Florida religious institutions and leaders enjoy broad legal protections under both the state and U.S. Constitutions. And while there is nothing in law that expressly protects clergy, churches, temples, mosques, or religious schools from civil sexual abuse lawsuits, some have argued – with mixed success – that the First Amendment…
Recently, an investigation by CNN spotlighted systematic issues with sexual assaults involving merchant shipping crews and the U.S. Coast Guard personnel responsible for policing them. As longtime civil trial lawyers representing survivors of sexual assault in South Florida, we’ve seen some confusion about how whether U.S. military branches can be…
Survivors of sexual abuse and assault have endured more pain and mental anguish than many others experience in a lifetime. Legal accountability for those responsible can be an important part of the healing process. It’s important that if you’re considering pursuing a civil sexual assault case in Florida that you…
Florida has two sets of legal justice systems: Criminal and civil. The sole purpose of the criminal justice system is to punish the offender. Prosecutors represent the government in pursuing charges. In criminal sexual assault cases, the survivor is a witness. In the civil justice system, the survivor is the…
An estimated 1 in 6 women in Florida will be victimized by sexual assault at least once in life, while 1 in 5 men will be victimized by some form of sexual violence other than rape. Although survivors can make the decision to report such actions to police, pursuing criminal…