Florida appeals court upholds county mask mandate
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. โ A state appeals court Wednesday rejected a challenge to a Palm Beach County requirement that people wear face masks in businesses and other public places to prevent the spread of the coronavirus. The 10-page ruling by a panel of the 4th District Court of Appeal upheld a circuit judgeโs refusal to issue a temporary injunction to block the mask mandate. The order, which has been extended several times, includes exceptions to the mask requirement for such things as eating, according to the appeals court. Palm Beach County has been one of the hardest-hit areas of the state during the pandemic, with 103,495 reported cases and 2,125 resident deaths as of a Tuesday count, according to the Florida Department of Health. The 1st District Court of Appeal, for example, heard arguments in November in a challenge to an Alachua County mask requirement, though it has not issued a ruling.
Gov. DeSantis nominates new Florida Supreme Court judge after first ruled ineligible
Ron DeSantis on Monday named Jamie Grosshans, a judge on the 5th District Court of Appeal, to the Florida Supreme Court. DeSantis missed a noon request to appoint a justice to the Florida Supreme Court Court. He announced Grosshans just after 5 p.m.At 11:38 a.m., an email titled the โGovernorโs Daily Digestโ promised an announcement about the future of the Supreme Court. โI told him that we have a great judge down here in Florida who was going to be on the Supreme Court. โSometimes life doesnโt work out the way we planned, but who am I to complain, you know.
Parkland parents appeal mental health rulings
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. Parents of victims in the 2018 mass shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School have gone to the Florida Supreme Court in disputes about alleged negligence by a mental-health facility that provided services to accused shooter Nikolas Cruz. Andrew Pollack and Shara Kaplan, parents of slain student Meadow Pollack, and Royer Borges and Emely Delfin, parents of seriously injured student Anthony Borges, have filed notices that they are appealing rulings last month by the 4th District Court of Appeal that said Henderson Behavioral Health, Inc., cannot be held liable in the shooting, according to documents posted Tuesday on the Supreme Court website. But in the Pollack case, the appeals court said the theories of liability are undermined by Florida law establishing that a criminal attack on third parties by an outpatient mental health patient is not within the foreseeable zone of risk created by the mental health provider. Florida law does not recognize a duty of mental health providers to warn third parties that a patient may be dangerous.As is common, the notices of appeal do not detail arguments that attorneys for the parents will make at the Supreme Court. Meadow Pollack was one of 17 students and faculty members who were killed Feb. 14, 2018, at the Parkland school, while Anthony Borges was one of 17 others who were wounded.
Supreme Court wonโt hear styrofoam case
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. โ In a victory for retailers, the Florida Supreme Court on Wednesday declined to take up an appeal in a battle about the city of Coral Gablesโ attempt to ban the use of Styrofoam food containers. The decision effectively let stand a ruling last year by the 3rd District Court of Appeal that upheld the constitutionality of state laws that blocked a 2016 Coral Gables ordinance on polystyrene, commonly known as Styrofoam. As is common, the Supreme Court did not explain its reasons for declining to hear the case, but the decision was unanimous. The Attorney Generalโs Office backed the retailers in the case, including filing a brief in November at the Supreme Court. The case focused heavily on a wide-ranging Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services bill that lawmakers passed in March 2016.
Court rules against student on off-campus threat
The ruling Wednesday by the 3rd District Court of Appeal focused on whether the Miami Lakes Middle School student should have been shielded from prosecution because he posted the threat while off school grounds. Also, the attorneys argued that attempting to regulate off-campus speech made the law unconstitutionally vague and overbroad. The same could be said for a student seeking to interrupt standardized testing by telephoning the school from an off-campus location with a bomb threat hoax." But the court said "the statute limits any punishment for speech to that which causes a disruption to the school functions. Moreover ... the regulation punishes only that speech generating disruption, not speech merely intending to effect an impact."
2 Florida Supreme Court judges tapped for federal seats
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. - Just months after joining the Florida Supreme Court, Justice Barbara Lagoa and Justice Robert Luck have been picked by President Donald Trump to serve on a federal appeals court, Gov. The governor appointed the pair to the Florida Supreme Court shortly after he took office in January. I appointed these two justices to the Florida Supreme Court for their demonstrated understanding of the Constitution and the appropriate role of the judiciary. They will serve our nation well.The Florida Supreme Court received official word of the nominations Thursday afternoon, court spokesman Craig Waters said. Jeb Bush appointed Lagoa to the 3rd District Court of Appeal in 2006, and she had served as chief judge of the court before her appointment to the Supreme Court.