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Earlier this month, Florida legislators effectively enacted a bong ban. What does this piece of legislation mean practically for Floridians? Essentially, it is now illegal to intentionally sell devices used to facilitate the enjoyment of marijuana. Though violations of this device distribution ban will not be punished as severely as...

Several days ago, the First District Court of Appeals held that Florida may privatize its prison healthcare system. This broadly means that rather than assuming responsibility for the care of its prisoners, a private healthcare contractor or set of contractors will be tasked with that challenge. While this decision may...

In 2003, Congress passed the Prison Rape Elimination Act. Last year, the Justice Department finally released a list of prevention measures that prisons and jails receiving federal money must follow as a measure of enforcing this law. In essence, the 2003 law both insists on a zero tolerance policy with...

Florida criminal defendants too poor to afford their own representation may soon find themselves represented by counsel not employed as public defenders. When confronted with an overburdened criminal defense system, the Florida Supreme Court recently opted to value the rights of the criminally accused over certain interests of the state’s...

Both federal and state criminal laws often provide for certain release valves to be used in the event that it makes more sense from a values balancing standpoint to release a prisoner or mitigate his or her imprisonment terms than to keep that prisoner locked away. The criminal justice system...