50 YEARS OF PROTECTING

FREEDOM IN FLORIDA

A history of the first half-century

of the ACLU of Florida

Freedom of Speech and Expression

Letter from the Executive Director

11

Freedom of the Press

The Right to Privacy

15

Criminal Justice, Due Process

and Police Practices

18

Religious Freedom and Separation

of Church and State

Equal Protection of the Laws

21

Staff and Board

The Right to Vote

CONTENTS

50 Years of Protecting Freedom in Florida

In 1965, members of ACLU chapters in Miami,
Gainesville and Tampa came together to prepare
to fight the challenges of the day. A paranoid anticommunist climate and the roiling civil rights
battles across the state and nation brought these
chapters together to form the ACLU of Florida.
As described in the 1965 charter, the organizations
mission was: To uphold the guarantees of freedom
of speech, press, assembly, religion, and thought,
as provided in the United States Constitution
and Bill of Rights and to uphold the Florida
State Constitution and Declaration of Rights; to
uphold due process of law and equal protection
under the law as provided by the Constitution; to
encourage an appreciation of our basic liberties;
to perpetuate, through a program of education and
positive action, respect and devotion for freedom
and liberty.
In the half-century that followed the writing of
those words, the ACLU of Florida played a vital
role in many of the civil rights fights that have
defined Florida politics and shaped the rights and
freedoms that Floridians today hold dear.
The names and faces have changed, and so have
the specific issues that the battles are fought
over, but one constant has remained: the ACLU of
Florida standing against violations of Floridians
fundamental rights.
In 2015, the ACLU of Florida is celebrating its 50th
anniversary. This book describes some of the key
cases and projects that the ACLU of Florida has
taken on its first half century, as well as photos
and images from the ACLU of Floridas archives.

Plaque honoring the founders of the Miami Chapter, who

established what later became the ACLU of Florida. The
plaque hangs in the ACLUs Miami office.

Program from a 1960 ACLU dinner held in Miami. In 1965,

several local ACLU chapters in Florida joined together to form
the ACLU of Florida.

50 Years of Protecting Freedom in Florida

Dear ACLU Supporter,

The American Civil Liberties Union
of Florida was founded a half century ago in August 1965. This
document recounts only some of
the highlights of civil liberties issues fought by the ACLU of Florida
over the last 50 years. In most of
the lawsuits, the ACLU directly defended people whose
rights had been violated by public officials or by some
state or local agency.
In other cases, the ACLU filed friend-of-the-court briefs
urging a court to uphold constitutional principles. The
common denominator was that the involvement of the
ACLU made the difference in the outcome. In addition
to legal challenges, some of our efforts helped shape
public policies through a strategic combination of communications, public education, lobbying and advocacy.
In 50 years of struggles, there are so many people to
thank too many to honor, too many heroes and heroines to name. These pages recount some of the stories
of the work of volunteers and staff who changed lives
by advancing constitutional freedoms. Ours is a story
of teamwork from those who argued cases in court,
to those who answered telephones or licked envelopes,
to those who solicited and who made
generous contributions to make this critical work possible. To all, the
people of Florida owe a debt of gratitude for their commitment to freedom.

Howard L. Simon
Executive Director,
American Civil Liberties Union of Florida

ACLU Attorney Howard Dixon,

founding Board Member of
the ACLUs Miami Chapter

From the decision of Chief

Judge James Lawrence King
in Cuban Museum of Arts and
Culture v. City of Miami (S.D.
Fla. 1991).

...It is ironic
that the curtailment
and punishment
of expression in
this case is the
result of actions
taken by those who
claim to so loathe
the governmental
intolerance existing
in a communist
Cuba.

ACLU Attorney Maurice

Rosen

A m e ri c a n C i v i l L i b e r t i e s U n i o n o f F l o r i d a

Freedom of Speech and Expression

1961 Compelled Loyalty Oaths: The ACLU represented David Cramp, Jr. who had been
employed for more than nine years as an Orange County public school teacher when it was
discovered that he had never signed the State Loyalty Oath. Florida law required every public
employee to execute a written oath swearing never to lend aid, support, advice, counsel or
influence to the Communist Party. Failure to execute the oath would result in immediate
discharge. Cramp refused to sign the Oath. The ACLU brought action in state court to have the
Oath declared unconstitutional and to bar the Orange County Board of Public Instruction from
discharging him. The circuit court held the statute constitutional; the Florida Supreme Court
affirmed, and the U.S. Supreme Court declared the mandatory Loyalty Oath unconstitutional.
Cramp v. Board of Public Instruction (U. S. Supreme Court 1961)

1989 Censorship of the Curriculum: Columbia County High School offered a two-semester
course for juniors and seniors in western art, thought and literature. In 1985, a minister and his
wife, parents of a student, filed a complaint with the School Board about the course textbook
that contained required and optional reading. They charged that the text contained excessively
vulgar language and sexually explicit subject matter. The offending material, which was
neither required nor assigned, was Aristophanes Lysistrata and Chaucers The Millers Tale. In
response to the complaint, the Board adopted a policy on challenged textbooks and appointed
an advisory committee to review the book. The Committee recommended the textbook be
retained in the curriculum, but that the two selections not be assigned as required reading.
The School Board ignored the recommendation, and the principal placed the textbooks in
locked storage, though it was available in the school library. Other parents, represented by
the ACLU, filed suit seeking an injunction. The District Court upheld the Boards authority to
remove the textbooks as reasonably related to a legitimate pedagogical concern. The
Appeals Court affirmed the District Court (our role is not to second guess the wisdom of the
Boards action), though the Court questioned how young persons can be harmed by these
masterpieces of Western literature. Virgil v. School Board of Columbia County (U. S. Court of
Appeals, 11th Circuit 1989)

1991 Censorship of the Arts: The ACLU successfully represented the Cuban Museum of Arts
and Culture and several of its directors after the Miami City Commission voted unanimously
to terminate the Museums lease and evict it from a City-owned building because it exhibited
works by artists living in Cuba. The federal court ruled that the Museums exhibit and auction
of art without regard to the artists political beliefs and ideology was constitutionally protected
expression. The Court also found that the City Commission was influenced by community outcry
over the art when it decided to end the museums lease. The Museum had also been bombed
in 1988 and 1990. The First Amendment, the Court noted, must assure that government does
not curtail valid expression because a majority, a plurality, or any segment of its constituency
wishes to prohibit or penalize that expression...It is ironic that the curtailment and punishment
of expression in this case is the result of actions taken by those who claim to so loathe the
governmental intolerance existing in a communist Cuba. Cuban Museum of Arts and Culture
v. City of Miami (S.D. Fla. 1991)

50 Years of Protecting Freedom in Florida

1991 Free Speech and a Hostile Workplace: The ACLU filed an amicus brief in the U.S. Court
of Appeals on behalf of Jacksonville Shipyards, Inc. in an appeal of a district court decision
that found a hostile work environment and harassing conduct when employees brought
sexually explicit pictures and reading material to work. The trial court ordered JSI to adopt a
policy which among other things forbade: Sexual or discriminatory displays or publications
anywhere in JSIs workplace by employees, such as: (1) displaying pictures, posters, calendars,
graffiti, objects, promotional materials, reading materials, or other materials that are sexually
suggestive, sexually demeaning, or pornographic, or bringing into the JSI work environment
or possessing any such material to read, display or view at work; and (2) reading or otherwise
publicizing in the work environment materials that are in any way sexually revealing, sexually
suggestive, sexually demeaning or pornographic. The ACLU argued that the finding of liability
and the injunction violated the free speech rights of the companys employees, and that the
court should remand for reconsideration of whether the evidence was sufficient to support
a finding of sexual harassment, and if so, to enter an injunction that forbade targeted sexual
harassment only, which would not violate the free speech rights of individual employees,
for example restricting what employees read during their breaks. Robinson v. Jacksonville
Shipyards, Inc. (M.D. Fla. 1991)
1992 Censorship of Rap Music: The ACLU filed an amicus brief on behalf of Luther Campbell
and 2 Live Crew, a rap group known for raunchy and misogynist lyrics, in their successful first
amendment appeal from a federal court judgment that declared their popular album, As
Nasty As They Wanna Be obscene. The Court of Appeals held the album was artistic speech
protected by the first amendment, and the U. S. Supreme Court denied review, ending Broward
County Sheriff Nick Navarros threats to arrest album sellers and the groups performers.
Luke Records, Inc. v. Navarro (11th Circuit, U. S. Court of Appeals; cert. denied U.S. Supreme
Court, 1992). The ACLU also represented a record store owner who was arrested for selling a
2 Live Crew record album to an undercover police officer.
1995 Anonymous Political Speech: Jensen Beach residents Ray Smithers and Jerry
Trowbridge, successful gay businessmen, met with their State Representative, Ken Pruitt.
The meeting didnt go well. According to Smithers and Trowbridge, Pruitt made derogatory
remarks about gays and threw them out of his office. In Pruitts version, he denied saying
anything disparaging about gays, but thought the clients were rude and asked them to leave.
Smithers and Trowbridge later printed several hundred Dump Pruitt, Free Sticker, Call (407)
334-6556 bumper stickers, placed them on their cars and distributed them, but collected
no money. Pruitt filed a complaint with the Florida Elections Commission claiming they
were a Political Committee that did not register as required by law, a provision that prohibits
anonymous campaign literature. The Elections Commission ruled in Pruitts favor, and ordered
the clients to cease and desist. The ACLU appealed to the Court of Appeal which held that,
despite the absence of paid political advertisement from bumper stickers, a threat of fines
violated the First Amendment. The case against Smothers and Trowbridge was ultimately
settled and dismissed. Smithers v. Florida Elections Commission (2d Jud. Cir., Leon County, Fla.
1998 DCA)

Luther Campbell of 2 Live

Crew and defense attorney
Bruce Rogow rejoice in a
Fort Lauderdale courtroom
October 20, 1990, as they
hear the not-guilty verdict in
Campbells obscenity case.
Bruce Rogow has served as
cooperating attorney in many
key ACLU cases. (Photograph
by Bill Cooke)

ACLU Attorney Tobias Toby

Simon

A concertgoer attending the

1999 performance of the
Cuban band Los Van Van in
Miami gives protesters the
universal salute as he
enters the concert at the
Miami Arena.

Successful ACLU work in

the courts lifted a court
imposed gag order, allowing
Brothers to the Rescue
exile leader Jose Basult
to commemorate the 5th
anniversary of the shoot
down by Cuban military
planes.

A m e ri c a n C i v i l L i b e r t i e s U n i o n o f F l o r i d a

1997 Censorship of Student Art: Inspired by the works of Botero, and with her teachers
permission, Rebecca Antolak, a 17-year old student in the magnet performing arts program
of Broward Countys Dillard High School, created an eight-foot wire and plaster sculpture
of an anatomically correct nude male for a display in the school lobby. When some staff
members and students complained that they found it embarrassing or offensive, the principal
ordered her to cover it with a tarp. When she refused, it was removed, leaving other student
art work depicting female nudes on display. The ACLU filed suit in federal court seeking
damages for Antolak and an order declaring such censorship and the school policy under
which it occurred to be unconstitutional. Antolak received compensation, and ultimately her
sculpture was shown at the Museum of Art Fort Lauderdale. Antolak v. Broward County School
Board (U.S. District Court 1997)

2000 Banning Cuban Artists and Musicians: When City officials blocked the Cuban band
Los Van Van from performing in Miami as the final stop on the nationwide tour, the ACLU
represented the Bands promoter and secured the Miami Arena for the concert. The ACLU
also successfully ended the ban on performances by Cuban artists in Miami-Dade County
that was enforced by an ordinance banning the use of facilities by anyone doing business with
Cuba. Miami Light Project v. Miami-Dade County (S.D. Fla. 2000)

2001 Court Imposed Gag Order: Acting on behalf of Cuban exile leader Jose Basulto, the
ACLU secured a ruling lifting a gag order imposed by a federal judge who was presiding over
the trial of suspected Cuban spies. The courts order was aimed at stopping Basulto and
other members of Brothers to the Rescue from making a memorial flight to Martyrs Point
in international waters in the Florida Straits to commemorate the fifth anniversary of the
killing of four civilians whose Cessnas were attacked by Cuban military planes. The plan was
for aircraft, accompanied by the press, to drop flowers and leaflets, including the Universal
Declaration of Human Rights, and that prevailing winds would carry the leaflets to Havana.
Basulto had made the memorial flight each year since the 1997 shoot down, and was to be
one of the primary witnesses in the highly-publicized case in which defendants were charged
with spying and involvement in the shoot down. Due to ACLUs quick appeal to the 11th Circuit,
Basulto and Brothers to the Rescue were able to have their commemorative flights. U.S. v.
Hernandez (11th Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals 2001)

2003 Political Free Speech: The ACLU has represented a number of Cuban exile groups
of various political orientations and organizations of former political prisoners (including
Brigade 2056, Brothers to the Rescue, Movimiento Democracia) to defend their right to protest
the Castro government, U.S. policies toward Cuba and the presence of Cuban artists in Miami
during the 2003 Latin Grammys awards ceremony in Miami.

2006 Academic Freedom: The Florida Legislature banned travel for academic research in
countries on the State Departments list of countries supporting terrorism. The ban included
travel funded by grants from foundations. The intent of the legislation was to limit research and
travel to Cuba. Acting on behalf faculty at several Florida universities and the Faculty Senate

50 Years of Protecting Freedom in Florida

of Florida International University, the ACLU successfully challenged the legislation; the State
appealed. The federal appellate court reversed the district court, and the U.S. Supreme Court
declined to review the case. Faculty Senate of Florida International University v. Florida
2008 Student Free Speech: The ACLU represented high school student Heather Gilman,
whose speech was censored by school officials. Gilman supported equal treatment and
acceptance of gays and lesbian students at her high school and expressed her beliefs with
phrases and symbols. On her book binders and T-shirts she displayed messages such as
Equal, Not Special Rights, Gay? Fine By Me, Gay Pride, I Support My Gay Friends, and
God Loves Me Just the Way I Am, along with stickers showing rainbows and pink triangles.
School officials banned these expressions as disruptive. Following a trial, a federal district
judge ruled in Gilmans favor and cited the high school principal for engaging in a witch hunt
against gay students. Gillman ex rel. Gillman v. School Bd. for Holmes County, Fla. (N.D. Fla.
2008)
2009 Library Book Censorship: The Miami-Dade School Board banned a childrens travel
book, Vamos a Cuba, from school libraries, claiming that the book was inaccurate. The
book did not reflect views about Cuba held by a majority of the School Board. The ACLU
challenged the removal, and prevailed in the trial court, but a panel of the 11th U.S. Circuit
Court of Appeals reversed. The U.S. Supreme Court declined to hear the appeal, leaving in
place the right of the School Board to remove the books from the library shelves based on
citizen objections to content. American Civil Liberties Union et. al. v. Miami-Dade School Board
(U.S. Supreme Court 2009)
2009 Commercial Free Speech: The ACLU sued the City of Clearwater on behalf of the
owners of a bait and tackle shop whose marine-themed mural on the outside wall of their
shop was cited as improper signage as was the First Amendment banner they hung over
the mural to protest the Citys citation! The district court entered a permanent injunction,
prohibiting Clearwater from banning the mural and the First Amendment banner. Complete
Angler, LLC v. City of Clearwater, Fla, (M.D. Fla. 2009)
2009 Gag Orders: In a child custody proceeding stemming from the highly publicized
murders of the childrens parents, a state court judge entered a gag order prohibiting our
client from writing anything about the court proceedings or the murders of the parents. We
represented Maria Gagliardo, a member of the extended family that suffered this tragedy, who
had spent five years writing a book about the family and her experiences with the civil and
criminal justice system. The Third District Court of Appeal vacated the gag order. Gagliardo v.
The Matter of the Branham Children (Fla. 3d DCA 2010)
2010 Free Speech in Social Media: In November 2007, Katherine Evans was suspended
from Pembroke Pines Charter High School for her creating a Facebook page from her home
computer on which she criticized one of her teachers as the worst teacher she had ever

Cover of A Visit to Cuba, the

childrens book at the center
of a major legal battle.

Robyn Blumner, ACLU of

Florida Executive Director
1989-1997.

Elizabeth Lander Budd

Bell. Budd was a long-time
member of the ACLUs
Tallahassee Chapter and
State Board of Directors. She
organized the Clearinghouse
on Human Services and
directed the volunteer
lobbying effort for the ACLU
as part of her Clearinghouse
activities. Budd served as
President of the ACLU of
Florida from 19871988.

Protesters march outside

the 2012 Republican
National Convention in
Tampa. The ACLU worked
with protesters to be sure
they knew their rights and
with police to ensure those
rights were respected.

A m e ri c a n C i v i l L i b e r t i e s U n i o n o f F l o r i d a

had, and solicited comments from other students about that teacher. After receiving three
comments, all of which berated Evans and supported the teacher, Evans removed the page.
The principal suspended Evans for three days after learning of the posting, claiming the
posting was bullying/cyber bullying harassment towards a staff member.

The ACLU of Florida filed suit asking the court to declare the principals actions in violation
of the First and Fourteenth Amendments, and to expunge the students record relating to the
suspension. The ACLU noted that the posting contained no threats of violence towards the
teacher, nor did it disrupt activities at the school. Nearly 10 months after oral argument,
the Court denied the principals motion to dismiss, holding that Evans posting was protected
speech and that the law clearly established that it was protected, thereby denying the principal
qualified immunity. This case added to the growing body of case law establishing students
First Amendment right to engage in off campus speech without fear of punishment from their
school for the content of that speech. Evans v. Bayer (S.D. Fla. 2010)

2010 Inmate Communications: The ACLU challenged the policies of several Florida County
Sheriffs who banned communications by inmates through letters to and from friends and family
as a violation of freedom of speech. We filed our first lawsuit in September 2010 against the
Santa Rosa County Sheriff, who ultimately complied with an injunction banning his postcardonly mail policy for inmates under a court decree issued in February 2012. We filed a similar
lawsuit against the Flagler County Sheriff, who immediately agreed to change his policy, and
a court-approved settlement was entered in April 2014. In July 2014, we challenged the Leon
County Sheriffs ban on letters to and from inmates which prompted the Sheriff to rescind his
policy. (U.S. District Court, Northern and Middle Districts of Florida)

2012 Defending Speech at the RNC: In the months leading up to the 2012 Republican
National Convention in Tampa, the ACLU worked to prepare the city for the civil liberties
challenges that often face host cities of major political conventions. The ACLU organized a
series of forums with city leaders and police officials to provide input on proposed ordinances
aimed at regulating protest during the convention. An ACLU van served as a base from which
staff and volunteers distributed Know Your Rights materials to the public and protesters
during the convention. The work of the ACLU in advance of the RNC, including successful
advocacy for the use of de-escalation tactics by the police, resulted in remarkably few arrests.

2014 Free Speech for Doctors: The Florida Legislature enacted the first-in-the-nation
statute barring doctors and medical professionals from asking their patients about the safe
storage of guns and ammunition in the home. Doctors are free to speak with their patients
about protecting the health and safety of children by the use of car safety seats or screens
around backyard pools but not about guns. Doctors argue that the law interferes with
needed conversations between doctors (especially pediatricians) and their patients about how
to prevent deadly accidents in the home and suicides resulting from the negligent storage
of firearms. The ACLU organized several medical, childrens rights, child welfare and First
Amendment organizations to file a joint amicus brief urging the court to strike down the law as

50 Years of Protecting Freedom in Florida

an unconstitutional restriction of freedom of speech. The ACLU amicus brief was influential
in convincing the District Court to strike down the law, but a panel of the 11th Circuit Court
of Appeals reversed the decision of U.S. District Court. Plaintiff doctors, with the support of
the ACLU through another joint amicus brief, are seeking re-hearing en banc. Wollschlaeger
v. Governor (11th Cir. 2014)

Freedom of the Press

2005 Defending the Jailed Newspaper Editor: When the Key West Police Chief had the
editor of a weekly newspaper arrested for reporting that the Florida Department of Law
Enforcement was investigating the Chief, the ACLU represented the editor and got the law
making it a crime to reveal any information gathered during an internal investigation declared
an unconstitutional violation of the First Amendment. Following the litigation, the Police Chief
resigned. Cooper v. Dillon (11th Cir. 2005)

Religious Freedom and Separation of Church and State

1964 Required Religious Expression in the Public Schools: Florida law required daily
Bible readings, recitation of the Lords Prayer, singing of religious hymns and baccalaureate
programs in the public schools. Applicants for teaching positions were required to answer
the question, Do you believe in God? and religious attitudes were considered in making
promotions. Harlow Chamberlin, an agnostic, brought suit against the Dade County Board of
Public Instruction challenging the constitutionality of the law. The ACLU represented him. A
group of Jewish and Unitarian parents filed a companion case, later joined with Chamberlins.
The Florida Supreme Court upheld the constitutionality of the law as long as the school
board was required to excuse pupils who objected upon request by parents or guardians. In
1964, the U.S. Supreme Court overruled the Florida courts, declaring the statute requiring
Bible reading and reciting prayers unconstitutional. Chamberlin v. Dade County Board of Public
Instruction (U. S. Supreme Court 1964)
1993 Religious Expression: The ACLU represented the Church of the Lukumi Babalu Aye of
the Santeria faith which includes ritual animal sacrifice. In 1987, the Church announced plans
to establish a house of worship, a school, cultural center and museum in Hialeah. Members of
the community lobbied the City Council to adopt resolutions and ordinances in which the City
stated its commitment to prohibit acts of any and all religious groups which are inconsistent
with public morals, peace or safety. In other words, animals could be slaughtered for any
reason other than a religious reason. The U.S. Supreme Court ruled unanimously for the
Church. Church of the Lukumi Babalu Aye v. City of Hialeah (U.S. Supreme Court 1993)
1998 Bible History: Acting on behalf parents and schoolchildren, the ACLU (with the law firm
of Steel Hector & Davis and People For the American Way) challenged the Lee County School

Miami Chapter President Lida

Rodriguez-Taseff presents
the ACLU Foundation of
Floridas Nelson Poynter
Award to Florida Supreme
Court Justice Gerald Kogan.

James Hopper, ACLU of

Florida President 1982-1984

Section of the Pensacola News

Journal front page. January
13th, 2009.

Florida punch card voting

machine used in the disputed
2000 Presidential Election.

A m e ri c a n C i v i l L i b e r t i e s U n i o n o f F l o r i d a

Boards decision to teach a Bible History class that used a curriculum that presented Biblical
stories as historical events, and used student learning activities that reflected a sectarian
viewpoint. The federal court enjoined part of the curriculum. The School Board eliminated
the course when a revised curriculum that required a more rigorous academic study of the
Bible did not attract a sufficient number of students. Gibson v. Lee County School Board (M.D.
Fla. 1998)

2002 School Prayer: Acting on behalf of several Jacksonville families, the ACLU challenged
school-sponsored prayers and invocations at Duval County high school graduation
ceremonies. A panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals held that the practice violated the First
Amendments Establishment Clause, but the full court overturned the panels ruling. After
the U.S. Supreme Courts decision in the similar Santa Fe case, the Appeals Court held that
the policy of permitting a graduating student, elected by her class, to deliver an unrestricted
message of her choice at the beginning and/or closing of graduation ceremonies does not
facially violate the Establishment Clause. Adler v. Duval County School Board (U.S. Supreme
Court, 11th Circuit Court of Appeals 2002)

2004 Religious Symbols: The ACLU represented Christian, Catholic, Jewish and Muslim
families in an unsuccessful effort to defend religious expression. The families had been
ordered by the Boca Raton Municipal Cemetery to remove all upright grave markers they had
placed at the graves of their loved ones. Warner v. Boca Raton (Fla. 2004)

2006 Taxpayer Funded Religious Education: The ACLU, along with allied organizations,
challenged Gov. Jeb Bushs Opportunity Scholarship program for vouchers that used
tax-payer funds to support student attendance at church-run schools. In 2006, the Florida
Supreme Court declared it in violation of the Florida Constitution. Bush v. Holmes (Fla. 2006)

2009 School Sponsored Religion: The ACLU sued the Santa Rosa County School District
following complaints from students and parents about school-sponsored prayers and other
religious practices led by teachers and school personnel. In a rare move, the school board
admitted liability for a pattern of constitutional violations and, jointly with the ACLU, submitted
a proposed consent order to the federal district court to correct the violations. Doe v. School
Board of Santa Rosa County (U. S. District Court, N.D., May 2009)

The Right to Vote

2000 Election Reform: Following the Election of 2000 which exposed numerous irregularities
in Florida election procedures, the ACLU created the Florida Equal Voting Rights Project in
collaboration with Florida Legal Services and the Florida Justice Institute. ACLU Project staff
worked to ensure that voters would never again be deprived of the right to vote and not have
their vote accurately tabulated. Using lawsuits, legislative lobbying and advocacy, the Project

50 Years of Protecting Freedom in Florida

addressed issues of poll worker training, ensuring that sample ballots and interpreters were
available in Spanish and Creole, guidelines for vote recounts, restoration of voting rights
for former felons and the dangers of inaccurate felon purge lists. Voters Rights cards
informing voters how to address problems at the polls were distributed throughout the state.
The Project worked towards the goal of a uniform election system in statewide elections.
After the 2000 Election, the state banned punch-card ballots but authorized Direct Recording
Electronic (DRE) voting machines. The ACLU helped secure the end of these paperless touch
screen voting machines and their replacement by optical scan equipment that reads marked
paper ballots.
2000 Floridas Lifetime Voting Ban: The ACLU has led efforts to end Floridas ReconstructionEra policy of lifetime disfranchisement of those with felony convictions since the problems
created by the system were laid bare during the purges of the 2000 Election. We formed
the Florida Rights Restoration Coalition, and we have helped thousands to regain their right
to vote through the Board of Executive Clemencys Restoration of Civil Rights process. In
2007, we secured significant changes in the clemency process that came closer to making
restoration of voting rights (for those convicted of a non-violent offense) virtually automatic,
though these changes were reversed by Gov. Rick Scott and Attorney General Pam Bondi. We
continue to work for the removal of the lifetime voting ban from the Florida Constitution. The
Civil War-era ban has disenfranchised over 1.5 million citizens, denying them the most basic
right in a democracy. And since many occupational licenses require ex-offenders to have their
civil rights restored, these citizens will be denied the ability to earn a living and support their
families, thereby increasing the likelihood of recidivism and return to prison.
2004 Restoration of Voting Rights: Restoration of civil rights not only grants an individual the
right to vote, but is also required to hold many occupations. The ACLU (with the Florida Justice
Institute and Florida Legal Services) sued the Florida Department of Corrections for failing
to assist inmates leaving prison with restoration of their voting and civil rights, as required
by state law. The DOC admitted that it failed to assist over 125,000 released offenders, and
agreed to contact them and provide the necessary forms. The circuit court refused to order
the DOC to assist inmates with civil rights restoration forms in the future. The District Court of
Appeal reversed and ordered the DOC to offer restoration of civil rights assistance to offenders
who were about to be released. Florida Caucus of Black State Legislators v. Crosby (Fla. 1st DCA
2004)
2004 Absentee Ballots: On election day, November 2004, after receiving numerous calls
from voters who had requested an absentee ballot but had received it too late to return it by 7
p.m. election night deadline, a suit was filed against Broward and Miami-Dade Counties and
the Secretary of State to require that ballots postmarked by Election Day but received up to 10
day afterwards (the same time period given to overseas voters) be counted. Following a week
of extensive emergency litigation, the court denied our request for injunctive relief. Friedman
v. Snipes (S.D. Fla.)

Volunteer Bertrall Ross (left)

at ACLUs Rights Restoration
Advocacy Center, one of
four centers across Florida,
reviews paperwork submitted
by an applicant at the Miami
location in 2003

Hillsborough Election
Supervisor Pam Iorio, Rep.
Arthenia Joyner, ACLU
of Florida Legal Director
Randall Marshall and Lionel
Garcia, of the state Parole
Commission at a voting rights
Town Hall meeting in Tampa
in 2003.

Bill Boyd, ACLU of Florida

President 2000-2003

Activists gather outside

a federal courthouse in
downtown Miami to call for the
automatic restoration of voting
rights for people with past
felony convictions.

10

A m e ri c a n C i v i l L i b e r t i e s U n i o n o f F l o r i d a

2004 Barriers to Voter Registration: A U.S. citizen residing in Germany attempted to register
to vote in the 2004 Presidential Election by federal postcard application. He mailed the original
and faxed a copy to the Seminole County Supervisor of Elections. The supervisor received the
fax but not the original, and refused to register the applicant. Suit was filed seeking emergency
injunctive relief. Within hours of being served with the lawsuit, the Supervisor reversed course
and registered the ACLU client and others in the same position. De Treville v. Joyner (M.D. Fla.
2004)

2004 Manual Recounts: State law required a manual recount in very close or disputed
elections. Prior to the 2004 Election, the Secretary of State issued an administrative rule
expressly forbidding a manual recount of votes cast on touch screen voting machines. The
ACLU, joined by other organizations, challenged the rule as a violation of state law. The ACLU
prevailed when an Administrative Law Judge struck down the rule. ACLU of Florida v. Florida
Department of State. The state then issued an emergency rule, and in a subsequent legal
challenge by the Florida Democratic Party, the District Court of Appeal upheld the rule and
review was denied by the Florida Supreme Court. Florida Democratic Party v. Hood, 884 So.2d
1148 (Fla. 1st DCA 2004)

2004 Felon Purge: The ACLU filed a public records request to obtain the felon purge list
of more than 47,000 registered voters to be deleted from the voter rolls because the state
identified them as felons. Election officials denied the request, citing a Florida Statute that
allowed political parties and candidates to copy information on voter rolls but not the public
or voting rights advocates.

The ACLU argued that it was unable to prevent eligible voters from being wrongfully purged
from the rolls and assist persons inaccurately classified as ineligible to vote if it could not get
access to the states list of ineligible voters. The ACLU then intervened in a lawsuit filed by
the Cable News Network (CNN), whose access to the list was also restricted by the Division
of Elections. The Court declared the statute unconstitutional noting that it did not articulate a
necessity for limiting public access adding that the right to inspect the suspected felons list
without the right to copy the list is an empty right indeed and would be valueless. Cable News
Network v. Florida Dept. of State (Leon County Circuit Court, 2004)

2006 Electronic Voting Machines: The ACLU was lead counsel in the citizen lawsuit
challenging the Sarasota Congressional election in which approximately 18,300 votes were
not recorded on the Direct Recording Electronic (DRE) voting machines. Fedder v. Gallagher
(2nd Judicial Circuit, Leon County 2006). Using the facts in this case, the ACLU secured the
support of Gov. Charlie Crist and the Legislature to ban paperless electronic voting machines
that do not provide a permanent paper record of a vote in order to perform a meaningful
recount if one is needed. As a result, in the November 2008 election, every county used the
optical scan voting system in which a marked paper ballot is read by an optical scan reader.

50 Years of Protecting Freedom in Florida

The Right to Privacy

1989 Minors Access to Abortion: The ACLU submitted an amicus curiae brief in the Florida
Supreme Court in the landmark case in which the Court ruled that Floridas state constitutional
right to privacy prohibits the state from requiring parental consent for a minor to obtain an
abortion. In re: T.W. (Fla. 1989) The ACLU also submitted an amicus brief in N. Fla. Womens
Health & Counseling Servs. v. Florida (Fla. 2003), in which the Florida Supreme Court held that
the states constitutional right to privacy also prohibited the state from requiring parental
notification prior to a minor obtaining an abortion.
1997 Physician Aid-in-Dying: The ACLU represented Charles Hall, who acquired HIV by a
blood transfusion, and his doctor Cecil McIver. Hall requested assistance from his physician
to end his life if the infection developed into AIDS and his medical condition degraded to the
point where he no longer wished to live. He asked the court to enjoin the State Attorney
from prosecuting Dr. McIver if he helped Mr. Hall end his life. The court found that Hall was
mentally competent, in deteriorating health and terminally ill and granted the injunction
based on Floridas constitutional privacy provision ([e]very natural person has the right to
be let alone and free from governmental intrusion into his private life.) and the federal Equal
Protection Clause.
The Court required that the lethal medication must be self-administered only after
consultation and determination by both physician and patient that Mr. Hall is (1) competent, (2)
imminently dying, and (3) prepared to die. The State Attorney appealed the ruling, and on July
17, 1997, the Supreme Court overturned the earlier decision, reasoning that Floridas privacy
provision did not extend to this case, that the state has an interest in preventing suicide, and
that the integrity of the medical profession must be preserved. Krischer v. McIver (Fla. 1997)
1999 Access to Medical Records: The ACLU and the Advocacy Center for Persons with
Disabilities challenged the Florida statute that provides patient access to their health records
but exempted records of those treated for a mental or emotional condition, which could be
withheld upon a doctors order. In 1993, the ACLU represented a woman who, after having a
fight with her father, ingested an overdose of Tylenol. She went to a hospital, had her stomach
pumped, and was examined by two psychiatrists. She was subsequently denied access to
her medical records. The federal court ruled that the statute violated the Americans with
Disabilities Act (ADA). An Appeals Court reversed, finding lack of standing. On remand,
standing was established for the Advocacy Center and the parties settled with a declaration
that the statute was unenforceable under the ADA, which established patient access to medical
records regardless of the type of illness. Doe v. Butterworth (U.S. District Court, S. D. 1997;
11th Circuit Court of Appeals 1999)
2001 Hospital Merger: Along with three other civil rights and womens rights groups, the
ACLU filed suit in August 2000 against the City of St. Petersburg, Bayfront Medical Center and
BayCare Health System challenging the operation of a public hospital that became subject to

State Senator Jack Gordon,

a founding member of the
Miami Chapter. Jack served
on the Miami-Dade School
Board, and for 20 years as
a member of the Florida
Legislature. Among his
many accomplishments,
he sponsored the Florida
constitutional amendment
ensuring the right to privacy.

Ray Arsenault, ACLU of

Florida President 1998
2000.

11

A state employee for more

than 17 years , Roderick
Wenzel, consistently
received outstanding
evaluations but was fired
for refusing to submit to a
drug test. He later started
a small consulting firm that
specializes in working with
municipalities across the
country.

A swarm of reporters rush

to obtain comment from
Rush Limbaughs lawyer, Roy
Black, following a hearing
of the 4th District Court of
Appeal. The ACLU filed a
friend-of-the-court brief
with the appeals court in
support of the privacy of
medical records.
(Photo by Palm Beach Post)

12

A m e ri c a n C i v i l L i b e r t i e s U n i o n o f F l o r i d a

sectarian health care directives as a result of a merger with a religiously affiliated hospital.
The lawsuit claimed that the religious entanglement of the city-owned hospital, resulting
in restrictions on reproductive health care, violated the First Amendments Establishment
Clause. The lawsuit succeeded in removing Bayfront Medical Center from the alliance,
keeping it free from sectarian control. City of St. Petersburg v. Bayfront Medical Center (U.S.
District Court, M.D. 2001)

2004 Parental Notification to Obtain an Abortion: In response to the Florida Supreme

Courts rulings upholding a womans right to privacy, the legislature proposed and the
voters approved a constitutional amendment requiring parental notification of an abortion
on a minor. The ACLU challenged the ballot language as misleading and thus constitutionally
prohibited by Floridas Constitution from appearing on the ballot. American Civil Liberties
Union of Florida v. Hood (Fla. 2004). The Supreme Court agreed, struck the ballot language
drafted by the legislature, but ordered the full text of the amendment placed on the ballot.
The amendment passed and a parental notification statute was enacted by the legislature that
included provision for a judicial bypass. The ACLU represented teens on appeals of denials of
judicial bypass and in a series of cases that framed the standards that are applied in judicial
bypass hearings. The ACLU also created the PATH Project (Providing Access to Teen Health)
that trained lawyers throughout the state to represent minors in need of a judicial bypass and
referred teens needing to file a bypass petition to these lawyers.

2004 Random Drug Testing: The ACLU successfully challenged the program of the Florida
Department of Juvenile Justice to require random drug tests for all agency employees,
whether or not they were suspected of illicit drug use. Wenzel v. Bankhead (N.D. Fla. 2004)

2004 Privacy of Medical Records: In 2003, Palm Beach County Sheriff officers executed
a warrant on Rush Limbaughs doctor and seized Limbaughs medical records in a criminal
investigation to determine if he illegally obtained prescription pain medication from several
doctors, an offense known as doctor shopping. Although officers obtained a search warrant,
the ACLU argued in an amicus brief that a warrant fails to meet constitutional and statutory
requirements that protect the right of privacy guaranteed by Floridas Constitution. The ACLU
argued that law enforcement officers violated state law by using the more intrusive search
warrant process rather than by obtaining a subpoena (per Florida Statute 395.3025) that
would require officers to notify the person whose records they seek to obtain and provide an
opportunity to object before the records are seized. The law, enacted by the legislature to
protect medical privacy, also gives a judge authority to release only information necessary
for an investigation and to control other uses of the records. In Limbaughs case, authorities
obtained a search warrant ex parte (without notifying him or giving him an opportunity to
object). The warrant permitted officers access to all his medical records, not just those
relevant to the criminal investigation, with no limit on how authorities could use information
about treatments or conditions unrelated to the investigation. The ACLU sought to defend the
right to privacy of medical records for every Floridian by ensuring that the state complies with
procedural protections required by the constitution and state law. Rush Limbaugh v. State of
Florida (Florida 4th DCA 2004)

50 Years of Protecting Freedom in Florida

2004 Access to Abortion: When a severely disabled woman in a state group home for the
developmentally disabled was raped and impregnated, Gov. Jeb Bush and the Department of
Children & Families sought the appointment of a guardian for the fetus to contest an abortion.
The trial court denied the appointment and the state appealed. The ACLU submitted an amicus
brief both at the trial court and the DCA. Once oral argument was set and it became apparent
that no party would argue in support of the trial courts decision, the ACLU re-submitted the
brief with an emergency request to participate. The motion was granted and the ACLU Legal
Director argued the case 4 days later. On January 9, 2004, the court upheld the denial of a
guardian for the fetus in a 2-1 decision. The dissenting opinion called for the overturning of
Roe v. Wade. In re: J.D.S. (Florida 5th DCA 2004)
2005 The Terri Schiavo End-of-Life Controversy: The ACLU played a critical role in the
prolonged battle over Theresa Schiavos right to forego life-prolonging medical procedures.
This involved six years of litigation with nine applications to the District Court of Appeal resulting
in four reported decisions; three applications to the Florida Supreme Court, all of which were
denied. Three suits were filed in federal court with an application to the U.S. Supreme Court,
which was denied. With all appeals exhausted, the Pinellas County court ordered the guardian
to remove the nutrition and hydration tubes, which were removed on October 15, 2003.
On October 21, 2003, Gov. Jeb Bush signed into law a statute giving the Governor authority to
issue a one-time stay to prevent the withholding of nutrition and hydration from a patient if, as
of October 15, 2003, the patient has no written advance directive, the court has found that
patient to be in a persistent vegetative state, that patient has had nutrition and hydration
withheld, and a member of that patients family has challenged the withholding of nutrition
and hydration. Gov. Bush then issued an Executive Order staying the withholding of artificial
nutrition and hydration and ordering all medical facilities and personnel providing medical
care...to immediately provide nutrition and hydration to Theresa Schiavo. He directed the
Florida Department of Law Enforcement to serve the order on the facility caring for Mrs.
Schiavo. On October 21, 2003, against the courts order and her wishes as determined by
the court, Mrs. Schiavo was subjected to surgical reinsertion of a feeding tube. The ACLU,
representing her guardian and husband Michael Schiavo, challenged the statute and the
Governors actions. After four appeals to the DCA, the Florida Supreme Court declared the
act unconstitutional. Schiavo v. Bush (Pinellas County Circuit Court; Florida Supreme Court)
Then President George W. Bush and Congress entered the controversy. Over a weekend, late
at night, Congress passed and Pres. Bush signed extraordinary legislation granting the federal
district court in Florida jurisdiction to consider any claim regarding the withdrawal of artificial
nutrition and hydration without regard to any prior state court decision. The Schindlers
(Schiavos parents and brother) filed suit at 3 a.m. on March 21, seeking to re-insert the tubes.
An emergency hearing was held that evening, and early in the morning the court denied the
temporary restraining order. An immediate appeal was taken to the 11th Circuit, and on March
23 a panel affirmed the trial court. A petition for re-hearing before the entire Appeals Court
was denied that evening. A petition for review by the U.S. Supreme Court was filed that night,

At a court hearing on
December 23, 2003 in
Clearwater, Judge W.
Douglas Baird listens to
arguments to determine
the constitutionality of a
law passed by the Florida
legislature that allowed
Gov. Jeb Bush to force the
reinsertion of Terri Schiavos
feeding tube.
(Photo by Matt May, Getty
Images)

A demostrator holds a sign

expressing her discontent
with the ACLUs involvement
in the Terri Shiavo case.
Scores of protesters gathered
outside the Woodside
Hospice in Pinellas Park to
demand that government
officials reinsert the feeding
tube that sustained Shiavo
for 15 years.
(Photo by Al Crespo)

13

The only
known and shared
characteristic of
the individuals
who would be
subjected to
Floridas mandatory
drug testing
program is that
they are financially
needy families
with children
The simple fact
of seeking public
assistance does
not deprive a TANF
applicant of the
same constitutional
protection from
unreasonable
searches that all
other citizens
enjoy.

Lebron v. Secretary, Florida

Dept. of Children and
Families, (11th Cir. 2013)

Bentta Standly, Northeast

Regional Director of the
ACLU of Florida, left,
and a leader of Planned
Parenthood rally for
reproductive freedom in
Jacksonville in 2011.

14

A m e ri c a n C i v i l L i b e r t i e s U n i o n o f F l o r i d a

with ACLUs response due 8 a.m. the next morning. The Supreme Court denied review 2 hours
later on March 24. The Schindlers filed an amended complaint and sought a TRO on new
claims. A hearing was held that evening and a TRO was denied the next morning. An appeal
was rejected by a panel of the 11th Circuit. A petition for rehearing en banc was denied, and
the Supreme Court denied review. Theresa Marie Schiavo died on March 31, 2005. Schiavo v.
Schiavo (MD Fla., 11th Circuit, U.S. Supreme Court)

2013 Privacy Rights of Applicants for Temporary Assistance: Acting on a campaign

pledge, newly-elected Governor Rick Scott, urged the Legislature to enact a law requiring
the drug testing of all applicants seeking Temporary Assistance to Needy Families (TANF).
Representing Luis Lebron, the ACLU of Florida challenged the law. Lebron was a Navy
veteran who was taking care of his son and disabled mother while attending college to
earn a degree that would secure him employment. In a strong opinion rebuking the States
program, the 11th Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals unanimously affirmed the preliminary
injunction barring suspicionless urinalysis that had been issued by the District Court.
There is nothing so special or immediate about the governments interest in ensuring that
TANF recipients are drug free so as to warrant suspension of the Fourth Amendment, the
Circuit Court observed. The only known and shared characteristic of the individuals who
would be subjected to Floridas mandatory drug testing program is that they are financially
needy families with childrenThe simple fact of seeking public assistance does not deprive
a TANF applicant of the same constitutional protection from unreasonable searches that all
other citizens enjoy. Lebron v. Secretary, Florida Dept. of Children and Families, (11th Cir. 2013).
The case returned to the district court, which entered a permanent injunction on Dec. 31,
2013. On December 3, 2014, a three-judge panel of the 11th Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals
unanimously upheld the permanent injunction.

2014 Privacy Rights of State Workers: In 2011, Gov. Rick Scott issued an Executive Order
requiring random, suspicionless drug testing of all executive branch state employees and
applicants for employment. Representing AFSCME, the largest public employee labor union
in Florida, the ACLU challenged the Executive Order and obtained a permanent injunction
in the U.S. District Court barring across-the-board suspicionless urinalysis as a violation of
Fourth Amendment rights. Although the Court of Appeals agreed that the Executive Order
was unconstitutional, it disagreed on the scope of the remedy. The Governor petitioned for
review in the U.S. Supreme Court, which in April 2014 declined to hear his appeal. American
Federation of State, County & Municipal Employees Council 79 (AFSCME) v. Scott, (11th Cir. 2013),
cert. denied, (April 21, 2014)

2014 Access to Abortion: We represented a minimum-security inmate in a county jail who

began serving her sentence soon after she learned she was pregnant, but before she could
schedule an abortion. The jail repeatedly denied her requests for a medical furlough to obtain
a privately-funded abortion. We filed suit in federal court and obtained an emergency order
releasing our client from jail so that she was able to obtain the abortion. She then returned to
jail to serve the remainder of her sentence. Doe v. Snyder (S.D. Fla. 2014)

50 Years of Protecting Freedom in Florida

Criminal Justice, Due Process and Police Practices

1963 Wrongful Conviction: ACLU attorneys represented Freddie Pitts and Wilbert Lee, who
spent 19 years on Floridas Death Row, following their wrongful conviction of the 1963 robbery
and murders of two white gas station attendants in Port St. Joe in Floridas Panhandle. While
no physical evidence linked them to the deaths, the prosecution used the confessions that
were beaten out of them, and the testimony of an alleged eyewitness. The defendants also
suffered from having incompetent defense counsel. A few weeks after they were sentenced
to death, a white man arrested for another gas station robbery confessed to the murder for
which Pitts and Lee were convicted. When he learned of this confession, the local sheriff said:
I already got two niggers waiting for the chair in Raiford for those murders. A polygraph
examiner who had heard the white man confess took the matter to the press, and a new trial
was ordered, at which Lee and Pitts were again convicted. In 1975, both men were pardoned
by Gov. Reuben Askew.
1970 Double Jeopardy: The ACLU represented Joseph Waller (he later became Omali
Yeshitela) who, in an act of civil disobedience during a December 1966 demonstration
protesting the inequitable distribution of a grant to the City of St. Petersburg from the federal
government, tore down a mural at City Hall that depicted African-Americans in degrading
caricatures. Waller was prosecuted under a municipal ordinance and convicted. The state then
prosecuted him under a more severe state statute for the same event, obtaining a conviction
and a five year sentence. The ACLU appealed to the U.S. Supreme Court, which held that the
prohibition against double jeopardy barred a second trial on criminal charges for the same
offense. Waller v. Florida (U.S. Supreme Court 1970)
1985 Police Dogs: In 1985, the ACLU filed suit on behalf of three parents and their minor
children against the West Palm Beach Police Department for the actions of the Departments
K-9 unit. It was the policy of the Police Department to use canine force when an officer
had probable cause to believe that a suspect committed a felony. But policy also allowed
officers to use dogs to apprehend fleeing and concealed individuals suspected of serious
misdemeanors, which included violations of city ordinances and Florida statutes. These
policies allowed police to use the canine unit to apprehend individuals suspected of prowling,
drunkenness, petty larceny, prostitution, traffic offenses even individuals whose offense
was being in a city park after hours. Dogs were trained to bite and hold, a method by which
a dog subdues a suspect by biting an arm or leg or any available area of the body. The dog is
trained to maintain his hold until ordered to release by its handler. If the dog should lose his
hold because a suspect attempts to free himself, the dog will seek to reestablish it.
As a result, suspects often suffered serious injury from multiple bites during an apprehension.
Following a trial and successful appeal handled by the Florida Justice Institute, the case
established that police use of dogs violated a standard for the excessive use of force and that
the Citys policy to use of dogs against non-violent felons or misdemeanants constituted an

Mike Pheneger, ACLU of

Florida President 2010-2014

Larry Spalding, long-time

ACLU of Florida leader. Larry
served as Chair of both the
Sarasota and Tallahassee
Chapters; ACLU of Florida
President (1984-1987),
Florida representative to
the National ACLU Board of
Directors, and Legislative
Staff Counsel.

15

James K. Green, Long-time

Legal Panel Chair, and
ACLU of Florida President
19931996

Randy Berg, ACLU of Florida

President 1996 1997,
presents Nelson Poynter
award to civil rights attorney
Stephen Hanlon, long-time
head of the Community
Service Team of the Holland
& Knight law firm.

16

A m e ri c a n C i v i l L i b e r t i e s U n i o n o f F l o r i d a

excessive use of force. Kerr v. City of West Palm Beach (U.S. District Court, S.D.1987; 11th Cir.
1989)

1990 Access to the Courts: In October 1986, Pinellas County High School student Mark
Howlett turned to the ACLU when the Assistant Principal of St. Petersburg High School
illegally entered and searched his car. The school district claimed that it was immune from
any lawsuit alleging violation of civil rights. The U.S. Supreme Court unanimously held that a
state-law sovereign immunity defense is not available to a school board in a federal civil rights
action brought in a state court when such defense would not be available if the action were
brought in federal court. This victory made it clear that governmental agencies could be sued
for violation of civil rights in state courts. Howlett v. Rose (U.S. Supreme Court 1990)

1988 The Rights of Homeless Persons: The ACLU filed a class action lawsuit on behalf of
approximately 6,000 homeless persons living in Miami. Police routinely arrested the homeless
for engaging in essential life sustaining activities (sleeping and eating) in public places and
destroyed their personal property, including clothing, books, medicine and shelter. Sweeps of
the homeless were instituted, particularly before high profile nationally televised events such
as the Orange Bowl. In 1991, U.S. District Judge C. Clyde Atkins found that the Citys practices
violated constitutional provisions. He ordered a series of safe zones in which the homeless
could exist without police harassment. After two appeals by the city, the U.S. Court of Appeals
ordered the parties to enter into mediation.

After two-and-a-half years of intensive mediation, the ACLU and the City agreed to a settlement
under which each homeless person who was arrested at any time since 1988 or who had
his or her property destroyed by Miami police officers during that period received $1,500 in
compensation. A protocol was instituted governing how police officers interact with homeless
persons, under which the Miami Police Department now operates, and which is regarded as a
model for other cities. A special fund was set up with the remaining funds to help homeless
people with housing, rent, utilities, etc. Pottinger v. City of Miami, (S.D. Fla. 1992, granting
injunctive relief); (11th Cir. 1996, referring case to mediation)

1993 Discriminatory Arrests: Police officers of Miami and Miami-Dade County routinely
arrested day laborers under a County Ordinance prohibiting loitering for purposes of
temporary employment. Some 500 arrests were made, all were Hispanic males identified
by police as undesirables who were standing on a street corner seeking work. Some were
arrested when undercover police, posing as employers, pulled up in a van saying they needed
people to work on a project for $10/hour. Once in the van, the laborers were handcuffed and
told You have been arrested for seeking temporary employment. At the hearing, the judge
was startled at the conduct of the police and remarked: Why are you arresting these people
when they are just looking for work? The ACLU filed a lawsuit on behalf of hundreds of day
laborers, some of whom were arrested more than once. The suit charged that the Ordinance
violated First Amendment rights and the arrests constituted illegal discrimination based on
race and national origin. After nearly six years, the ACLU reached a settlement with the

50 Years of Protecting Freedom in Florida

County, and ultimately the City, in which those arrested were compensated $2,000 per arrest.
Torres v. Metropolitan Dade County and the City of Miami (U.S. District Court, Southern District
of Florida 1998)
2001 Civilian Oversight of Law Enforcement: Following the shooting of a number of
unarmed persons by Miami police officers, the federal indictment of a dozen officers and
the conviction of six officers for planting weapons to cover-up the shootings, the ACLU (with
the NAACP, and other organizations) drafted and campaigned for an amendment to the City
Charter that created a Civilian Investigative Panel (CIP) with subpoena power. The Charter
Amendment was overwhelmingly approved by the voters, making the CIP a permanent part
of Miamis governmental structure. A similar proposal, sponsored by the ACLU, was rejected
in Fort Myers in 2009 after the City Council adopted a civilian review board, but one lacking
subpoena power.
2002 Secret Evidence: Dr. Mazen Al Najjar, a University of South Florida professor of
Palestinian origin who resided in the United States since 1981, was detained by the federal
government for over 3 years on the basis of secret evidence that he never had an opportunity
to confront or rebut. As a result of the ACLUs litigation, he was released in December 2000,
but the government continued its appeal of the district court order that led to his release.
Following an affirmance of an order of deportation, the government again took Dr. Al Najjar
into custody. After six months of detention, the ACLU filed another habeas petition in the
district court. Through the efforts of Dr. Al Najjars family, Lebanon agreed to accept him, and
he was deported and reunited with his family, and ultimately accepted a teaching position
in South Africa. With the deportation, all pending actions became moot. Mazen Al Najjar v.
Ashcroft (U.S. District Court, S.D. Fla.; 11th Cir., 2002)
2003 Police Suppression of First Amendment Rights: The ACLU filed seven lawsuits
challenging excessive force by various law enforcement agencies during the Free Trade
Area of the Americas (FTAA) conference held in Miami in November 2003. Police shot a
photographer in the head with a stun gun, ignored permits, destroyed property, denied labor
unions and others the right to protest, and illegally arrested peaceful protestors. The ACLU
won compensation for the violation of constitutional rights for several victims.
2004 Excessive Use of Force: The ACLU challenged Miamis failure to train police officers
to deal with mentally ill individuals with whom they come in contact. The case involved the
shooting death of a homeless, Vietnam veteran who allegedly threatened police with a pocket
knife. Officers followed the man for several blocks, using techniques known to make matters
worse with mentally ill suspects. Ultimately he was shot 14 times after he made a threatening
gesture with the knife and the police failed to dislodge the knife from his hand. The police chief
had been warned by a county court judge about the citys failure to implement a program for
handling mentally ill suspects. The City agreed to a settlement with the family of the decedent.
Duff v. City of Miami, Florida (S.D. Fla. 2004)

A confrontation between
police and protesters during
the FTAA conference in
Miami. The ACLU filed seven
lawsuits challenging violation
of First Amendment rights
and excessive force used by
police during the conference.

17

Jeanne Baker, ACLU of

Florida President 20032010.

Rosemary Wilder, ACLU

of Florida President
2014-present, seen here
in 1999, celebrating
passage of the Miami-Dade
Human Rights Ordinance
Commission banning
discrimination based on
sexual orientation. The
Ordinance had been repealed
in a referendum effort led by
Anita Bryant some 30 years
earlier. Rosemary, then
Vice-President of SAVE, the
Miami-Dade LGBT advocacy
organization, is pictured with
Richard Milstein and Richard
Sherman.
(Photo by Miami Herald)

18

A m e ri c a n C i v i l L i b e r t i e s U n i o n o f F l o r i d a

2005 Secret Dockets: In the course of a criminal case, defense attorneys discovered sealed
documents in their clients case and in several related cases listing individuals who would be
witnesses at trial. They also discovered entire cases that were sealed and did not appear on
the public record. Following conviction, an appeal was taken. The ACLU filed an amicus brief
arguing that the Southern District of Floridas procedures for the filing of documents under
seal and the secret docket runs afoul of the publics limited constitutional right of access to
criminal proceedings. The court reaffirmed that trial courts cannot use secret docketing, a
procedure that had been explicitly declared unconstitutional previously. U.S. v. Ochoa (11th
Circuit Court of Appeals,2005)

2009 Sex Offender Residency Restrictions: The ACLU challenged Miami-Dade Countys
Ordinance prohibiting registered sex offenders from residing within 2,500 feet of a school.
The ACLU case argues that the states comprehensive scheme for tracking and monitoring
released sex offenders, which includes a 1,000-foot residency restriction, preempts local
ordinances. The Ordinance prevented released offenders from finding suitable housing on
their own or with family members and created a shantytown of released sex offenders living
under the Julia Tuttle Causeway in Miami. The ACLU alleged that the residency restriction
made the community less safe by creating reason for offenders to abscond and made the job
of tracking and monitoring released offenders more difficult. Exile v. Miami Dade County (11th
Judicial Circuit), currently on appeal to the 3rd DCA

Equal Protection of the Laws

1978 Employment Rights of Gays and Lesbians: The ACLU represented Robert Eimers when
his application to the Florida Bar was sent to the Florida Supreme Court for review. Eimers
was a graduate of an accredited law school and certified for admission to the Pennsylvania
Bar, but the Florida Board of Bar Examiners found Eimers qualified for admission to the
bar in all respects, with the exception that he may fail to be of good moral character due
to his admitted homosexuality. The Florida Bar asked the Supreme Court to determine
whether being gay disqualified an applicant for the bar for lack of good moral character.
The Florida Supreme Court ruled that the applicants sexual orientation was insufficient to
prevent his admission to the bar, citing the Boards failure to produce a rational connection
between sexual orientation and moral unfitness to be an attorney. Eimers v. Florida Board of
Bar Examiners (Supreme Court of Florida, 1978)

1985 Worker Identification Cards: In 1959, the Town of Palm Beach enacted an ordinance,
purportedly to reduce crime that required certain employees domestic servants, taxi drivers,
retail clerks, and hotel, restaurant and bar employees - to register with the chief of police,
be fingerprinted, photographed and obtain an identification card which, among other items,
listed the employees race. The identification card, which expired every two years, was issued
at a cost of $4. The cards were to be carried at all times and produced on demand. In 1985,
acting on behalf of a restaurant waitress and a worker hired to deliver ice to the Breakers

50 Years of Protecting Freedom in Florida

Hotel, the ACLU successfully challenged the ordinance in federal district court. During the
appeal, the legislature passed, and the governor signed, a statute preempting and forbidding
local worker registration ordinances. Ignatius Wallace and Rochelle Vana v. Town of Palm Beach
(U.S. District Court, S.D. Fla 1985, 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, 1987)
2000 Domestic Partner Benefits: The ACLU filed an amicus brief defending Gainesvilles
policy that provided health and other benefits to same- and opposite-sex unmarried partners
of City employees. Acting on behalf of a taxpayer who cited his personal moral and religious
objections, Liberty Counsel sought to invalidate the citys policy, claiming that it violated
state law because it treated same-sex relationships as marriage like. The court dismissed
the challenge citing the challengers lack of standing and his inability to show that he was
impacted by the policy. Martin v. City of Gainesville (Alachua County Circuit Court, 2001)
2002 Protection from Discrimination for LGBT Persons: Working in coalition with SAVE
Dade, the ACLU played a key role in defeating a 2002 ballot measure that would have repealed
Miami Dade Countys Human Rights Ordinance. In 2009, the ACLU also played a leading role
with coalition partners to prevent the repeal of Gainesvilles Human Rights Ordinance.
2002 Rights of LGBT Students: The ACLU won lawsuits in Nassau and Okeechobee Counties
defending the right of gay and lesbian students to form Gay-Straight Alliances to fight
harassment, discrimination and bullying and to discuss problems they face as gay students in
the public schools. Gay Straight Alliance v. Nassau County School District; Gay-Straight Alliance
v. Okeechobee County School District (2002)
2004 Juvenile Curfews: T.M. was arrested for violating a Pinellas Park curfew Ordinance
after stepping beyond the curb of her friends home at 1 a.m. to talk to some boys in a car.
She was prosecuted in juvenile court. Acting on behalf of the minor, the ACLU challenged the
curfew ordinance. The Florida Supreme Court ruled that courts should apply strict scrutiny to
the analysis of curfew ordinances. Then, using strict scrutiny, the Court declared the Pinellas
Park juvenile curfew ordinance (and a similar Tampa ordinance) unconstitutional because
the Ordinances targeted minors who had committed no crime and interfered with the rights
of parents to direct their childrens behavior. The Court did not address the issue of selective
enforcement of curfew laws based on race, but did note that juvenile curfew ordinances
implicated fundamental rights to privacy and freedom of movement and failed to reduce
juvenile crime during curfew hours. T.M. v. State (2001) and State v. T.M. (Florida Supreme
Court, 2004))
2010 Institutionalized Persons: In 1987, the ACLU brought a lawsuit on behalf of thousands
of people with mental disabilities who were housed at G. Pierce Wood Memorial Hospital, a
psychiatric facility in Arcadia for approximately 450 persons. In 1995, based upon allegations that
patients were suffering serious harm, the U. S. Department of Justice initiated an investigation
of the hospital. The Justice Department acted under the Civil Rights of Institutionalized Persons
Act (CRIPA) that gives the Attorney General authority to investigate conditions in public facilities,

ACLU plaintiff Jacob Brock

and Hannah Page. Jacob
challenged Yulee High
Schools restriction on the
formation of a Gay Straight
Alliance student club.

GSA plaintiff Bayli

Silberstein, an 8th-grader at
Carver Middle School in Lake
County.
(Photo by Watermark)

Doug Houghton, plaintiff in

one of the ACLUs challenges
to the 1977 ban on adoptions
by gays and lesbians, and his
son Oscar.

19

ACLU plaintiff Martin Gill

with his sons, Nathaniel
and Xavier. Martins case
overturned the 1977 adoption
ban.

Couples celebrate Day One of

Marriage Equality in Florida
at an ACLU of Florida and
SAVE event.

Arlene Goldberg (R) and her

late wife Carol Goldwasser
(L). Arlene was one of the
plaintiffs in the ACLUs
marriage lawsuit. As a result
of the ACLUs lawsuit. The
Court ordered the state
to change Carols Death
Certificate to recognize her
marriage to Arlene, making
them the first same-sex
couple to have their marriage
recognized by the State of
Florida.

20

A m e ri c a n C i v i l L i b e r t i e s U n i o n o f F l o r i d a

protect and promote the rights of people confined, and to take appropriate action where unlawful
actions deprive persons confined in the facilities of their constitutional or statutory rights.
The DOJ concluded that conditions at the facility violated the rights of residents and set
minimum remedial measures to correct the violations. The Attorney General then intervened
in the ACLUs case. Operating under a consent decree, the population was reduced and moved
into community settings, the vast majority into single family or group homes with support for
employment, housing and integration into the community. The facility was eventually closed as
a result of the lawsuit and funds previously spent on the institution used for additional support
in the community. The case was finally dismissed at the end of February 2010. Johnson v.
Kurtz/Sheldon (U.S. District Court, M.D. Fla. and 11th Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals 2010)

2008 Adoption Ban: The ACLU led efforts to end Floridas 30-year ban on adoptions by gay
men and lesbians. In lawsuits and work in the legislature, we argued that the ban, contained
in Florida Statute, was unconstitutional and harms children in need of a permanent and stable
home, but who are trapped by this policy in the states troubled foster care system. Cox v. Health
and Rehabilitative Services; Amer v. Childrens Home Society; Lofton v. Kearney. In 2008, the
ACLU represented Martin Gill, a gay man who had been a recognized successful foster parent,
who sought the adoption of two half-brothers for whom he was their foster parent. Following
a lengthy trial at which national experts testified and evidence about gay parenting examined,
a Miami-Dade Circuit Judge declared the law unconstitutional, allowing Gill to adopt two halfbrothers for whom he provided the only stable home they had known. The Attorney General
appealed; the Third District Court of Appeal unanimously upheld the judgment of the Circuit
Court. Attorney General Bill McCollum declined to appeal to the Florida Supreme Court. The
ACLU also launched a comprehensive three-year public education and legislative campaign
aimed at increasing public support for the change in public policy. In Re Minor Children, (11th
Judicial Circuit; 3rd DCA)

2014 The Right to Marry: In 2008, Florida voters adopted a constitutional amendment that
made a statutory ban on same-sex marriage part of the state constitution. Representing eight
couples who had been married in one of the states in which same-sex marriage is recognized,
a widow whose partner of 47 years and spouse of 4 years had just died, as well as SAVE, the
leading LGBT rights organization in South Florida, the ACLU filed suit in U.S. District Court
in Tallahassee seeking to require Florida to recognize marriages that were performed in
other states. A similar case had been filed earlier by civil rights attorneys in Jacksonville
on behalf of a couple seeking to marry, and the ACLU case was joined with that earlier case.

In January 1, 2015, Judge Hinkle issued a clarifying Order that required clerks to follow the
constitution and issue marriage licenses when the stay expired on January 6. A stay was lifted
on January 5th in a Miami-Dade County case, and marriages were performed that afternoon,
and throughout Florida the next day.

Jeanne Baker
Doug Ball
Elizabeth Barnes
Jennifer Beltz
Michael Berman
Jeff Borg
Shirley Boughton
Christopher Curtis
Larry Glinzman
Bonnie Glover
George Griffin
Marcia Hayden
Jack Jordan
Adrienne Kaltman
Michele McCoy
Michael Meyers
Bart Motes
JoNel Newman
Renee Parsons
John Sawicki
Mark Schneider
Arthur Stern
Holly Stewart
Sherene Thomas
Karen Winston
Mia Chel Woullard

Rosemary Wilder PRESIDENT

Michael Barfield VICE PRESIDENT
Andew Swain SECRETARY
Martin Novoa TREASURER
Lorie Fridell NATIONAL BOARD REPRESENTATIVE
Marcia Hayden DEVELOPMENT COMMITTEE CHAIR
Andrea Flynn Mogensen LEGAL PANEL CHAIR
Eric Smaw AFFILIATE EQUITY OFFICER
Ann Regan NOMINATING COMMITTEE CHAIR
Matt Spohrer NORTHEAST REGIONAL REPRESENTATIVE
Mike Pheneger IMMEDIATE PAST PRESIDENT

As of September 2015

ACLU of Florida Board of Directors

50 Years of Protecting Freedom in Florida

ACLU of Florida Staff

Nancy Abudu LEGAL DIRECTOR
Emily Chow ONLINE ADVOCACY DIRECTOR
Nikki Cox MAJOR GIFTS OFFICER
Monica Espitia DEVELOPMENT ASSOCIATE
Shalini Goel Agarwal STAFF ATTORNEY
Joyce Hamilton Henry ADVOCACY DIRECTOR
Keyontay Humphries NORTHWEST REGIONAL ORGANIZER

Baylor Johnson DIRECTOR OF COMMUNICATIONS

Sara Latshaw NORTH FLORIDA REGIONAL DIRECTOR
Kristina Musante JUSTICE 4 JACKSONVILLE COORDINATOR
Michelle Richardson DIRECTOR OF PUBLIC POLICY
Gary Sample CHIEF FINANCIAL OFFICER
Howard Simon EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR
Ana Smith OFFICE MANAGER
Natisihia Y. Stevens NORTHEAST REGIONAL ORGANIZER
Benjamin James Stevenson STAFF ATTORNEY
Adam Tebrugge STAFF ATTORNEY
Daniel Tilley STAFF ATTORNEY
Amy Turkel DIRECTOR OF PHILANTHROPY
Sabrina Williams EXECUTIVE ASSISTANT
Beth Wilson DEPUTY DIRECTOR
Layssa Zamora LEGAL PROGRAM ASSOCIATE

ACLU of Florida
4500 Biscayne Blvd.
Suite 340
Miami, FL 33137

www.aclufl.org