Florida Justice Institute (FJI)

In fy 2023, we went to trial in two of our cases challenging panhandling restrictions adopted by two different cities, representing homeless people challenging those laws as violations of the first amendment, which has the potential to avoid hundreds or thousands of needless arrests each year. We achieved a conditional medical release for a client who was suffering from advanced cancer in prison. We continued monitoring our disability rights settlement with the Florida department of corrections, which helps the approximately 15,000 to 20,000 people in prison with physical disabilities by ensuring they get the accommodations they need to live with dignity, independence, and safety. We filed another lawsuit against another city, seeking to invalidate an anti-panhandling law that was causing hundreds of needless arrests each year, and secured a preliminary injunction enjoining its enforcement. We also investigated the mental health care being provided at a large prison reception center in south Florida following the death of an incarcerated person. This investigation eventually lead to lawsuit being filed on behalf of the man's family, seeking to improve the mental health provided there for the thousands of people with mental health problems that pass through the reception center. We continued advocating for dozens of individuals who contacted us for assistance.