JURIST - Florida

The US Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit ruled Wednesday that Florida Governor Rick Scott cannot require all state employees to take random drug tests. Executive Order 11-58, issued in March 2011, would subject all state employees to drug testing, regardless of whether they were suspected o....... [more]

The US Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit on Monday upheld a lower court ruling blocking enforcement of a Florida law that denies government contracts to companies that do business in Cuba or Syria. The law was challenged last year by Odebrecht Construction, a Brazilian company that would be....... [more]

The Florida House and Senate both passed a bill (HB 7013) on Friday to extend the state's early voting period. The bill revises election law to allow elections supervisors to hold 14 days of early voting instead of the current maximum amount of eight days. The bill also increases the sites where ear....... [more]

The Florida Supreme Court ruled Thursday that police need a warrant to search a defendant's cell phone at the time of arrest. The court ruled 5-2 that officers were permitted to confiscate the defendant's cell phone, but that they should have obtained a warrant before looking at pictures on the phon....... [more]

US President Barack Obama on Tuesday renewed his pledge to make an effort to close the detention center at Guantanamo Bay. At a news conference Tuesday, Obama was asked about the ongoing hunger strike, now involving 100 of the 166 detainees. He responded, "Well, it is not a surprise to me that we....... [more]

The Guatemalan Constitutional Court on Tuesday ordered Judge Jasmine Barrios to annul the case of former Guatemalan dictator General Efrain Rios Montt over the genocide of Mayan Indians. The Constitutional Court also ordered the case sent back to Judge Carol Patricia Flores, who now has 24 to 48 ho....... [more]

On March 29, 2006, the US Senate voted 90-8 in favor of a lobbying reform bill — the Legislative Transparency and Accountability Act of 2006. The impetus for the legislation was a massive corruption scandal revolving around lobbyist Jack Abramoff, who was sentenced in a Florida fraud case on th....... [more]

The US Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit on Tuesday upheld the constitutionality of a Florida city commission's pre-meeting prayers, in turn rejecting an atheist group's argument that such a public forum practice illegally promoted Christianity. Although the group, Atheists of Florida, Inc....... [more]

The US Supreme Court ruled Tuesday in Florida v. Jardines that an alert from a narcotics detection dog on the front porch of suspect's house constitutes a search within the meaning of the Fourth Amendment. The ruling upheld the Florida Supreme Court, which held that evidence gathered pursuant to s....... [more]

On March 24, 2010, the US District Court for the Southern District of Florida revoked a stay of extradition for Manuel Noriega, the former military leader and ruler of Panama. While Noriega was incarcerated in the US, France requested his extradition on charges of money laundering. US Secretary of S....... [more]

On March 20, 2005, the US Senate passed legislation to move Terri Schiavo's case into the federal court system. Schiavo was a woman living in a vegetative state in Florida whose parents and husband engaged in an eight year battle over extending her life support, which became the centerpiece of a hig....... [more]