The city of Tallahassee and media organizations on Monday tried to persuade a circuit judge that a 2018 constitutional amendment aimed at protecting victims’ rights does not allow police officers involved in use-of-force incidents to keep their identities secret.
Privacy
Florida’s Police Union Wants Cops’ Identity Kept Secret Under Victims’ Rights Law
Keeping secret the identity of a police officer who shot a black crime suspect might seem anathema during a national time of reckoning about police brutality and racial disparity. But that’s what a Florida police union is seeking.
HIPAA Heist: Lethal Privacy In the Age of Coronavirus
Misapplications and misinterpretations of the federal medical privacy law known as HIPAA are conspiring to kill more of us than otherwise would die from the coronavirus. And officials are taking advantage of the law to cloak their failures.
Volusia/Flagler Chapter Marks ACLU’s Centennial With “Future Voters Essay Contest” and $500 Prize
The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) ‘s Volusia/Flagler chapter is celebrating the ACLU’s 100th birthday with an essay contest open to all students, with a $500 prize and publication of the winning essay in FlaglerLive.
Prosecution Seeks To Take Picture of Defendant’s Erect Penis. Judge Says No. Twice.
51-year-old Elijah Jackson’s trial began in Bunnell this morning. He faces accusations of transmitting an image of his penis to his 15-year-old cousin. The prosecution on two occasions sought to have Jackson’s penis photographed while erect, for comparative purposes.
Florida’s Parental Consent Abortion Bill Is Intended to Shame and Scare Pregnant Girls
“We’re stridently noisily pro-choice creatures,” conservative writer Nancy Smith says. “You know why? Because we remember what it was like to grow up in towns and cities without Roe V. Wade. We were there, eyes wide open.”
Millions of Americans’ Medical Images and Data Are Available on the Internet. Anyone Can Take a Peek.
Medical images and health data belonging to millions of Americans, including X-rays, MRIs and CT scans, are sitting unprotected on the internet and available to anyone with basic computer expertise. The records cover more than 5 million patients in the U.S. and millions more around the world.
A Gun Registry In Florida Is a Bad Idea. Just Ask Canada.
A panel of Florida economists weighed the burden of a proposed constitutional amendment that aims to ban assault weapons but grandfather in guns already circulating, as long as their owners register them with the state. Bad idea, says Nancy Smith.
Obscenities Aside, Kimberle Weeks Appeal May Come Down to Judge’s Baffling Decree on ‘Public Meetings’ Definition
Circuit Judge Margaret Hudson refused to allow a definition of “public meetings” during ex-Elections Supervisor Kim Weeks’s trial last year even though both defense and prosecution wanted a definition, which went to the heart of the case. That’s now a central plank in Weeks’s appeal.
Floridians Have a Right To Access Medical Malpractice Records. Shands Sues to Prevent That.
Under Florida law, patients have the right to access adverse medical incident reports, which can play an important role in malpractice cases. UF Health Jacksonville says federal privacy law trumps Florida’s constitutional amendment.