3 Brevard County registered sex offenders file federal lawsuit against county
Three Brevard County registered sex offenders are plaintiffs in a federal lawsuit against the county, alleging violation of their First Amendment rights when they could not attend public County Commission meetings because doing so “would place them within 1,000 feet of a school and they feared being arrested and prosecuted for a violation of the (law)”.
The suit, filed Wednesday in U.S. District Court, Middle District of Florida, in Orlando, by the Florida Justice Institute in partnership with attorney Jessica J. Travis of DefendBrevard.com, further alleges the county violated Florida’s Government in the Sunshine Law when the County Commission held public meetings “not fully open to the public.”
The men, as members of the public, were denied “a reasonable opportunity to be heard on a proposition before a board or commission, ” according to the lawsuit. The suit asks for a jury trial.
Brevard County Communications Director Don Walker said that on behalf of the county attorney’s office, he had no comment.
Good luck, gentlemen. I wish you the best of luck.
Sounds like just what the doctor ordered. It will be interesting to see the outcome. The more lawsuits in my opinion, the better.
Which judge has this case? There are several in the Orlando Division who absolutely hate RSOs because the legislate from the bench in the home of Disney. Yes, I have plenty of experience in this very biased court.
Wendy W. Berger is the Judge. She was appointed to the 5th DCA (State Court) by Rick Scott and in 2019 moved the the Middle District of Florida after an appointment by Donald Trump.
If you go by this article: https://www.jacksonville.com/story/news/crime/2012/11/10/st-johns-judge-reputation-tough-sentences-moving-new-job/15848219007/ probably not the best pick.
Thanks FAC. Here’s some more information about the judge.
Berger spent seven years prosecuting criminal cases as an Assistant State Attorney. Before ascending to the bench, Berger served from January 2001 until May 2005 as Assistant General Counsel in the Executive Office of the Governor, which was during the gubernatorial tenure of Jeb Bush. See https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wendy_Berger
It’s a stretch to assume Judge Berger is biased against registered petitioners.
She’s handed down some tough sentences, but those were for fresh crimes not at issue here.
Since most RSO’s don’t re-offend, there’s not much of a record establishing whether a court is biased against them, is there? They may hate sex crimes themselves, but who doesn’t? Even FAC hates those.
So whether a court “absolutely hates RSO’s”— those required to register for a past crime, such as our brave petitioners here— is sometimes evident only in our own minds.
Has Judge Berger ever upheld the banishment of people from public meetings? Ever ruled against an RSO in a civil case, just because the person was an RSO?
Jacob, if you read my post, I never said Judge Berger absolutely hates RSOs. I did say some judges in the Orlando Division do. I know who they are specifically but did omit their names intentionally.
We had a former public defender & Dem appointee rule against us on a technicality, & now we must wait endlessly for the 11th to rule on our challenge to that ruling.
All I’m saying is, judges are unpredictable, and since we don’t get to choose them, let’s focus on what we CAN control, such as whether motions are properly argued (thank you JLI, Jessica Travis, and plaintiffs!)
I don’t know anything about the judge; however I hope she looks at the evidence and follows the law, not her feelings.
There shouldn’t even be such an ordinance, it’s a clear violation of the constitutional right of freedom of movement, let alone free speech! To restrict a specific class of people, from coming within a set distance of any place that children do not congregate, just because it’s close to one that does, is absolutely absurd. This doesn’t even hit upon the fact that they allow businesses to elect for restrictions as well. So now we have businesses saying nope, go somewhere else, like how businesses have been sued for turning away gay people! This country is a hypocrisy, and the enforcer’s of this hypocrisy are just as guilty! This world is full of control freeks, and those in positions of authority are the creme of the crop!
There weren’t any such ordinances before the SOR existed and there weren’t any such ordinances when the SOR came into existence. So….what happened that brought about these ordinances? Did something happen? If not, then that seems to be a damn good reason to get rid of such ordinances. It’s based on NOTHING but fear mongering.
Meanwhile:
Austin, Texas, sees hundreds of sex offender cases removed from police officer supervision due to defunding
https://www.foxnews.com/politics/austin-texas-hundreds-sex-offenders-monitored-civilians-police-defunding
On a side note, I believe that these men should also sue the county for a prorated rebate of their tax dollars.
They pay their taxes, just like any other citizen, but they are barred from using the public amenities that their tax dollars pay for!
They should be refunded.
So, If ‘A Person Forced to Register’ is Barred from Entering a Public Government Building, What about the Prisons and Jails that are within 1000 feet ‘of this madness’, cause there are!
So a ‘person who is forced to register’, is Arrested, they cannot go to Jail Because the Jail Resides within the 1000 Foot Draconian Law
Think About it!?!?1?
Correct? What would a Judge Say about this?!?
So much for representative government in Brevard Country!! Isn’t the sheriff one of those constitutional sheriffs and drinking buddies with Elmer Fudd? If aliens exist they can skip over the government officials of the country because there’s no intelligence, just a bunch of hot air and nothing of substance.
I didn’t make a typo this bs sounds like something you’d see in a foreign country.
https://www.theonion.com/new-law-requires-sex-offenders-to-display-novelty-welco-1848320501/amp
WTF is this:” I exposed myself to a kindergartner on the playground” mats as law from The Onion with no article. Seriously what the front door is this crap!! CherokeeJack here’s something you can put in pillowcases.
It’s not real news. It’s satire.
It is Not Satire, It is Slanderous and Libelous!
Isn’t the Onion total fiction for entertainment purposes?
What are the commissioners thinking when they pass these ordinances? Are they engaged in the conduct they believe registrants do? When I register I just want to get over with and leave without cuffs on. Sounds like these ordinances are pure punishment and limit one’s movement in the community. Special place in Hell for these types of government officials. At least I know why Florida is so humid it’s all the hot air coming from government officials like these folks.