Home » About » Newsletters » September 1998
Highlights of the Legal Docket
A Choice for Women v. Robert A. Butterworth:
On September 11, the ACLU filed an amicus brief in federal district court arguing that Florida's misleadinglynamed "Partial Birth Abortion" law is unconstitutional. The statute was enacted by a legislative override of Gov. Chiles' veto. The Act would subject women and their physicians to the threat of criminal or civil sanctions for termination of a pregnancy, it does not include an exception if an abortion is necessary to protect a woman's health, and it imposes a ban regardless of the stage of pregnancy. A temporary restraining order prohibiting enforcement of the statute was issued by the federal district court in Miami, which is now considering a preliminary injunction.
Adler v. Duval County School Board:
This case challenges the constitutionality of religious exercises at high school graduation ceremonies. On May 28, U.S. District Court Judge William Terrell Hodges denied our motion for preliminary injunction and granted an expedited final judgment for defendants. We appealed to the U.S. Court of Appeals on the same day, and we are awaiting a date for oral argument. The Attorney General of Alabama, represented by the American Center for Law and Justice (ACLJ), Pat Robertson's legal arm, sought to intervene in our appeal. This may be the first instance in which a state (or its chief legal officer) is represented by a sectarian organization. We successfully opposed that intervention; the Court of Appeals granted the Alabama Attorney General permission to file an amicus brief. Cooperating attorneys are William Sheppard and D. Gray Thomas.
Burton v. City of Belle Glade:
This case challenges a history of racially discriminatory property annexation by the City of Belle Glade. A significant portion of Belle Glade's population growth since 1961 is due to the expansion of the City's corporate limits by annexing property in unincorporated areas outside the city. The City has annexed portions of unincorporated Palm Beach County with a population that is only 4% AfricanAmerican. The area the City has chosen not to annex has a population that is 70% AfricanAmerican. This has led to a significantly decreased proportion of AfricanAmerican residents in that City, from about twothirds in 1960 to currently barely 50%. Last year, U.S. District Court Judge Kenneth L. Ryskamp granted summary judgment for defendants, including judgment on claims in which the defendants had not even sought summary judgment, and held undisputed evidence of discrimination inadmissable because it was outside the statute of limitations. Oral argument was held before the U.S. Court of Appeals on August 27. Attorneys are Neil Bradley and Cris Correia of the ACLU Voting Rights Project and Southern Regional Office in Atlanta.
Chad v. Ft. Lauderdale:
This case was filed in November 1993 by the Broward County ACLU Chapter challenging Ft. Lauderdale's treatment of its estimated 5,000 homeless citizens. Based largely on the holding in the ACLU's Pottinger case, the City created a "safe zone" for the homeless in Holiday Park at the beach. The safe zone was moved and there was concern that the City would enforce its rules and regulations against the homeless who continued to congregate in Holiday Park and near the beach. Motions were filed in August 1995. The court issued a ruling in May of this year, granting summary judgment for the City, ruling that the prohibition on begging at and near the Ft. Lauderdale beach is "reasonable in light of the stated purpose in improving the safety, economic viability, and aesthetics of the beach." The court also held that the City's begging prohibition was not unconstitutionally vague or overbroad. The ACLU will be appealing. Cooperating attorneys are Bruce Rogow and Beverly Pohl.
Doe v. State of Florida HRS:
This case challenges the constitutionality under the Florida Constitution of the state's denial of Medicare funding for abortions for lowincome women. Our case has bounced from court to court for seven years on arcane issues of venue and pleadings. A hearing was held in Leon County Circuit Court on June 25 on pending motions, including plaintiffs' motion for summary judgment. Cooperating attorneys for the ACLU are James K. Green, Legislative Staff Counsel Larry Spalding, former Legal Director Nina Vinik and current Legal Director Andrew Kayton, in cooperation with the Center for Reproductive Law and Policy in New York.
Gold v. City of Miami:
The ACLU filed a petition for certiorari in the U.S. Supreme Court in July on claims against Miami police officers who arrested Michael Gold in 1991. Gold, an attorney, had stated, "Miami police don't do shit," after officers ignored his urging that they do something about a woman who wrongfully parked in a handicapped space in a crowded bank parking lot. In retaliation, the police handcuffed and arrested Gold for disturbing the peace and resisting arrest without violence. We are appealing a decision by the Appeals Court which held that the police officers who arrested Gold had qualified immunity from suit and could not be held liable. Attorneys are Joel Perwin, James K. Green, Charles Baron, and Andrew Kayton. In the case against the City, the appeals court reversed a $26,500 jury verdict for the plaintiff on federal civil rights claims, holding that Gold failed to prove the existence of a municipal custom or policy sufficient to warrant liability. Cooperating attorney on this appeal was Charles Baron.
In the Interest of Tiffany McFarlane, A Child:
The ACLU's Pinellas Chapter is defending a juvenile in a criminal case involving the City of Pinellas Park's curfew. In a September 8 Order, Circuit Judge Peter Ramsberger dismissed the charges based on the ACLU's arguments that the juvenile curfew ordinance is unconstitutional. The court held that the curfew violates fundamental rights of parents to raise their children free from undue governmental intrusion. Cooperating attorney is Bruce Howie.
McKinley v. Kaplan and MiamiDade County:
We filed an appeal on behalf of Peggi McKinley, who was fired in September 1997 as a member of the MiamiDade County Film, Print and Broadcast Advisory Board by then County Commissioner Bruce Kaplan, after she commented on the adverse economic impact of a County ban on doing business with Cuba or any company that does business with Cuba. She was commenting on the threatened cancellation of a major Latin American music festival which brings millions of dollars to Miami. ACLU's Greater Miami Chapter filed suit, claiming that McKinley's termination violated her First Amendment rights. In April 1998, Commissioner Kaplan resigned from office as part of a plea bargain on criminal charges. Because the term of office for Kaplan's appointments ended, U.S. District Court Judge Lawrence King dismissed McKinley's case as moot because her reappointment was no longer possible. The judge also denied a motion to amend the complaint to seek damages. Cooperating attorneys are Louis M. Jepeway, Jr., Benjamin Waxman and Andrew Kayton.
Pottinger v. City of Miami:
This action was filed in 1988 by the ACLU's Greater Miami Chapter on behalf of approximately 6,000 homeless persons living in Miami. At the time, Miami police routinely arrested the homeless for sleeping or eating in public places and they destroyed their personal property. In November 1992, U.S. District Court Judge C. Clyde Atkins found that the City violated numerous constitutional provisions. He created a series of "safe zones" for the homeless in Miami. Judge Atkins later found that the City continued to violate the constitutional rights of the homeless, and ordered that the entire City be designated a "safe zone". A historic settlement was reached in January 1998. Lead attorney in this case is Benjamin Waxman.
Smithers v. Florida Elections Commission:
The ACLU filed this action after the Florida Elections Commission began an investigation of Ray Smithers because he produced and distributed bumper stickers which stated, "DUMP PRUITT" (his state representative). Allegedly, this violated the Florida elections code which prohibits anonymous political advertising and advertisements which fail to state that they are a "paid political advertisement." On July 17, Leon County Circuit Court Judge Kevin Davey granted summary judgment in favor of Smithers, permanently enjoining the FEC from further investigation and prosecution and declaring the Florida statute to be inapplicable. The state has appealed. Cooperating attorneys are Legislative Staff Counsel Larry Spalding and Richard E. Johnson.
State of Florida v. Allen and Hutton:
The Pinellas Chapter of the ACLU is defending two members of the UHURU organization, an AfricanAmerican group at the center of disputes with the St. Petersburg police. When the defendants distributed pamphlets announcing UHURU meetings and criticizing the St. Petersburg Police Department, they were charged with violation of a Pinellas County ordinance that prohibits distribution of material within four feet of a sidewalk. On July 10, the Leon County Circuit Court affirmed a County Court decision that the ordinance is unconstitutional. Cooperating attorney is Bruce Howie.
Torres v. Metropolitan Dade County and the City of Miami
(See current edition)
Warner v. City of Boca Raton:
This lawsuit was brought by the ACLU's Palm Beach Chapter on behalf of Protestant, Catholic, and Jewish families who, since 1984, have decorated the grave sites of their deceased family members at the City's municipal cemetery with monuments, statues, and vertical religious symbols, including crosses and Stars of David. The families were notified by the City earlier this year that they must remove the displays or they would be destroyed by the cemetery. The ACLU filed an amended complaint in June in what may be the first claim under the state's new Religious Freedom Restoration Act. This also may be the first case defending principles of religious freedom and expression at a public cemetery. In July, the district court denied a motion to dismiss the plaintiffs' claims. Cooperating attorneys are James K. Green, Lynn G. Waxman and Charlotte Danciu.
Washington v. Arcadia City Council:
Trial was held in July in two ACLU cases challenging voting discrimination in DeSoto County. The suits allege that the atlarge election system of the DeSoto County Commission and Arcadia City Council is designed to dilute the votes of AfricanAmericans. The ACLU had obtained summary judgment in favor of the plaintiffs in 1994, which was reversed last year by the U.S. Court of Appeals. On July 20, U.S. District Court Judge Anne C. Conway granted judgment for the defendants. An appeal is being considered. Cooperating attorneys are Neil Bradley and Cris Correia of the ACLU's Voting Rights Project and Southern Regional Office.
