Some changes appear likely for Florida’s criminal justice system. State lawmakers must address the escapes of several felons who used forged court documents to secure their release. The Florida Department of Law Enforcement is also reviewing its crime lab operations, after the recent arrest of a former chemist suspected of tampering with drug evidence in multiple cases. Sascha Cordner has more on the foibles and their potential fixes.
Following the suicide death last year of a Florida teenager who’d been cyber-bullied, lawmakers are looking for ways to crack down on online harassment. But Regan McCarthy reports a measure to do just that raises questions about free speech rights and saddling teens with criminal records.
The lines between what different health care providers do is beginning to blur. That’s the backdrop for fights among doctors, nurses and pharmacists. And as Lynn Hatter reports, those fights have become an annual occurrence at Florida’s Capitol, as each group tries to increase or maintain its scope-of-practice.
A student group at a Central Florida middle school is at the center of this week’s arguments before an Ocala federal judge. As Jessica Palombo reports, the lawsuit is the second time in two years the American Civil Liberties Union has intervened on behalf of students at one Lake County school.
The State of Florida is one step closer to creating an agency dedicated to streamlining the whole technology issue. But as Ryan Benk reports, this is the second recent crack at an I-T agency. The last ended in failure and there are those who wonder if this attempt might also wind up like a crashed hard drive.