Ryan NicolFebruary 11, 2019
3min950
A companion bill has been filed in the House.
Tag: Senate Criminal Justice Committee
Ryan NicolFebruary 11, 2019
Drew WilsonOctober 23, 2017
4min177
South Florida Democratic Sen. Gary Farmer is resurrecting the debate over whether police should be required to let people know their rights when it comes to searches without a warrant. SB 262 would prohibit police officers from searching a person or their property without telling them they have a right to decline the search. State […]
Danny McAuliffeOctober 9, 2017
5min264
Should Florida law enforcement be required to inform subjects of their right to refuse a search? A Senate panel says that’s a question for another day. The Senate Criminal Justice Committee on Monday postponed a bill (SB 262), filed by Sen. Gary Farmer, a Fort Lauderdale Democrat, that seeks to prevent police from conducting searches without first […]
Drew WilsonMarch 6, 2017
3min592
A restoration of civil rights bill got an amendment from St. Petersburg Republican Sen. Jeff Brandes that would give convicts the right to own guns after completing their sentence. SB 934, sponsored by Democratic Sen. Perry Thurston, would automatically restore all other civil rights, such as the right to vote, when a felon completes their […]
Jim RosicaFebruary 7, 2017
3min414
A bill requiring a unanimous jury recommendation for a death sentence was OK’d by a Senate panel Monday. The legislation (SB 280) was cleared unanimously by the Senate Criminal Justice Committee. It’s sponsored by Democratic state Sen. Randolph Bracy of Ocoee, the panel’s chair. Monday’s vote comes as a staff analysis said death penalty cases in Florida […]
Scott PowersJanuary 27, 2017
3min359
Concerned that wholesale electronic publication of arrest booking pictures on the internet can hang around and hurt the lives of people later found to be innocent, state Sen. Randolph Bracy filed a bill Friday that would restrict internet mugshot publication by Florida law enforcement agencies. Senate Bill 546 particularly focuses on the trend in recent […]
William PatrickJanuary 23, 2017
12min194
It’s a vicious circle: Poor people who can’t afford their court-related costs and penalties incur escalating costs for not paying, further indebting them to the state. “It’s a circle that some people get stuck in and they can’t get out,” Christopher Torres, a Tallahassee defense attorney and former Florida assistant attorney general, told Watchdog.org. Compounding the problem is […]
Scott PowersDecember 9, 20165min502
With his potentially-groundbreaking appointment to chair the Florida Senate Criminal Justice Committee, state Sen. Randolph Bracy is pledging to take an aggressive approach to criminal justice reform in Florida. The Orlando-area Democrat’s chairmanship, announced last week by Republican Senate President Joe Negron, is highly unusual for three reasons: because Bracy is a Democrat, a freshman […]
Peter SchorschJune 14, 2016
7min600
Scoring political points in the immediate aftermath of tragedy is nothing new. The response to the Orlando shooting will surely provide numerous examples in the days ahead, but thanks to Sen. Darren Soto, we already have one of our most egregious examples. Soto, who is currently running for Congress, announced he will hold a press […]
Julie DelegalJanuary 11, 2016
9min196
When President Barack Obama announced his executive actions on guns last week, parents of children slain by bullets stood behind him. Jordan Davis’ mother, Lucia McBath, was one of them. McBath and Ron Davis were thrust into every parent’s nightmare in late 2012 when their 17-year-old son, Jordan, was shot and killed outside a Gate […]