Florida Politics - Campaigns & Elections. Lobbying & Government.

Mark FerruloMay 6, 2015

Last week the U.S. Supreme Court rendered a decision in Williams-Yulee v. The Florida Bar that will impact future judicial campaigns across the country. The court upheld a Florida rule that helps keep courts fair and impartial by prohibiting judicial candidates from personally soliciting campaign contributions. This means that the highest court in the land affirmed that […]

Martin DyckmanMay 5, 2015

American politics these days can make one wonder, why bother? Why care? What’s the use of even hoping? In a devastating exposé, “Higher Ed Hustle,” the Miami Herald documents how for-profit private colleges have been ripping off unsuspecting students and calls out politicians in both Tallahassee and Washington for helping the predators feast on the […]

Jac VerSteegMay 4, 2015

Politicians who disagree with Supreme Court rulings frequently point out that the justices are “unelected.” That’s true on both the federal and state levels. Florida House Speaker Steve Crisafulli echoed that disdain with comments after a majority of Florida Supreme Court justices agreed with an opinion written by Justice Barbara Pariente, who wrote that the […]

Jac VerSteegMay 4, 2015

Politicians who disagree with Supreme Court rulings frequently point out that the justices are “unelected.” That’s true on both the federal and state levels. Florida House Speaker Steve Crisafulli echoed that disdain with comments after a majority of Florida Supreme Court justices agreed with an opinion written by Justice Barbara Pariente, who wrote that the […]

Melissa RossApril 28, 2015

As the U.S. Supreme Court hears historic oral arguments on same-sex marriage, Jacksonville’s LGBT activists are growing increasingly vocal in pressing their case for full legal protections. “The change around this issue has happened so quickly,” says Dan Merkan, chairman of the Jax Coalition for Equality. Merkan says the Coalition will continue to advocate for […]

Martin DyckmanApril 21, 2015

The delusional Don Quixote, who fancied himself a knight errant and galloped headstrong into battle with windmills he believed to be giants, has become a metaphor and an adjective – quixotic – for people who dare to pursue impossible dreams. He was, of course, a figure of fiction, not fact. What shall we say, then, […]

Martin DyckmanApril 6, 2015

The original Religious Freedom Restoration Act – RFRA for short – was intended to protect faith-based practices from unnecessary government interference. That’s the opposite of trying to use it to justify faith-based discrimination against others. But of course irony and hypocrisy are hardly strangers to politics. Congress enacted RFRA in 1993 in response to the […]

Martin DyckmanMarch 12, 2015

For 13 years, Florida’s death penalty process has been on thin ice at the U.S. Supreme Court. The Legislature has pretended not to notice even though the state Supreme Court sent an early warning. Now, the ice is cracking. On Monday, the high court agreed to consider whether Florida’s law conflicts with its 2002 opinion […]

Associated PressMarch 11, 2015

Nearly 8 million people could lose up to $24 billion a year in health insurance subsidies in a Supreme Court case threatening President Barack Obama‘s law, according to a government report released Tuesday. The estimates by The Associated Press show what’s at stake in the case. The biggest potential loser would be Florida, with nearly 1.5 […]

James CallMarch 5, 2015

Another skirmish in the battle over how Florida’s congressional districts were drawn played out Wednesday at the Florida Supreme Court. Sen. Bill Galvano emerged from the courtroom confident that the justices would uphold a plan approved by a lower court judge. David King represents the League of Women Voters which spearheaded a Fair Districts Constitutional […]

Tag: Supreme Court
Alexandra Islas. Image via New College of Florida.

Mark Ferrulo: Ruling on judicial campaigns underscores need for fair, impartial courts

Martin Dyckman: Supreme Court failing to cure the terminal illness of American democracy

Jac Wilder VerSteeg: “Unelected” high court chides House for unelecting itself

Jac Wilder VerSteeg: Unelected Supreme Court chastises House members for unelecting themselves

Jax equality coalition: “Hearts and minds” changing rapidly

Martin Dyckman: Mailman delivers message; cash delivers Congress

Martin Dyckman: Religious freedom isn't license to discriminate

Martin Dyckman: Will U.S. Supreme Court rule Florida’s death penalty unconstitutional?

Florida has most to lose in Obamacare subsidy case

Five minutes with David King, counsel for League of Women Voters Florida