Brevard County settles costly lawsuit
“Brevard County has agreed to settle a federal lawsuit involving the right of convicted sex offenders to attend County Commission meetings.” (FloridaToday, April 8, 2023)
“As part of the settlement, the county agreed to pay damages of $2,500 each to the plaintiffs, plus pay $150,000 for plaintiffs’ attorney fees.”
Three plaintiffs plus their attorney’s fees comes to $157,500. This does not include the cost for the law firm Brevard County hired out of Orlando to represent them.
This lawsuit was triggered by a 2006 Brevard County ordinance that prohibited people on the sex offense registry from being within 1,000 feet of a school, day care, park or playground. Violators could spend up to 60 days in jail and up to a $500 fine.
The building where the Brevard County Commissioners hold their meetings is within 1,000 feet of a school, making it illegal for people on the registry to attend the meetings.
Any thinking person knew that not allowing registrants to attend government meetings was unconstitutional as it violated the First Amendment and Florida’s Government in the Sunshine Law. Brian Lober, an attorney and former chairperson of the Brevard County Commissioners, warned his fellow commissioners that this ordinance needed to be changed to allow registrants to attend the meetings.
Lober’s fellow commissioners would not listen, and the county paid the price. Yes, supposedly there was insurance to help absorb the legal costs for the county, but in the overall picture, incidents like this one only raise the costs for Brevard County citizens.
This is becoming an all-too-often occurrence where government bodies in Florida are passing unconstitutional laws/ordinances, thereby forcing Florida citizens to file costly lawsuits just to make our political leaders do what they should have done in the first place. Examples: Florida Legislature and Brevard County Commissioners
THIS IS GREAT NEWS!
🥳😃 EXCELLENT!!! 🤗😁
👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻
So is the ordinance repealed?
According to FloridaToday: “By settling the lawsuit, the case did not go to trial, and no formal judicial ruling was issued.”
They just added a line to the banishment ordinance that the County Commision Meetings are an exception along with the other exceptions like work related, etc… I mentioned they would do this before the lawsuit was even filed if pushed.
Just the money being spent should make all residents of Brevard county angry. These commissioners were warned repeatedly about the constitutionality of there ordinance and chose to ignore common sense. It’s the same situation as the latest ordinance about “businesses where children congregate” The taxpayers are going to pay out the nose for that lawsuit as well.
Lol lol lol!!!
Yay! I’m happy to read the great news. Do our citizens still have to do 24 hour notification to attend or is it part of the settlement that they can just show up for meetings now? 🤞🏼
Their hateful legislation came back to bite them!
The entire ordinance is contrary to law, constitution and decency!
Shame on their hateful persecution!!
I don’t know how any such ordinance, can in many cases be considered constitutional. What if a road is within 1,000 feet, or a Publix supermarket, or a hardware store, or a doctor’s office, a hospital, etc. How can a county, which is going way above the state, prevent public access to services such as these? Heck it’s like saying they cannot use the interstate, because something that might involve children, is within 1,000 feet, so nope cannot get away from that pesky hurricane, or travel in or out of the county, etc. Florida is ridiculous beyond belief, this state is [moderated].
Thats exactly what Seminole county’s ordinance portrays. You must take different roads and highways to avoid being within 1000 ft of schools, playgrounds and so on. You can be arrested just for driving by. Someone please correct me if I’m wrong.
Just wondering what Floriduh says about PFRs doing their grocery shopping. I always see plenty of children in grocery stores and other shopping centers.
I’m so thankful Michigan doesn’t have stupid laws like that.
The thing that gets me is aren’t most public county meetings held after school hours? If so, then there aren’t any kids in school so what’s the harm? Not only that, but if a PFR is attending a public meeting, he’s definitely NOT loitering at the school.
These laws are so ignorant.
Yea how can a non bias person look at this map and not say it’s banishment https://www.seminolesheriff.org/output/htmlcontent/40/ExclusionaryMap.pdf
We’ve already filed suit against Seminole.*. We just need plaintiffs willing to do so in their own real name, as our Brevard plaintiffs did.
*Google, for example, “Florida Action Committee” and “Seminole .”
What if we do a small donation drive to raise money for stamps and envelopes to the registrants in that country with a flyer with this recent verdict maybe someone might bite if they see they could get potentially get $2,500 dollars as a plaintiff.
https://www.uspsdelivers.com/direct-mail-cost-calculator/
They quoted 370 dollars from the amount needed 200 envelopes stamps etc I’m just brainstorming here 271 registrants you focus on the ones not on probation and do a target letter talking about how Brevard and Seminole county have very similar ordinances. $2500 per plaintive could cost the county a pretty penny if multiple registrants take a chance by putting their name on the lawsuit.
Your right! They can’t!!
It is ‘geographical incarceration’ or the same thing as an invisible fence that is used on dogs. When the dog goes beyond the boundary it receives an electrical shock in the collar. However, if you go beyond the boundary you receive a long and lengthy prison sentence.
Physical fences are used to geographically incarcerate you while you are in jail and prevent you from going into society.
This is no different other than the fence is invisible just like a dog’s invisible fence.
I hate to sound like a wet blanket, as this was a victory. However,
if the exclusion zone wasn’t removed for anything other than the purpose of attending city council meetings, what did registrants win? I don’t live in Brevard County, so I don’t know the lay of the land. The exclusion zone is still in place.
To restricted RC’s from parks and other recreation areas violates their rights as a parent and their child’s safety bc a parent is a child’s first line of protection. Children often get hurt in parks by falling, drowning or choking on a hot-dog. I had saved my son’s life twice a bc I was there to do so. Seems this too is a cause for challenge.
The only thing that really bothered me about this, was that the attorney got $150,000, and only $2500 for the RSOs in this case, these members were embarrassed, and humiliated, and deserved much more.
The only way we will continue to experience successful court challenges, is if the attorneys have a prospect of getting paid for them.
‘Prospect,’ because our attorneys take on our cases on contingency, putting their own time at risk. They get paid only if they win.
We complain on this forum that we can’t find enough good attorneys to take on these cases, then complain again when they get paid for winning.
Were it up to me, this attorney would have gotten not $150k but $250k. So would our plaintiffs, but they weren’t doing it for the money.
You are correct, and I apologize. I think I was not understood, I actually wish the guys had gotten much more from the court, I was surprised that the attorney was given that much from the court, and our friends received very little.
Capt. Munsey said they will be donating the money to FAC! Great idea!
[Moderated] Glad you won sir and your posts on this site never fall on deaf ears. Godspeed as you move forward with the Base issues and try to live a normal life without political giants ripping the carpet out from under you. Again Thank You!!