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Legal Updates
Sanchez v. United States (Right to Protest)
The ACLU represented Ramon Saul Sanchez, a hunger striker in Miami, and Movimiento Democracia (Democracy Movement), an organization promoting human rights and a peaceful transition to democracy in Cuba. After filing suit on a First Amendment claim on May 17, the ACLU successfully secured a permit for Sanchez to conduct his hunger strike on federal property. The ACLU also obtained the release of the vessel, Human Rights, which had been confiscated by the U.S. government. Securing the vessel's release was the purpose of Sanchez's hunger strike. The boat was seized under a Presidential Proclamation establishing a national security zone in waters surrounding South Florida. The Miami Herald published an editorial praising the ACLU for its efforts in resolving a locally tense situation.
Doe v. State of Florida HRS (Abortion Rights)
This action, filed in 1993, challenges the constitutionality of the State of Florida's refusal to pay medical costs for terminations of pregnancies for low-income women on Medicaid. In an order dated April 29, 1999, the Florida First District Court of Appeal certified the case to the Florida Supreme Court as an appeal involving issues of "great public importance" or having "a great effect on the proper administration of justice throughout the state."
Warner v. City of Boca Raton (Religious Expression)
In a disappointing ruling issued from the bench on March 31, U.S. District Court Judge Kenneth Ryskamp held that the City of Boca Raton's prohibition against vertical grave markers at the city cemetery did not violate the plaintiffs' constitutional rights or the Florida Religious Freedom Restoration Act. The City ordered vertical religious symbols, statues, crucifixes and Stars of David to be removed or destroyed. This is the first case brought under the new state RFRA. The ACLU intends to appeal the district court's decision.
