ACLU Opens Orlando Regional Office to Serve Central Florida

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
CONTACT:  media@aclu.org

Senior Attorney Named as Director

ORLANDO, FL - The American Civil Liberties Union of Florida announced today the opening of its new Central Florida Regional Office, located near downtown Orlando. Leading the ACLU's efforts in central Florida will be the newly appointed Regional Director, Glenn Katon.

"We are pleased to open a staffed regional office in Orlando and to have someone with Glenn's qualifications as our Director," said Howard Simon, Executive Director of the ACLU of Florida. "With civil liberties under attack across Florida and an administration running roughshod over the Constitution, this is the most important time for us to be expanding our staff to defend freedom for Floridians."

Since joining the ACLU in October 2006, Katon has assisted in litigation on the very public "Orlando anti-homeless ordinances" and is serving as lead counsel in the recently filed Ten Commandments case in federal court contesting the unconstitutional placement of a large religious monument on the Dixie County courthouse steps.

Prior to working with the ACLU, Katon practiced law as a shareholder with the Tampa law firm of Bush Ross, P.A.; was a trial attorney with the Department of Justice, Tax Division, in Washington, D.C.; was a litigation associate with a large Dallas law firm; and worked as a law clerk to the Honorable Terry R. Means, U.S. district judge for the Northern District of Texas. Katon first became involved with the ACLU of Florida as a volunteer attorney with the PATH Project. Katon graduated on the dean's list at St. John's University School of Law, where he served as an editor of one of the school's law journals, and he received a B.A. from George Mason University.

The Orlando regional office will serve the four-county Orlando area community as well as the nearby counties of Brevard, Flagler, Volusia and the counties surrounding Gainesville and Ocala. The ACLU expanded with staffed regional offices in Tampa (2004) and Pensacola (2005) and has plans to open a regional office in Jacksonville later this year.