a family court issue and alluded to a school shooting in a sarcastic Facebook video last week, only to be visited by sheriff’s deputies.

Students Raise Concerns, But Flagler School Board Approves Social Media Surveillance

FlaglerLive | April 18, 2018

The Flagler County School Board Tuesday approved a three-year, $55,500 contract with Vermont-based Social Sentinel to troll eight different types of social media accounts.

Flagler School Board Wants To Snoop on Students’ Social Media, And Maybe Yours. Wrong Move.

FlaglerLive | April 16, 2018

The School Board is set to contract with Social Sentinel, a company that will troll social media accounts across Flagler for $18,500 and issue “alerts” to select officials. It’s an inappropriate move down a slippery slope.

Ballot Proposal Would Ensure Crime Victims Have Their Say in Plea Agreements and Sentencing

FlaglerLive | April 16, 2018

The proposal, which will need support from 60 percent of voters in November, would seek to ensure the rights of victims to receive information and provide input during criminal cases.

Felons’ Lawyers Accuse Scott and Cabinet of Foot-Dragging Over Judge’s Rights-Restoration Order

FlaglerLive | April 15, 2018

A federal judge who found the state’s vote-restoration process unconstitutional gave Scott and the Cabinet until April 26 to overhaul the process. They’ve done nothing.

12 Amendments Nearing Ballot, Including Bans on Offshore Drilling and Workplace Vaping, and Home Rule Overrides

FlaglerLive | April 6, 2018

The list includes 12 ballot proposals that incorporate 24 potential changes to the Florida Constitution. All of the proposals were initially endorsed by the commission.

Jury Finds Ex-Elections Supervisor Kimberle Weeks Guilty On All 7 Felony Counts of Illegally Recording Others

FlaglerLive | April 5, 2018

Former Flagler County Elections Supervisor Kimberle Weeks was found guilty on felony counts that she illegally recorded other officials during her tenure.

Kimberle Weeks Trial Day 3: Defense Opts Against Putting On a Case, Relying on Outlier Theory Instead

FlaglerLive | April 4, 2018

In an echo of Kimberle Weeks’s own irreverence toward established law, her lawyers are arguing an untested and unusual interpretation of what amounts to a public meeting: all conversations between public officials involving public business.

10 Florida Cities Challenge State Law Barring Local Governments From Passing Gun Ordinances

FlaglerLive | April 3, 2018

Elected officials from 10 Florida cities are challenging an NRA-backed state law that imposes strict penalties on local lawmakers for enacting gun ordinances.

Palm Coast Mayor Milissa Holland’s State Of the City Address at Community Center

FlaglerLive | April 3, 2018

The full text of Palm Coast Mayor Milissa Holland’s State of the City Address at an event produced by the Observer Tuesday.

‘Aggressive’ New Advance Directive Would Let Dementia Patients Refuse Food

FlaglerLive | April 2, 2018

Do not resuscitate (DNR) orders are common. Do not feed orders, not so much, but New York may be opening the way to giving patients with dementia that option.

Trump’s Census Whitewash

FlaglerLive | April 1, 2018

The Trump administration’s decision to include a question on the census about citizenship is intended to under-count immigrants and skew numbers to favor whiter voting districts.

New Law Gives Property Owners Right to Restrict Beach Access. Flagler Working On Protecting Public’s “Customary Use”

FlaglerLive | March 29, 2018

The new and unusual Florida law allows beachfront property owners the right to wall off or restrict dry-sand areas from public use, but Flagler government intends to protect that “customary use” despite the law.

Florida an Outlier on Restoration of Felons’ Right to Vote, Barring 1.6 million Off Rolls

FlaglerLive | March 28, 2018

Automatically restoring the right to vote for convicted felons in Florida could add between 600,000 and 1.6 million voters to the state’s voting rolls.

Judge Craig Is Out, Judge Perkins Is In As Flagler’s Felony and Civil Benches Again Flip