News & Updates

In an order issued yesterday (copied below) the judge denied plaintiff’s request to amend the complaint, stating that “they may do so in a new action.” So that’s what’s going to happen. A new action will be filed. Since the old action was not heard on the merits but was dismissed because the Plaintiffs were barred by the statute of

A case considering whether New Zealand’s “Public Protection Order” detention (which is their equivalent to Civil Commitment) is double-punishment for a past crime is being considered by the Court of Appeal. Under that law, hundreds of people, mostly people convicted of a sex offense, were held for years after their sentence ended because they were believed to be at high

Recent amendments to Senate Bill 234 have been filed, including  the following language, presumably in response to the Ex Post Facto Plus lawsuit, which argued that the definition of “Day” was vague. In calculating days for “permanent residence,” the first day a person abides, lodges, or resides at a place is excluded. Each day following the first day is counted.

Florida State Senator Jeff Brandes introduced an amendment this past week that would reduce the eventual $15 minimum wage rate for ex-felons and workers under 21. If passed, it would reduce the minimum wage rate for prisoners in the state correctional system, employees convicted of a felony, employees younger than 21, and “hard-to-hire” employees. If Florida lawmakers approve the amendment,

What the Sentencing Commission was supposed to do: promote “sound sentencing practices” The Sentencing Reform Act of 1984 envisioned a Commission overseeing a “research and development program” for implementing “sound sentencing practices,” with the USSC systematically collecting and disseminating research concerning sentencing practices and their effectiveness, including “information concerning sentences actually imposed, and the relationship of such sentences to the

The new administration has been clear that they oppose the use of private prisons. We do to. Any industry that profits on the incarceration and lobbies for longer prison sentences and harsher penalties as a basis for increasing profitability, is sick. Within one week of taking office, President Biden has signed an Executive Order to “Reform the Incarceration System”, which