Florida

03/21/2012
Trayvon Martin

Justice for Trayvon

By Joyce Hamilton Henry, ACLU of Florida at 2:42pm

Last night the author attended a gathering at the Allen Chapel AME Church in Sanford, Fla. The following is an excerpt of her remarks:

As we learn more about the tragic shooting death of Trayvon Martin, concerns are being raised about the manner, thoroughness and neutrality of the investigation by the police in Sanford, Fla.

The concern is justified.

To understand it, it helps to know how we got here. Not the events of Feb. 26, which ended in Trayvon's death, but a sad history in Florida where justice for all has been illusive — and justice for some impossible.  Too often, crimes with clear, undeniable racial motives were swept under the rug or overlooked while families and communities waited in vain for justice.

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02/10/2012
Sentencing Reform

Breaking the Addiction to Incarceration: Weekly Highlights

By Alex Stamm, ACLU Center for Justice at 12:40pm

Today, the U.S. has the highest incarceration rate of any country in the world. With over 2.3 million men and women living behind bars, our imprisonment rate is the highest it’s ever been in U.S. history. And yet, our criminal justice system has failed on every count: public safety, fairness and cost-effectiveness. Across the country, the criminal justice reform conversation is heating up. Each week, we feature our some of the most exciting and relevant news in overincarceration discourse that we’ve spotted from the previous week. Check back weekly for our top picks.

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02/03/2012
Drug-Testing Welfare Recipients

The Daily Show Tells Florida Legislators: "I Think I’m Gonna Need You to Pee into This Cup"

By Rachel Bloom, ACLU at 12:09pm

Last night the Daily Show featured ACLU client Luis Lebron, a Navy veteran who refused to take the drug test required by the State of Florida for welfare applicants.

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02/02/2012
Voter Suppression

"If You Get It Young, You'll Vote Your Whole Life"

By Dawn Quarles, Dawn Quarles at 12:12pm

A Florida high school teacher talks about how Florida's new law restricting third parties from registering voters suppresses registration among young people.

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01/27/2012
Florida

Let People Vote

By Matt Coles, Center for Equality at 3:19pm

The right to vote is what makes a country a true democracy. Limit the right to only some of the people and you don't really have self-government anymore.

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01/27/2012
Voter Suppression

Florida Sets the Stage: U.S. Senate Judiciary Subcommittee Holds Field Hearing on State's Regressive Voting Laws

By Deborah J. Vagins, ACLU Washington Legislative Office & Howard L. Simon, ACLU of Florida at 2:24pm

With Florida’s primary just days away, all eyes are on the Sunshine State. And in an effort to shine a light on the state’s new regressive voting laws, the Senate Judiciary Subcommittee on the Constitution, Civil Rights and Human Rights, chaired by Sen. Dick Durbin, is holding a federal field hearing today in Tampa, Florida.

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10/26/2011
Florida

Check Your Constitutional Rights at the Classroom Door? Not on Our Watch.

By Rebecca McCray, ACLU Criminal Law Reform Project at 2:40pm

A judge has ruled that Linn State Technical College's mandatory drug-testing policy is patently unconstitutional, and has blocked any further drug testing.

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10/25/2011
Florida

Victory in Florida: No Illegal Drug Testing For Welfare

By Maria Kayanan, ACLU of Florida at 5:07pm

On Monday we got some great news in Florida: following an ACLU lawsuit, the state will no longer be allowed to make people applying for Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) take a drug test in order to get the assistance they need.

A month ago, four-year-old Jordan Lebron sat in a courtroom in Florida for three hours, quietly coloring and playing with toy cars while his father, Luis, sat with us at counsel table watching and listening to the judge's questions and the lawyers' answers.

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10/12/2011
Drug-Testing Welfare Recipients

Poor People Have Rights Too

By Rachel Bloom, ACLU at 4:05pm

Drug-testing those applying for public assistance is unconstitutional, shortsighted and will end up costing states more than any possible savings.

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10/11/2011
Florida

"There Is Almost No Voter Fraud in America."

By Eunice Hyon Min Rho, ACLU at 4:33pm

A Justice Department investigation of more than 300 million votes cast between 2002 and 2007 found zero cases of voter impersonation fraud. So why are so many states passing laws to fight it?

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