Florida Politics - Campaigns & Elections. Lobbying & Government.

Mitch PerryJanuary 17, 2018

Saying they’re tired of Congress punting on the issue, Pinellas County Sheriff Bob Gualtieri, joined by the acting director of the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), announced a new agreement under which 17 local jails in Florida will hold undocumented immigrants for 48 hours after the inmate has posted bail to give federal agents time to […]

Mitch PerryDecember 12, 2017

While red-leaning states like Oklahoma, Texas, Georgia and Louisiana have made significant criminal justice reforms over the past decade, Florida’s GOP-led Legislature has stood still. Thirty-three states have implemented such reforms since 2007, while Florida’s prison population continues to grow, with the state now spending more than $2.4 billion a year to incarcerate nearly 100,000 people […]

Ana CeballosNovember 21, 2017

As the state continued its fight to keep a law requiring women to see a doctor and wait 24 hours before getting an abortion on Tuesday, its latest argument included the comparison that if there are waiting periods for cremations and divorces, abortions should have them too. As it stands now, women do not have […]

Mitch PerryOctober 23, 2017

Advocates supporting issuing civil citations to youth instead of arrests hailed a report issued Monday showing there were 3,000 fewer arrests for “common youth” misbehavior in 2016. And while approximately one-quarter of those arrests came from just three counties — Orange, Hillsborough and Duval — all three have seen a leadership change that could diminish […]

Mitch PerryOctober 13, 2017

In one of the highest profile appearances since her election in July as chair the Hillsborough County NAACP, Yvette Lewis took a shot at some of the most prominent establishment names in Tampa. During Friday’s Cafe Con Tampa at the Oxford Exchange, Lewis shared brutally honest thoughts on several topics: A lack of diversity at the University […]

Peter SchorschAugust 14, 2017

The political committee backing a ballot initiative to automatically restore voting rights to nonviolent felons brought in over $500,000 last month. “Floridians for a Fair Democracy” received $250,000 of the July haul from the American Civil Liberties Union, with another $150,000 coming from the The Advocacy Fund, a San Francisco-based group that funds a variety […]

Mitch PerryAugust 3, 2017

No one in Florida has worked harder than Desmond Meade to expand felons’ voting rights. Starting in 2015, Meade and his organization, the Florida Rights Restoration Coalition, have blanketed the state, collecting signatures to place on the ballot an initiative that would overturn the automatic ban on felons voting. Although the group fell short for the […]

Scott PowersApril 21, 2017

Friends of the court are beginning to crowd into the Florida Supreme Court case pitting Orlando’s State Attorney Aramis Ayala and Gov. Rick Scott, with families of homicide victims siding with Scott, and the ACLU and House Minority Leader Janet Cruz siding with Ayala on Friday. Several filings Friday are loading the case with friends. Also Friday, a group […]

Mitch PerryMarch 27, 2017

A bill that would increase the penalties for certain violent offenses if the defendant is an undocumented immigrant advanced in a Florida House Committee on Monday. The legislation, sponsored by Cape Coral Republican Rep. Dane Eagle (HB 83), would upgrade penalties for five different violent crimes committed by undocumented immigrants, including sexual battery, aggravated assault with a […]

Scott PowersMarch 17, 2017

A group of church and civil rights leaders joined mothers of slaying victims from Florida and Central Florida Friday outside the office of State Attorney Aramis Ayala. They were there to send a message to her and the community. “We stand with you, State Attorney Ayala,” proclaimed Christine Henderson of Equal Justice USA of Florida. She and a […]

Tag: ACLU

ICE, Florida counties strike deal on new immigrant detention policy

Tampa panel talks criminal justice reform ahead of Session

State keeps fighting for suspended law requiring 24-hour abortion waiting periods

‘Bad Boys’ no more: Juvenile arrests decrease, report says

Hillsborough NAACP head Yvette Lewis takes on the establishment at Cafe Con Tampa

Committee backing felon voting rights amendment adds $500K in July

ACLU plans to spend millions on campaign to restore felons’ voting rights surprised Desmond Meade

Families of homicide victims, ACLU, Janet Cruz join filers in Aramis Ayala case

Bill that would increase penalties for undocumented violent offenders advances in Florida House

Church, Civil Rights leaders, slaying victims’ mothers rally for Aramis Ayala