Florida Civil Legal UPDATE

Just got this from Donna Graf and had to share.  Everyone in Orlando is going Magic-crazy.  Including the Legal Aid Society of the Orange County Bar Association, Inc.

From their building:

Civil Filing Fees Waiver Restored in SB 1718 - By Ann Perko

FLS is happy to report that Gov. Crist signed SB 1718 on May 27, 2009, which means that the waiver of civil filing fees for indigent clients has been officially restored into law. After five years of lobbying and legal work by FLS, all the legal services and legal aid programs, and our allies, the Florida Association of Women’s Lawyers, SB 1718 was negotiated during the conference to include waiver. We thank everyone who helped us during this long process, but need to recognize the tremendous work of Steve Metz and Josh Doyle who represented our interests along with the interests of the courts on behalf of the Florida Bar.

Application for Indigent Status:
Your client’s process of applying for indigent status should not change. However, once the person has been found indigent under s 57.082, the filing fee will be completely waived under new language in 57.081(1).

Payment Plan:
New language in 57.082(6) provides that filing fees that are waived should not be included in a payment plan.  If there are other fees or costs that your client is faced with paying, those costs should be included in a payment plan if your client is unable to pay for them prior to filing the case.

Delay of Case:
Aside from the filing fee, any remaining costs are still not required to be paid up front. The law was amended to provide that the case may not be impeded in any way… due to nonpayment of any fees or costs by an indigent person. F.S. 57.082(6)

Recovery of Fees by Prevailing Party
The law was amended to provide that if a prevailing party is awarded costs in an action, that those costs should be applied to filing fees or costs that have not been paid. F.S. 57.081(3)

The changes to 57.081 and 57.082 appear in green underline and are as follows, after the break: Read the rest of this entry »

Southern Legal Counsel (SLC), Florida Institutional Legal Services (FILS), and the National Law Center on Homelessness & Poverty (NLCHP) filed a lawsuit in federal court today on behalf of a class of homeless plaintiffs challenging the constitutionality of a number of ordinances and practices that target homeless individuals living in St. Petersburg.

Since early 2007, St. Petersburg has passed six ordinances that target homeless individuals, including four different ones that make it unlawful to sleep, lie down or recline outside at various locations throughout the city and prohibiting the use of temporary shelters. The other ordinances outlaw panhandling throughout most of downtown and prohibit the storage of personal belongings on public property.

“The City of St. Petersburg has essentially turned the issue of homelessness over to the criminal justice system. Subjecting homeless individuals to an endless cycle of arrest, incarceration and homelessness under these city ordinances and practices wastes valuable city and county resources and is ineffective in addressing the root causes of homelessness,” said Kirsten Clanton, a staff attorney at SLC.

According to the 2007 Pinellas County Coalition for the Homeless’ Annual Homeless Count and Survey, there are 5,195 homeless individuals, 1,221 of which are unsheltered, living in Pinellas County. Approximately 40%, or 1,700, of those individuals reside primarily in the City of St. Petersburg. The 2009 Pinellas County Coalition for the Homeless’ Annual Count and Survey documented a 20% increase in the total number of sheltered and unsheltered homeless individuals living in Pinellas County. Without adequate shelter space or affordable housing, many homeless St. Petersburg residents are forced to live outside.

The named plaintiffs in the suit have been cited or arrested for a wide range of activities they must do to survive. In addition, police have banned plaintiffs from certain public parks, have unlawfully searched them, and have penalized some for having property in public spaces.

“The City of St. Petersburg’s use of the county jail to “solve” the issue of homelessness is counterproductive, inefficient and expensive. It actually makes the situation worse because criminal convictions create additional barriers for those who struggle to obtain stable and safe housing,” said Peter Sleasman, a staff attorney at FILS.

SLC, FILS, and NLCHP assert that the ordinances and practices used to target the plaintiffs violate a wide range of constitutional protections, from the Eighth Amendment right to be free from cruel and unusual punishment, to the right to travel, to free speech rights. The groups also claim that certain of the challenged measures are void for vagueness, violate the Fourth Amendment right to be free from unreasonable searches and seizures, and violate equal protection rights.

“While we unfortunately see many communities across the country criminalizing homelessness, what has been happening in St. Petersburg over the past couple years is one of the worst examples nationally of widespread abuse of homeless persons’ civil and human rights,” said Tulin Ozdeger, NLCHP’s Civil Rights Director.

The plaintiffs are seeking an injunction to stop enforcement of the ordinances and practices at issue and a declaration of the unconstitutionality of these practices.

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Southern Legal Counsel, Inc. (SLC) is a not-for-profit public interest law firm that is committed to the ideal of equal justice for all. SLC seeks to make this ideal a reality by providing legal representation to selected individuals and groups who otherwise would not have access to the justice system and whose cases may bring about systemic reform for the benefit of others similarly situated. SLC litigates on behalf of a diverse group of clients, including children and adults with disabilities, public housing tenants, residents of state institutions, historic communities, public school students, and others who have been denied access to the courts.

Florida Institutional Legal Services, Inc. (FILS) is a not-for-profit legal aid office providing legal assistance to individuals in jails, prisons and other state institutions. One of FILS’s missions is to reduce incarceration by combating counterproductive laws that criminalize homelessness. FILS believes that federal, state and local governments can reduce costly institutionalization by adopting policies that promote stable housing and employment for those at risk of incarceration.

The National Law Center on Homelessness & Poverty (NLCHP) was established in June 1989, two years after Congress passed the McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance Act, the first comprehensive federal legislation addressing the problems of homelessness. NLCHP’s Executive Director, Maria Foscarinis, played a major role in the Act’s passage.

NLCHP’s mission is to prevent and end homelessness by serving as the legal arm of the nationwide movement to end homelessness. To achieve its mission, NLCHP pursues three main strategies: impact litigation, policy advocacy, and public education.

Late last month we hosted a training entitled “Essential Skills for Paralegals and Support Staff.”  I’m told that this was the first time in the memory of many that we’ve held a statewide training geared specifically toward our non-attorney staff in Florida.  As a trainer at the event, I want to use my megaphone here to tell you all that this experience was important.  And it should be repeated with regular frequency.  I’m told that a special thanks is owed to Ronda Fuqua, Sharon Ferguson, and Kathy Grunewald for their vision and persistence in making this training happen.

We are normally limited to accepting about 32 students for these CLAE-led trainings.  And at times we struggle to reach that number.  Within three days of posting information about the Paralegal & Support Staff training, we had already filled all available slots.  We had to ask CLAE to enlarge the student pool, which they graciously did, to nearly 50.  We still had a wait list and many fine applicants did not get to attend the April event.  Kathy Grunewald and Sharon Ferguson are looking for ways to repeat this training sooner rather than later.  I’ll keep you posted on their efforts.

Since the end of the training, emails have been pouring in with thanks and gratitude from the students.  Sarah Foweler of JALA stated the thanks first (and hopefully she won’t mind me sharing her words with all of you):

On behalf of the ’student body,’ we extend our sincere gratitude to FLS training staff, program attorneys, and all other administrative staff for developing this training curriculum for us.  It was very instructive, enlightening, and challenging :)    I’m sure everyone gleaned something constructive from just being there networking and conversing with other program staff members.   It was definitely needed and much appreciated.  Here’s to many more!

Also, a special ‘THANK YOU’ to SHARON FERGUSON for her persistant efforts in making this training a reality.  It would not have been possible without you. Keep up the good work!

And, finally, to our program directors and supervisors for allowing so many of us to attend the training at the same time (in spite of almost closing up shop until we returned), we thank you!

I’m reminded of the sheer importance of our professional paralegal and support staff to the work that we do.  My thanks and deep appreciation to you all.  Fabulous photos after the break.

Read the rest of this entry »

The Civil Rights Division of the Florida Attorney General’s Office recently invited a representative of the Florida civil legal aid delivery system to the Capitol to accept an honor on behalf of the entire system concerning our fair housing advocacy.  Kris Knab, Executive Director of Legal Services of North Florida, was presented by the Attorney General, Governor, and other members of the Florida Cabinet with a resolution that recognizes the our collective work in fighting housing discrimination and predatory lending practices.  Ms. Knab thanked the AG and others on behalf of the delivery system.  Pics after the jump. Read the rest of this entry »

Miriam Harmatz was the lead counsel in a complex class action on behalf of Florida Medicaid recipients in which she ultimately prevailed against ACHA.  Boiling the case down to its main holding, the result of the litigation is that patients in the Medicaid system will be able to continue to access the drug Neurontin.  As ancillary relief, Miriam, along with co-counsel Jane Perkins, Neil Kodsi, Shawn Boehringer, and Jennifer Wimberly, secured a fee award from Florida ACHA in the amount of $288,336.

For much more background and to read the details, check out the Order on Plaintiff’s Motion for Attorneys’ Fees and Litigation Expenses, here in PDF.

Four years ago, Michelle Trunkett and Jeffrey Hearne became the co-chairs of the Housing Umbrella Group.  I’ve mentioned many times that the HUG group has been the most active of our statewide umbrella groups and an example of what all of this technology, when combined with commitment, makes possible.  I received word earlier this year through Jeff that Michelle would be stepping down as co-chair.

Michelle Trunkett

From Jeffrey Hearne:

Those of you who were at the February meeting know that Michelle Trunkett has
resigned from being the HUG co-chair.   Without any knowledge of what we were
doing, Michelle and I became the co-chairs of HUG way back in 2005.  Over
these years, Michelle has volunteered time she didn’t really have to make sure
that the umbrella group had our monthly conference calls and annual trainings.
We all owe her a huge thank you for her service over the past four years.

Amidst the sad news (for HUG) that Michelle is stepping down, there is a silver lining.  Deborah Rivera from Three Rivers has stepped up and agreed to co-chair the group with Jeff.  We love a happy ending!  Good luck in all your endeavors, Michelle, and thank you for all you’ve done to advance the cause of justice.

By: Jeffrey Hearne, LSGMI

In August 2007, the United States Department of Housing and Urban Development announced it would take control of the Miami Dade Housing Agency (MDHA) because of financial and operational mismanagement.  After HUD’s takeover, MDHA’s Section 8 voucher program became completely dysfunctional — tenants’ housing assistance was terminated before MDHA held termination hearings, tenants could not timely obtain paperwork required to move with the housing assistance, the Section 8 office was closed without notice, and tenants were being terminated from the program without fair hearings.  MDHA’s failures created financial and emotional turmoil for many Section 8 participants, and in the worst cases, resulted in homelessness.

Despite numerous demands by attorneys from Legal Services of Greater Miami, MDHA and the HUD Oversight Administrator failed to take action to correct these significant problems.  In July 2008, LSGMI and Florida Legal Services filed a lawsuit in federal court on behalf of three single mothers who were improperly terminated from the Section 8 voucher program.  The lawsuit asked the Court to order MDHA to restore the women’s rental assistance and to order MDHA to make permanent changes to the operation of the Section 8 program.  The lawsuit also sought to recover money for the clients’ economic and emotional damages.

Immediately after the lawsuit was filed, MDHA agreed to restore the clients’ rental assistance.  After an early mediation, the parties reached a settlement which included $60,000 for our clients.  The settlement also included several systemic changes to the program’s operation.  These changes include specific timeframes for MDHA to process the paperwork which allows participants to move, specific timeframes for MDHA to approve new housing, and administrative safeguards to ensure that the housing subsidy will not be terminated without due process.  The county also agreed that this settlement will apply to the private company it recently hired to operate the Section 8 program.  This settlement will ensure that Section 8 participants in Miami Dade County will no longer have to worry about whether their housing assistance will stop without notice and they can be confident they will continue to benefit from this valuable government housing program.  This case was handled by LSGMI Senior Attorney Jeffrey Hearne and Charles Elsesser from Florida Legal Services.

We offer our sincere congratulations to Mary Anne on being selected as the 2009 William Trickel, Jr. Professionalism Award Recipient by her peers in the Orange County Bar.

This, from the Orange County Bar Associaton:

Mary Anne Curtis De Petrillo was born January 11, 1952 in Jacksonville, Florida. The eldest of six children born to a career U.S. Marine, she grew up living primarily in Southern California, the Eastern Carolinas, and Florida where her father was stationed. Before going to college, she attended nine different schools, including three high schools. Her parents wanted her schooled by Jesuit priests and so the decision was made that she attend a Jesuit college in Spring Hill College in Mobile, Alabama. There she spent four happy years, graduating Magna Cum Laude with a B.S. in Political Science in 1974. When it was time for law school, Loyola University in New Orleans became the Jesuit school of choice. She graduated from Loyola with a J.D. degree in 1977.

Mary Anne remembers very clearly the day she decided to become an attorney. It was the day President Kennedy was assassinated. She still remembers the gripping, momentary fear that the country would fall into violence and chaos. Yet, the knowledge of our system of government came back to her as a quiet comfort. She knew from her studies that the defenders of our form of government, those who would protect the Constitution, and especially the Bill of Rights, were members of the legal profession. She became determined on that day to become one of them. The turmoil of the 1960s only reinforced her desire to serve the country through the legal profession.

After law school, Mary Anne took a position as a legal aid lawyer for two years until the program ran out of money. She was offered a position at an AV rated firm in the same community, where later she became a partner and a very active pro bono attorney. At age thirty two, she realized she wanted to go back to practicing poverty law full time; she answered an advertisement for a Litigation Director at the Legal Aid Society of the Orange County Bar Association and began in March 1984. Mary Anne became Executive Director in 1985 and was charged with ensuring that the four-attorney organization became the best public interest law firm possible with a strong pro bono component. Since that time, the firm has grown to 18 attorneys and 24 support staff, with more than 900 attorney-volunteers providing quality legal services to literally thousands of low income clients and abused and neglected dependent children annually.

Mary Anne has been an active volunteer throughout her career in local and statewide bar association, non- profits, and other groups. She currently serves on the Florida Legal Services Board of Directors and the Community Leadership Council of the Howard Phillips Center for Children and Families. She has been married since 1978 to John De Petrillo, an artist and the Exhibit Coordinator for the Orange County History Center. They have one child, David, who resides with his wife, Kelly, and daughter, Skyler, in Amherst, New Hampshire.

The Public Interest Law Section

presents

“Sealing and Expungement of Criminal Records”

Presenter:  Jorge Tormes, Americorps Attorney at Three Rivers Legal Services and Tamara Gray, Miami Public Defender’s Office
Telephonic CLE
Thursday – March 26, 2009
12:10 p.m. – 1:00 p.m.

Introduction to Sealing and Expungement: What it does and does not do for your clients; When disclosure is required even if records have been sealed or expunged; Qualifying for Sealing and Expungement; Procedures for Applying; Special Issues Related to Juveniles.

Telephone Conferencing
(Call-in information will be sent BY EMAIL to registrants prior to the seminar.)

CLE Credit:
1.0 hour   General
1.0 hour    Ethics

Download the attached registration form in PDF format.