Latest news with #8thJudicialCircuit
Yahoo
08-08-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
ACLU sues Florida Gov. DeSantis over missed judicial appointment deadline
For the second time in two months, Gov. Ron DeSantis has failed to meet the deadline to appoint someone to fill a judicial vacancy, prompting a legal challenge from the American Civil Liberties Union of Florida. ACLU of Florida filed suit with the Florida Supreme Court on Aug. 8 on behalf of Gary Edinger, a First Amendment lawyer and resident of the 8th Judicial Circuit, which covers Alachua, Baker, Bradford, Gilchrist, Levy and Union counties. The filing asks the court to require DeSantis to fill a vacancy that arose when Judge Michael Moseley submitted his resignation April 1, effective June 30. DeSantis convened the circuit's Judicial Nominating Commission, which returned a list of four names to him on June 4: Michael Becker, Lorelie Brannan, Joy Danne and Kristine Van Vorst. Florida's constitution requires the governor to make an appointment within 60 days after the JNC submits its nominees, but DeSantis has yet to name a successor to Moseley. As the ACLU filing notes, the timing of the appointment is important. If the appointment isn't made by Aug. 18, whomever DeSantis names to the vacancy won't have to appear on next year's ballot. Florida law requires appointed judges subject to elections to go before voters if they were appointed more than a year before the next election. The primary election next year is Aug. 18, 2026. 'When a governor flouts the constitutionally mandated deadline for appointing a trial judge, that can illegally deprive voters of their right to vote on the judge at the next election,' the filing says. 'It can also confer an unconstitutional benefit on the appointee by adding an extra two unlawful years to their initial term, which the Constitution does not permit.' A request for comment is pending with DeSantis' press office. The lawsuit comes after a similar suit filed by the ACLU in July on behalf of Maite Garcia, an attorney and resident in the 2nd Judicial Circuit, which includes Leon, Gadsden, Wakulla, Jefferson, Liberty and Franklin counties. That suit involved the vacancy that arose when Judge Robert Wheeler resigned on March 28. The suit was voluntarily dismissed after DeSantis appointed Jason Jones, a Leon County judge who was once general counsel for the Florida Department of Law Enforcement, to replace Wheeler on July 17 – two weeks after the ACLU filed the legal challenge. More: ACLU of Florida drops lawsuit after Gov. DeSantis fills Tallahassee judicial vacancy Gray Rohrer is a reporter with the USA TODAY Network-Florida Capital Bureau. He can be reached at grohrer@ Follow him on X: @GrayRohrer. This article originally appeared on Tallahassee Democrat: DeSantis sued again by ACLU for failing to fill court seat on time Solve the daily Crossword
Yahoo
17-03-2025
- Yahoo
SC bill would raise age of homicide by child abuse
COLUMBIA, S.C. (WSPA) – Lawmakers are hoping to add some teeth to a bill that's meant to protect children from abuse. For homicide by child abuse cases, the bill would raise the age of protection from 11-years-old, all the way up to 18-years-old. 'It's kind of a gray area as to how to treat the criminal who's charged and ultimately convicted of that death,' said previous sponsor, Senator Luke Rankin (R – Horry County). The Homicide by Child Abuse Bill was discussed in a Senate Subcommittee Meeting and defines child abuse as being either physical or caused by neglect. David Stumbo, solicitor for the 8th Judicial Circuit, said he prosecuted a case involving a Fountain Inn family last fall that could have been helped by the proposed law. Stumbo said 12-year-old Ashantae Glenn, a child with special needs, suffered severe medical neglect and injuries over a long period of time. 'They didn't feed her properly, there were some injuries, but they were mild injuries that we couldn't prove a malice case, said Stumbo. 'So, essentially, senators, we need 405 to protect victims like Ashantae Glenn.' Since Glenn was above the age of eleven, Stumbo said she wasn't protected under the current homicide by child abuse law. He had to reluctantly negotiate that Glenn's abusers, her mother and stepfather, would only receive ten years in prison. 'That was the most we could get on the case that we could prove at the time. If this bill were passed and we had that in play at that point, we could have easily argued to a jury the acts or omissions element of homicide by child abuse,' Stumbo said. Senator Rankin said this bill has been unanimously passed before in the senate and expects the same this time around. 'It is a difficult conversation for them to have with the victim's family to explain why they can't go for this charge directly by homicide and have to walk around, a guilty plea or other charges,' Rankin said. Stumbo said there are many other cases like Ashantae's and calls passing this bill a 'no-brainer.' Senator Rankin said he expects this bill to come out of the Senate Judiciary Full Committee at the next meeting. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
