Dispute over ‘Marsy’s Law’ protecting police officer identities goes to Florida Supreme Court
Law shields crime victim information
Jim Saunders, Reporter, News Service of Florida
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Florida Supreme Court
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. – A legal battle about whether a 2018 constitutional amendment known as “Marsy’s Law” can shield the identities of police officers went to the Florida Supreme Court on Tuesday.
The city of Tallahassee filed a notice that is a first step in asking the Supreme Court to decide whether the constitutional amendment, which is designed to bolster crime victims’ rights, can apply to police officers who were threatened in use-of-force incidents.
The city of Tallahassee and a consortium of media outlets are seeking review of a recent appeals court decision finding that Marsy’s Law grants privacy protections to on-duty police officers, including those who use lethal force against suspects.
City Attorney Cassandra Jackson announced Tuesday that the city is asking the Florida Supreme Court to review the decision handed down April 6 by the 1st District Court of Appeal in Tallahassee.
“This case is one of great public importance to the state of Florida in its appellate level interpretation of Article 1, Section 16 of the Florida Constitution (Marsy’s Law), Jackson said in a written statement. With respect for the court’s opinion and appreciation of the difficult work performed by police officers every day, the decision has far-reaching implications related to public transparency and is deserving of final review by Florida’s highest court.”
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Congress appears willing to consider more police oversight legislation, however, there’s still major disagreement on qualified immunity reform. Qualified immunity protects officers from civil lawsuits in certain interactions with civilians. This horrible idea excuses bad behavior from officers, and other government officials, through a carve-out of the Fourth Amendment.
The disagreement falls along political party lines.
“I always listen to everybody’s proposal, but what I’m not going to do is put our law enforcement community in a position that they’ve got to second-guess themselves when they’re trying to make sure people are staying safe,” Florida Republican Senator Rick Scott told ABC’s This Week with George Stephanopoulos on Sunday during an interview while also promoting South Carolina Senator Tim Scott’s possible compromise moving the lawsuit costs to police departments instead of individual officers. “Well, how do we how do we make our systems
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Apr. 22 Hours after a Minnesota jury convicted police officer Derek Chauvin in the murder of George Floyd, a group of Miami organizers and activists who advocate against police brutality and anti-Blackness gathered at their monthly general meeting, where they d planned to discuss Florida s new anti-riot legislation.
But once the verdict came down a rare conviction of a police officer in the killing of an unarmed Black person local organizers with the Dream Defenders turned their attention to the historic decision, saying that Chauvin s conviction is reason to double down on the movement to shift resources away from police departments and pressure politicians who stand in their way.
After Chauvin verdict, a rush for police reform in Florida Legislature
A reform bill considered by lawmakers targets the use of choke holds, adds more oversight on investigations into deaths caused by police and requires officers to be trained on âde-escalationâ techniques.
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Updated 2 hours ago
TALLAHASSEE â Days after a jury convicted former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin in the murder of George Floyd, Florida lawmakers are racing to push through a police reform package that has gained renewed momentum in the final days of the legislative session.
The Florida House, a chamber dominated by Republicans, is expected to vote on a bill Monday that would set minimum statewide use-of-force standards for Florida law enforcement officers. The bill, negotiated with the Florida Legislative Black Caucus, would target the use of choke holds, add more oversight on investigations into deaths caused by police and require officers to be trained on âde-escalati