BREVARD COUNTY PRAYER The 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals has ruled that the process used by the Brevard County Board of Commissioners to select who may present invocations prior to commission meetings is unconstitutional. The Court determined that the Commission illegally excluded atheists, secular humanists, and polytheists, among others.
VOTING RIGHTS RESTORATION With the passage of an implementation bill for Amendment 4, and its subsequent signing by the Governor into law, the State was facing four separate lawsuits. However, three of the cases have been consolidated and will be heard by U.S. District Court Judge Mark Walker. All of the suits allege state lawmakers are undermining voting rights and the will of voters.
BALLOT SIGNATURES The State is asking a federal judge to dismiss a case originally filed on behalf of former United States Senator Bill Nelson regarding the matching of signatures on mail-in and provisional ballots. The lawsuit was put on hold in May due to a legislative bill that addressed the issues of the suit. Now that the Governor signed the bill, the State is seeking a dismissal.
DAVID BECKHAM STADIUM LAND The Florida Supreme Court has declined to review a lower court ruling that Miami-Dade County did not violate state law in approving the $9 million purchase of county-owned land by the Miami MLS soccer franchise