MIAMI HERALD MIAMI -- A Miami judge tossed a second-degree murder case, citing Florida's Stand Your Ground law. Miami-Dade Circuit Judge Beth Bloom granted 25-year-old Greyston Garcia immunity under the 2005 law Wednesday after ruling his testimony about self-defense was credible. Garcia was charged with killing a 26-year-old suspected burglar in January. The Miami Herald ( http://bit.ly/GKXg1g) reports Miami police Sgt. Ervens Ford was stunned by the judge's ruling. Read more here: http://www.miamiherald.com/2012/03/22/2707448/miami-judge-tosses-case-based.html#storylink=cpy … [Read more...]

By Arelis R. Hernández and Rene Stutzman, Orlando Sentinel A Seminole County grand jury, as well as the U.S. Department of Justice, will investigate the Trayvon Martin case, the racially-charged fatal shooting inSanford. State Attorney Norm Wolfinger this morning released a prepared statement, saying he would have a county grand jury hear evidence April 10. His office, with the help of the Florida Department of Law Enforcement, is reviewing and collecting evidence in the case, his statement said. http://articles.orlandosentinel.com/2012-03-20/news/os-trayvon-martin-doj-investigation-20120320_1_grand-jury-shooting-federal-civil-rights-statutes … [Read more...]

By DARA KAM, Palm Beach Post Staff Writer TALLAHASSEE — Florida law requires voters to present photo identification when they go to the polls, but it allows more alternatives than do the Texas and South Carolina laws that have been blocked by the U.S. Justice Department. Whereas Texas and South Carolina require government-issued identification such as driver licenses, military IDs and passports, voters in Florida can also use other types of cards as long as they have photos -- including credit and debit cards, student identification, public assistance cards or those form neighborhood association or retirement centers. If the identification cards don't have a signature, they can be matched against another document with a signature. http://www.palmbeachpost.com/news/state/florida-voter-id-law-has-more-options-than-2233593.html … [Read more...]

Courtesy of Tampa Bay Online GULF BREEZE - "Pray for Our Schools," many fading yard signs scattered throughout Santa Rosa County say, remnants of a bitter court battle over school prayer between conservative Christian groups and the American Civil Liberties Union. That fight, which cost the Santa Rosa County School District at least $500,000 in attorney fees, ended with officials admitting high school administrators had been leading prayers and promoting Christianity in the school system. It is part of the backdrop for a bill just passed by the Florida Legislature that would allow the state's 67 school boards to adopt rules permitting the reading of student-initiated "inspirational messages" at assemblies and ceremonies. http://www2.tbo.com/news/politics/2012/mar/06/floridas-inspirational-messages-bill-sure-to-spur--ar-366046/ … [Read more...]

Courtesy of CBS12 PALM BEACH COUNTY, Fla. -- You might be breaking the law and not even know it. Florida's law books have some deep dark secrets. In the 1990s Lisa Hornsby broke the law with a smile on her face. "There's no way to explain it. People ask all the time, what does it feel like? What is it like? Really there's nothing like it," said Hornsby. She committed the crimes for years before she got married. "Do I feel like a criminal now? Naw. It's ridiculous," she said. She liked it so much, she built a business around it with her husband. "I could be working in an office with walls around me. Instead the sky is my office. Read more: http://www.cbs12.com/articles/bizarre-4738892-duration-laws.html#ixzz1meE8exC6 … [Read more...]