Telling the attorney seeking a gag order on Sheriff Rick Staly that he was on a “fishing expedition,” County Judge Melissa Moore-Stens this afternoon denied the motion, ending an unusual sideshow in the battery case against Flagler Beach City Commissioner Eric Cooley.
Rights & Liberties
Open Court Proceedings Require NRA-Backed Gun Litigants To Be Named, Florida Argues
Attorney General Pam Bondi’s office is asking a federal appeals court to reject arguments that two 19-year-olds should be able to remain anonymous in a challenge to a new state gun law.
Why Women Don’t Report Sexual Assault
That urge to discredit accusers of sexual assault like Christine Blasey Ford is exactly why it takes so long for some to come forward in the first place.
Attorney Calls For Gag Order on Sheriff Staly in Eric Cooley Case, Claiming Prejudicial Words
Palm Coast Attorney Josh Davis wants a court to muzzle Sheriff Rick Staly in the case of alleged domestic violence involving Flagler Beach City Commissioner Eric Cooley. The sheriff is having none of it.
Judge Orders Spanish-Language Sample Ballots in Flagler and 31 Other Counties
Making clear that only time restraints limited his decision, a federal judge ordered that sample ballots in Spanish be provided but stopped short of ordering actual Spanish-language ballots in Flagler and 31 other counties.
Flagler Jail Sends ‘Inmate Work Crew’ Around Town, and Gets Paid GED Instructor
A black-and-white-striped Flagler County jail work crew will start duties around the community, and the jail is getting a GED instructor for nearly 30 hours a week.
Low, $500 Bond For Sex Offender’s Re-Arrest Raises Sheriff’s Eyebrows–and Unravels
Bleak Case Through Court Maze
Tavares Calloway was 21 when he was charged with the statutory rape of a 15-year-old girl. Probation violations landed him in prison for 3 years. He’s been rearrested again on a violation weeks after his release.
Judge Boots Victim’s Rights’ Proposal Known as “Marsy’s Law” Off the Ballot, Citing Deceit
A judge found fault with what was left out of the ballot title and summary, and that the proposal would not explain to voters how it would affect the rights of people accused of crimes.
Without Fear Or Favor. Or Whining.
Defending the press against Donald Trump’s “enemy of the people” attacks may have its place, but reporters’ best bet is to shut up and do their job well: it’s the most eloquent response.
Judge Will Decide Whether to Remove Victim’s Rights Proposal From November Ballot
Lawyers opposing the measure known as Marsy’s Law say it restricts the constitutional rights of those accused of crimes while misleading voters about its intent.
Calling Florida Prison Officials Ignorant and Bigoted, Judge Orders Accommodations For Transgender Inmate
A federal judge ordered Florida prisons to continue providing hormone treatments to Reiyn Keohane, who identifies as female since age 8. She started serving a 15-year sentence for attempted murder in 2014.
Supreme Court Clears Release of Parkland Massacre Videos School Board Sought to Block
The order sides with a coalition of news organizations and ordered the release of footage from the afternoon of Feb. 14, when 17 people were killed at the school.
Immigrant Youth Shelters: “If You’re a Predator, It’s a Gold Mine”
An investigation of police reports and call logs from more than two-thirds of the shelters housing immigrant children provides a snapshot of what has largely been kept from the public as well as members of Congress.
In Restoration of Florida Felons’ Voting Rights, Lawyers Make Novel 1st Amendment Argument
Lawyers for the plaintiffs maintain that Florida’s discretionary process violates the First Amendment, despite a dearth of cases anywhere in the country supporting that argument.
Protest and the Double-Edged Sword of ‘Civility’
Uncivil action may be a necessary strategy, just as civil disobedience, bearing witness, and making politicians uncomfortable were critical to the civil rights movement.
Fearing Lawsuit, a Commissioner Questions Streaming Government Meetings
A deputy clerk in Bunnell and a city commissioners wanted to end streaming government meetings from fear of getting sued until the city attorney saw an overreaction.
Local Police Should Not Collaborate With Immigration and Customs Enforcement
As reports of abuse at ICE emerge and increase, robust sanctuary policies that end the collusion with local law enforcement that ICE relies on gain urgency.
What’s At Stake If Brett Kavanaugh Joins the Supreme Court
All Americans say they value personal freedom, especially the right to make our own decisions about our private lives. Expect that to end.
Flagler Government Will Crack Down On Mobile Campaign Billboards And Other Signs
Flagler County commissioners will approve new rules next Monday regulating or banning campaign-sign-blaring vehicles and campaign signs from county properties.
Drug War Blowback: Why Those Central American Immigrants Are Still Coming
Between the drug war and the backing of brutal regimes, the U.S. created conditions in Central America that families are desperate to flee — even if they risk being separated.
Abolish ICE
Immigration and Customs Enforcement is supposed to keep Americans safe. Instead, it’s terrorizing refugees, families, and small children.
Unlocked And Loaded: Families Confront Dementia And Guns
The epidemic of gun violence that kills 96 people a day is focused on mental illness. But a little-known problem is what to do about firearms in homes of aging Americans with dementia.
Zero Tolerance: Here’s What It’s Like to Work at a Shelter for Immigrant Kids
A window into a system pushed into overdrive, straining to serve traumatized kids amid the uncertainty of America’s immigration system.
A Dagger in the Heart of Unions, Workers and Democracy: Behind the Janus Ruling
Their end game is to overturn a fundamental premise of majority rule, and lock in place permanent Constitutional changes to bar any limits on oligarchical rule.
Being Separated From My Child Nearly Destroyed Me
The administration’s policy of separating families is torture, and Trump’s executive order to incarcerate families together doesn’t solve the crisis.
For a 6-Year-Old Snared in the Immigration Maze, Lifeline in a Memorized Phone Number
As the U.S. attempts to reunite migrant families, children will bear the burden of helping to identify who and where their parents are. One 6-year-old girl has an advantage.
Flagler County Passes Precedent-Setting Ordinance Protecting Public Use of Private Beaches, But Its Future Is Uncertain
Flagler’s customary-use ordinance forbids the walling off of private sections of beaches, though a new state law allows just such segregation from public use. Flagler expects its ordinance to be challenged.
Floridian Wins 2nd Case at Supreme Court Over Arrest During Public Comment
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
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’
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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”
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
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
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.
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
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.
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
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
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
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
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
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
Elected officials from 10 Florida cities are challenging an NRA-backed state law that imposes strict penalties on local lawmakers for enacting gun ordinances.