Tag Archives: judge

Judge Declares Florida’s Drug Law Unconstitutional

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Mary S. Scriven, United States District Judge for the Middle District of Florida, Orlando Division, held Florida Statute 893.13, Florida’s drug statute, unconstitutional in an order filed on July 27, 2011. In accord with Rule 57 of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure, a Declaratory Judgment shall be entered separately, declaring Florida Statute, 893.13 unconstitutional. In her 43 page order, Judge Scriven granted Petitioner, Mackle Vincent Shelton’s Petition for Writ of Habeas Corpus under 28 U.S.C. Section 2255.

Click for the full text of the opinion.

What if trying to get out of jury duty landed you indefinite jury duty?

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Jury duty is usually not the way someone wants to spend their day, but most civilians cooperate and fulfill the request. But what some will do to get out of jury duty can be extreme…

According to an article from the NY daily news , an Asian woman was sentenced to indefinite jury duty for her racist comments on her questionnaire. When she was asked to name her top 3 least admired people, she answered African Americans, Hispanics and Haitians- reason being that they are always in the news for doing something.

Later in the questionnaire, the woman stated that her cousin was part of a gang and the article quotes:

“Why didn’t you put ‘Asians’ down also?’ the judge asked sarcastically, referring to her list of least-liked people. ‘Maybe I should have,’ she said.”

To denounce other races (even her own) seems ridiculous and inappropriate in the courtroom. Was she trying to get out of jury duty by taking the extremist route? Judge Nicholas Garaufis thought so, slamming her with indefinite jury duty until decided otherwise.

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