Florida Politics - Campaigns & Elections. Lobbying & Government.

Scott PowersApril 11, 2017

Among material filed Tuesday with Orlando’s State Attorney Aramis Ayala‘s Florida Supreme Court challenge of Gov. Rick Scott‘s executive orders stripping cases from her is a year-old letter from his office affirming her position – that her prosecutorial decisions cannot be overridden. Ayala’s attorneys Roy Austin Jr. of Washington D.C. and Marcos Hasbun of Tampa included the […]

Scott PowersApril 11, 2017

Arguing Gov. Rick Scott had no legal basis to strip murder cases from her jurisdiction, Orlando’s State Attorney Aramis Ayala filed challenges Tuesday morning in both the Florida Supreme Court and federal court. In complaints filed by her attorney, Roy Austin Jr. of Washington D.C., Ayala contends that she legally exercised prosecutorial discretion in deciding not […]

Gary FineoutApril 7, 2017

Florida may end a long-running battle and pay millions to homeowners whose healthy citrus trees were torn down in a failed attempt to eradicate citrus canker. The Florida House has $66 million in its proposed budget to pay lawsuits filed on behalf of homeowners in Broward, Lee and Palm Beach counties. There are also lawsuits […]

Jim RosicaApril 6, 2017

The Florida Supreme Court no longer will allow its justices to keep working indefinitely on open cases after they leave the bench, according to a new rule released Thursday. After Justice James E.C. Perry officially retired on Dec. 30, Chief Justice Jorge Labarga allowed him to finish work on opinions as a “senior justice,” following decades of court practice. […]

Drew WilsonMarch 22, 2017

A bill that would increase reporting requirements for Florida Supreme Court cases cleared the Senate Criminal and Civil Justice Appropriations Subcommittee with a unanimous vote Wednesday. SB 878, sponsored by Republican Sen. Tom Lee, would require the court to write up an annual report on cases that the court did not issue a ruling on […]

Les NeuhausMarch 20, 2017

Roughly 34 years after the discovery of the virus that causes AIDS, Florida’s lawmakers are considering legislation whose maximum sentence would be death to knowingly spread the human immunodeficiency virus, or HIV, to a sexual partner without their knowledge, according to a committee that voted favorably Monday in regard to the measure. The bill, HB […]

Jim RosicaMarch 16, 2017

A law that requires someone with HIV to notify a potential sex partner beforehand applies to same-sex relationships as well as between a man and a woman, the Florida Supreme Court unanimously decided Thursday. The defendant, Gary Debaun, has been trying to have a charge dismissed under a 1986 state law designed to prevent the spread of the […]

Staff ReportsMarch 15, 2017

House Speaker Richard Corcoran has been honored for his commitment to term limits. U.S. Term Limits announced this week that it has presented Corcoran with the Champion of Term Limits Award. The Land O’Lakes Republican was honored for his commitment to term limits and citizen government. “By supporting term limits, Speaker Corcoran has given a […]

William PatrickMarch 15, 2017

House Speaker Richard Corcoran began his two-year speakership in November by promising a “transformational leap” in government accountability and transparency. “The Florida House will set the standard for others to emulate,” he declared. Such pronouncements are often uttered by politicians, especially those who may aspire to higher office. But one week into Florida’s annual legislative session the […]

Staff ReportsMarch 13, 2017

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Gov. Rick Scott signed legislation Monday requiring a unanimous jury recommendation before the death penalty can be imposed. Lawmakers passed the bill out of the House and Senate last week, rushing the measure through the process in hopes of fixing the state’s death penalty law. The House voted 112-3 to approve the measure Friday, one […]

Tag: Florida Supreme Court
Tamzin Rosenwasser, Stephen Guffanti, Mary O’Neill, and Tanya Parus are so nervous they are begging other elected officials in the region to join their cause.

Governor’s office affirmed prosecutorial discretion, state attorneys’ independence, in letter last year

Aramis Ayala files challenges of Rick Scott with Florida Supreme Court, federal court

Florida may pay millions to homeowners for lost citrus trees

Supreme Court tweaks its ‘senior justice’ rule after controversy

Senate bill to increase Supreme Court reporting requirements clears second committee

Legislation advanced making knowingly spreading HIV through sex without partner’s knowledge a capital crime

Florida Supreme Court rules sex is sex, no matter who’s doing it

Richard Corcoran gets nod for dedication to term limits from U.S. Term Limits

House Speaker Richard Corcoran making good on transparency, accountability promises

Rick Scott signs death penalty fix into law