Florida Civil Legal UPDATE

On December 11, family, friends, and co-workers of Paul Doyle, and others from the Florida legal community, gathered at the main office of Florida Legal Services, Inc. in Tallahassee for the dedication of the Paul Doyle Justice Center.

The building dedication capped an ambitious capital campaign that ensures that statewide legal services, and the clients we represent, will always have a permanent home in the state’s capital city.  Thanks to FLS staffer Bonnie Koon, there are pictures from the night after the break.

Read the rest of this entry »

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.

A very special note from Dorene Barker:

Finally! After many sessions of lobbying to restore waiver of filing fees for the poor, we were able to finally restore it!! As most of you know, FLS has made this a number one priority since it was removed during the Article V rewrite. Congratulations to  Ann Perko, FLS substantive expert  who conducted the research, drafted all the materials, testified at  the hearings and walked the Capitol corridors with us (and of course Kent who was always providing excellent guidance behind the scenes!)  Ann, Arthur & I took it as far as we could and handed it off to the Florida Bar.  Florida Bar Lobbyists, Steve Metz and Josh Doyle expertly navigated the budget process and came out with a huge win for poor Floridians. This would not have happened with out them!! Many of you have contributed directly to this legislative victory. I truly believe that all of your contributions played a very significant role and for that WE at FLS wish to thank you for taking the time to talk, write letters and visit with your local legislators and leadership about waiver!!  A special thanks to Mary Anne De Petrillo who was always ready to assist with whatever request was made of her and for keeping the faith!!! Thank you!!

TheLedger.com reported on the events leading to the restoration of the waiver.  It’s a good thing this will occur.  As you will also see in the article, many court fees are also being increased.

One exception to higher court filing fees will be the waiver for people who can show they are indigent, which is expected to cost taxpayers $4 million a year.

“We thought we’d join the other 49″ states, said Senate Ways and Means Chairman J.D. Alexander, R-Lake Wales. “We felt that we wanted to do our best to make sure that no matter what your situation you have the ability to access our courts. We think that’s an important principle.”

The waiver was part of the Senate’s court fee bill but not included in the House’s version. The fee for filing a tenant case also will drop from $265 to $180.

We have been asked to expand our offerings.  We will gladly do so.  Much of the content of this blog will make its way to the Civil Legal UPDATE email on the second and fourth Friday of the month.  This blog is available for comments, thoughts, feedback, and a different way for us to communicate with one another.