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Legal Docket Update
Domestic Partnership (Martin v. City of Gainesville): In a victory for equal benefits regardless of sexual orientation, an Alachua County Circuit Court upheld the legality of Gainesville's policy extending health benefits to the same- and opposite-sex unmarried partners of city employees. In a four-page ruling issued on November 12, 2000. Circuit Court Judge Stan R. Morris dismissed a lawsuit filed by the Orlando-based Liberty Counsel that sought to invalidate the city policy in a lawsuit brought on behalf of Gainesville resident Jack Martin. The lawsuit cited Martin's own personal religious and moral objections to the policy. The decision dismissing the case cited Martin's lack of legal "standing," or ability to show that he was impacted by the policy.
Gay Adoption (Lofton v. Kearney) On October 24, 2000, a federal judge in Key West denied the state's motion to dismiss this case, which seeks to overturn a Florida statute that bans homosexuals from adopting children. The plaintiffs whom have been granted standing by the court to challenge Statute § 63.042 (3) include a gay man who has been the legal ward of an eight-year-old boy for the past four years, and a long-term foster parent who has had custody of a nine-year-old boy since infancy. Both plaintiffs submitted applications to adopt the children, but were denied based on their sexual orientation. Lawyers representing all the parties involved in this case have a pre-trial conference scheduled for July 20 at which they will discuss the issues that will be set for trial.
Graduation Prayer (Adler v. Duval County School Board) On October 2, 2000, the U.S. Supreme Court vacated the March 15, 2000 ruling of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit, which held that graduation prayers at school-sponsored events to be constitutional, and sent the case back to the appeals court for further review in light of the Supreme Court's June 2000 decision striking down so-called student-led prayers at football games. Although the Adler case addresses prayer at graduation ceremonies rather than football games, both cases raise similar questions about the constitutionality of permitting students to elect senior class "chaplains" to deliver prayers at school-sponsored events.
Secret Evidence ( Al-Najjar v. Reno) After sitting behind bars for more than three-and-a-half years, Mazen Al-Najjar walked out of a Bradenton detention facility December 15 - nine days after Immigration Judge R. Kevin McHugh ordered his release on $8,000 bond. The stateless Palestinian was jailed on the basis of secret evidence that neither he nor his lawyers ever had a chance to see. Shortly after Judge McHugh granted bail in the case, the INS challenged his release, which was stayed for 24-hours by the Board of Immigration Appeals (BIA). The BIA then vacated the stay, finding that the INS had little likelihood of success on the merits. The INS Commissioner then took the extraordinary step of referring the matter to Attorney General Janet Reno, who eventually ordered his release.
Anonymous Internet Speech ( John Doe v. Hvide) In a case poised to set nationwide precedent, the Third District Court of Appeal ducked the issue by simply denying review of the circuit court's decision ordering Yahoo! and AOL to divulge the names of various John Does who had criticized Hvide, the former chief executive of Hvide Marine in Fort Lauderdale. Hvide filed a libel suit against several anonymous critics, claiming their anonymous postings caused the board of directors to fire him. The ACLU represented Hvide's critics at the appellate level. the case now continues as a libel action against the defendants.
Reproductive Freedom (Renee B. v. AHCA): On April 20, 2000 the First District Court of Appeals upheld a lower-court decision allowing the Florida Agency for Health Care Administration to exclude medically-necessary abortions from Medicaid coverage. However, the three-judge panel of appellate judges, based in Tallahassee, certified the question related to the mothers' privacy rights to the Florida Supreme Court. Oral argument has been re-scheduled for March 29, 2001.
Separation of Church and State/Reproductive Freedom (City of St. Petersburg v. Bayfront Medical Center) The ACLU Foundation of Florida, along with three other civil rights and women's groups, filed suit in August 2000 against the City of St. Petersburg, Bayfront Medical Center and BayCare Health System over the operation of a public hospital that began operating under sectarian health-care directives as a result of a merger with a religiously affiliated hospital. The lawsuit claims that the religious entanglement of the city-owned hospital violates the Establishment Clause of the U.S. Constitution. In December, attorneys representing the civil rights and women's groups succeeded in removing Bayfront Medical Center from the alliance, keeping it free from sectarian control.
