Florida Legal Overview Florida has been at the focal point of constitutional quarrels that have led to greater legal protections for individuals throughout the country. However, Florida’s adoption and tax laws and regulations remain a mark of condemnation for disenfranchising low-income and minority residents. The definition of the Sixth Amendment in 1963 was permanently extended by the breakthrough verdict, Gideon v. Wainwright, in which the Supreme Court of the United States declared that help of a lawyer is an important right.
Top metro Florida areas for Legal Issues:
1. In addition to Arkansas and Mississippi, Florida is a state that openly forbids homosexuals from adopting children. However, recent developments report that a judge for the 16th Judicial Circuit Court declared this Florida law to be unconstitutional. It has not been confirmed one way or another if the law will change, after it had survived analysis by the Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals in Lofton v. Secretary of Dept. of Children and Family Services. Attorneys from gay rights organizations, including the American Civil Liberties Union, are presently trying to bring the provision under the scrutiny of the U.S. Supreme Court based on the fact that the regulation goes against the constitution due to discrimination. 2. George Zimmerman, the man being accused of killing Trayvon Martin, has been released from a Florida jail on bond. 3. A lifeguard in Florida was wrongfully terminated after saving a man from drowning. The termination was a result of the lifeguard breaking protocol in order to save the man’s life.
Trending Florida Legal Topics: Criticism has also focused on Florida’s tax policy, which is said to be one of the most deteriorating throughout the United States. Simply put, Floridians that fall into a lower income bracket are forced to pay a higher share of taxes as opposed to residents that make a higher income. The state is also one of nine throughout the country that do not tax personal revenue. Therefore, Florida government depends tremendously on sales tax to fund public services. Currently, the state sales tax is set at 6 percent. |