Current lawsuits
DISNEY
Filed 4.23.2023
In its lawsuit, Disney accused DeSantis and his supporters of illegally using the state government to punish a company for voicing an opinion that should be protected by free-speech rights.
STATUS: ONGOING
REBEKAH JONES
Filed 3.13.2023
Jones filed her complaint in Leon County Circuit Civil court Monday, naming the department, Surgeon General Dr. Joseph Ladapo and Dr. Shamarial Roberson, the department’s former deputy secretary, as defendants. Besides reinstatement, she also seeks back wages, compensation for “emotional distress” and punitive damages against Roberson for firing her.
STATUS: ONGOING
ANDREW WARREN
Filed 2.15.2023
In January, U.S. District Judge Robert Hinkle agreed. In his ruling, the judge found there was “not a hint of misconduct” and that accusations of having blanket policies against prosecuting certain crimes were “false”. Hinkle stated DeSantis violated both Warren’s first amendment rights and the Florida constitution.
STATUS: ONGOING (appeal)
PENGUN RANDOM HOUSE
Filed 05.17.2023
PEN America, Penguin Random House, and a diverse group of authors joined with parents and students in Escambia County, Florida, to file a federal lawsuit challenging removals and restrictions of books from school libraries that violate their rights to free speech and equal protection under the law.
STATUS: ONGOING
HUMAN TRAFFICKING VICTIMS CLASS ACTION
Filed 09.20.2022
This is a case about the relocation of about fifty immigrants from Texas to Martha’s Vineyard, Massachusetts, by chartered planes. The plaintiffs alleged that the defendants—Florida officials and unidentified individuals—induced the immigrants to board two planes with promises of employment, housing, and educational opportunities at their destination, but that once the planes landed in Martha’s Vineyard, the immigrants were left without any assistance and the defendants were unreachable.
STATUS: ONGOING
VOTERS VS FLORIDA
Filed 04.22.2022
The plaintiffs allege that DeSantis’ personally-drawn redistricting map violates multiple provisions of the Fair Districts Amendment of the Florida Constitution by diminishing the ability of Black Floridians to elect their candidates of choice, particularly in northern Florida and the 5th Congressional District, and intentionally favoring the Republican Party at the expense of the Democratic Party.
STATUS: ONGOING
FLORIDA EDUCATORS & STUDENTS
Filed 08.18.2022
On Thursday, August 18, 2022, the ACLU, ACLU of Florida, Legal Defense Fund, and Ballard Spahr filed a lawsuit challenging Florida’s HB7 (aka the Stop W.O.K.E. Act) on behalf of a group of Florida educators and students in higher education.
STATUS: ONGOING
PLANNED PARENTHOOD OF SOUTHWEST/CENTRAL FLORIDA
Filed 06.01.2022
Florida health care providers filed a lawsuit on June 1, 2022 bringing a state constitutional challenge to House Bill (HB) 5, a ban on abortion after 15 weeks of pregnancy that threatens to put doctors in jail for providing essential care beyond that point. On January 23, 2023, the Florida Supreme Court accepted a request by abortion providers to hear arguments in their case against House Bill 5 (HB 5), a ban on abortion after 15 weeks of pregnancy that threatens to put doctors in jail for providing essential care beyond that point.
Case #2022 CA 000912; 1D22-2034
STATUS: ONGOING
FAIR ELECTIONS FOR DEMOCRACY CAMPAIGN
Filed 05.08.2021
The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) of Florida, representing the Fair Elections for Democracy Campaign, secured a permanent injunction in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Florida in its challenge against 2021’s Senate Bill 1890, a law that undermined the citizen initiative process and violated Floridians’ First Amendment rights.
STATUS: Victory for ACLU
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