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I joined Florida Justice Institute in 2013 under the leadership of Randall C. Berg, Jr. 

In my time at the FJI, I have had the privilege to see first-hand what a large impact our small but mighty firm could bring.  With an understanding that The Florida Department of Corrections (FDC) operates the third largest state prison system in the United States, I see the change that we make every day.

I've been very lucky to work alongside some incredibly talented attorneys and paralegals over the years.  I'm very proud of our joint accomplishments as we continue to seek justice for Florida's most vulnerable and disenfranchised citizens. 

Here is a list of our recent accomplishments:                                       US NEWS  Miami Herald ABC News CBS News

We investigated, built, and filed a class action lawsuit aiming to stop the dangerously hot conditions at one South Florida prison.  See here for press coverage of this case: 

 We secured a victory in our lawsuit against Fort Lauderdale on behalf of two homeless individuals—after a three-and-a-half-year fight, a federal judge declared an ordinance that prohibited requesting donations in certain locations unconstitutional, thereby avoiding dozens of needless arrests.

We filed a lawsuit against St. Johns County for arresting homeless and poor people under an ordinance that criminalizes requesting donations along roadways.

We filed a lawsuit on behalf of five incarcerated women who allege they were sexually assaulted by a prison doctor, as part of the fight against rampant sexual abuse at a central Florida women’s prison. 

We filed and settled a lawsuit on behalf of a homeless man against the City of Miami over an unconstitutional panhandling ordinance that resulted in the City repealing the ordinance and our client receiving stable housing and healthcare.

We filed and settled cases against Lake City and Columbia County for enforcing unconstitutional panhandling ordinances, resulting in damages for our clients and repeal of the ordinances, which has avoided dozens of needless arrests of homeless people.

We filed a lawsuit against the City of Jacksonville, aiming to end a restrictive panhandling ordinance enforced against homeless people.

We represented an incarcerated man, trying to stop the Florida Department of Corrections from using a “cost of incarceration” lien to take the money he received from a civil rights lawsuit. 

We continued to litigate our lawsuit against the Florida Department of Corrections on behalf of the family of a man who committed suicide with a chainsaw; that case has caused a policy change requiring more in-depth investigation of people with mental health history before placing them in dangerous prison jobs.

We continued to litigate our lawsuit on behalf of people who don’t want to broadcast government messages about them on branded driver licenses. 

We helped a client regain her right to attend school board meetings after being barred from them for making unpopular comments. 

We helped incarcerated people with disabilities secure needed accommodations in prison. (about 33,000 people in prison with impairment or disability)

We helped ensure a man entering prison received medications to treat opioid use disorder, ensuring that he would not suffer through withdrawal symptoms. (we don’t have an estimate, but there are likely hundreds if not thousands of people who have undiagnosed opioid use disorder)

We provided informal advocacy to dozens of people who sought our help with getting access to medical care in prison, or helping family members get information about what happened to their loved ones who passed away in prison.