FAC Files Opposition to Defendants’ Motions to Sever

Today, FAC filed its response opposing the defendants’ motions to sever in Florida Action Committee v. Keefe, our federal challenge to Florida’s sex-offender registration scheme pending in the Northern District of Florida.

Nearly every county and city we sued filed a motion asking the Court to split this case into dozens of separate lawsuits, one per defendant. Many of those motions were essentially copy-and-paste versions of each other. Our response, filed by our attorneys explains why the case must stay together.

Our central argument is simple: registrants don’t live under one law at a time. They must obey state statutes and every county and local ordinance at once, and it’s the combined weight of all of them that makes up the punishment we’re challenging. Splitting the case apart would let each defendant point to the others and say “relief against us alone won’t fix anything,” leaving registrants with no remedy at all. Also, the defendants are already raising the same defenses over and over. Litigating those same questions in dozens of courts would waste resources and risk conflicting rulings.

This filing addresses only severance. The second part of our response, which addresses the merits of the defendants’ motions to dismiss, is due December 18. We’ll keep you updated as the case moves forward.

Thank you to all of our members, especially the more than 250 who provided declarations. Your stories are the foundation of this case.

241 – Response In Opposition – Sever