The Free Press – Your Source For Tampa Area Local Breaking News, National Stories, Courts, Politics, Sports, Florida Agriculture, Legal, and Jobs.
The Florida Supreme Court on Wednesday said it will hear arguments Feb. 7 in a dispute about state regulators’ approvals of storm-protection plans for four electric utilities. The state Office of Public Counsel, which represents consumers in utility issues, went to the Supreme Court in…
Read More Florida Supreme Court Sets Hearing In Utility Storm Plans
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis and the state university system are trying to fend off lawsuits from pro-Palestinian student groups that allege First Amendment violations amid campus debates about the war between Israel and Hamas. Attorneys for DeSantis and the university system last week filed documents…
Read More State Of Florida Disputes ‘Students For Justice In Palestine’ Free Speech Lawsuits
A federal judge Thursday rejected a lawsuit filed by a Southwest Florida hospice provider alleging trademark infringement by similarly named Texas abortion-rights organizations. The Collier County-based non-profit Avow Hospice filed the lawsuit against Avow Foundation for Abortion Access, Inc., Avow, Inc. and Avow PAC, which…
Read More Abortion Group Name Infringement Case Tossed In Florida
A House Democrat on Thursday filed a proposal that would provide a public records exemption for personal information about clerks of circuit court, deputy clerks, employees, and family members. Rep. Dan Daley, D-Coral Springs, filed the bill (HB 983) for consideration during the 2024 legislative…
Read More Records Exemption Sought For Florida Court Clerks
As it tries to fend off a potential class-action lawsuit over dropping people from the Medicaid program, Gov. Ron DeSantis’ administration this week alleged that federal health officials have violated an open-government law by not providing records that could be relevant to the case. Attorneys…
Read More State Of Florida Sues Feds Over Medicaid Records
HILLSBOROUGH COUNTY, Fla. – For the second time, a Hillsborough County circuit judge trying to fend off allegations of campaign wrongdoing has called for the disqualification of a member of a panel that will consider her case. Circuit Judge Nancy Jacobs on Monday filed a…
Read More Hillsborough County Judge Challenges Panel Member In Wrongdoing Case
The Florida Supreme Court has declined to take up a challenge to the constitutionality of a state law that bars possession of guns by convicted felons. Justices on Monday issued an order rejecting an appeal by William Edenfield, who was charged with possession of a…
Read More Florida Supreme Court Rejects Felon Gun Ban Challenge
An appeals court Wednesday upheld a decision awarding workers’ compensation benefits to a Seminole County firefighter who had a heart attack and needed a heart transplant after being diagnosed with COVID-19. The ruling by a three-judge panel of the 1st District Court of Appeal involved…
Read More Workers’ Comp Benefits OK’d In COVID Case For Florida Firefighter
A St. Johns County judge could face a public reprimand after an investigation into whether she improperly injected partisanship into her election campaign and made a misleading statement about fundraising. Judge Casey Woolsey “admitted that her conduct was inappropriate” and violated judicial canons, according to…
Read More Florida Judge Could Face Reprimand In Election Partisanship Case
Florida is asking a federal appeals court to overturn a district judge’s ruling in a decade-long battle about children with complex medical needs receiving care in nursing homes, describing a key part of the ruling as an “arbitrary and unachievable” goal. A panel of the…
Read More State Of Florida Targets Nursing Home Kids Ruling