FBA Addresses Threats to Judges

By John R. Byrne

Over the past few years, we’ve seen an increase in threats to federal judges, including to several judges in our district. Beyond increasing judicial security, though, what else can be done? 

The South Florida Chapter of the Federal Bar Association is trying something different—social media. The idea, spearheaded by current president, Courtney Cunningham, is to have several of our judges film short, social-media-friendly videos designed to educate the general public about the roles of federal judges. The hope is that it’ll help lower the rhetorical temperature while humanizing our judges in the process. Judges Bloom and Scola have already filmed segments, and others have agreed to participate. The Florida Bar recently covered the initiative here. It's worth a read. 

Finally, I would be remiss if I didn’t acknowledge the epic college football weekend ahead of us. There’s FSU v. Bama (corrected from earlier!). And, of course, Notre Dame v. UM or, as some people have been referring to it locally, Catholics vs. Cafecitos. Give me the Noles and Canes in close ones. 

Celebrating Judge Moreno’s 35 Years on the Federal Bench

By Jordi C. Martínez-Cid

This weekend a dinner was held in honor of Judge Federico A. Moreno, celebrating his 35 years of service on the Southern District of Florida bench. The event brought together members of Judge Moreno’s family, his courtroom staff, his local law clerks, and their families.

Over dinner, the Judge regaled the room with personalized stories about each of his clerks, recalling important cases, their accomplishments, and their not-so-serious gaffes. The Judge also took time to thank the hosts, Mariela Martínez-Cid (Moreno ‘01–‘02, ‘06, ‘08–Present) and Ricardo Martínez-Cid (King ‘01–‘02), for what was objectively, despite the author’s many biases, a beautiful event.

Be on the lookout for impersonators. I don’t think anyone will go full V for Vendetta, but I can imagine another judge, maybe  Judge Ruiz (Moreno ‘05–‘06), wearing Judge Moreno’s face on the bench.

Dirty Water

By John R. Byrne

A class action lawsuit was just filed against the Federal Bureau of Prisons, Attorney General Pam Bondi, and others over the tap water at Coleman prison. The complaint, filed in the Middle District of Florida, paints a pretty bleak condition of the water there. Visible "sediment" that floats in the water. "Oil-like residue" that settles at the bottom of the cup. And that's just what it supposedly looks like. It apparently also "smells like rotten eggs and human waste" and has an "unpalatable, chemical" taste. The lawsuit claims the dirty water has caused serious health issues within the facility.

The fault, the complaint says, primarily lies with the City of Wildwood, which the Defendants rely on to provide potable drinking water. Still, the plaintiffs seek relief against the federal officials because they allegedly have an independent duty to ensure the water is safe to drink.

Check out the complaint here. Warning: you may want to get down that first cup of coffee before reading.  

Eleventh Circuit Cracks Down on Airport Seizures

By John R. Byrne

In the post 9-11 world, getting through airport security can be a real pain in the keister. You got to take off your shoes (thanks for that, Richard Reid), your belt, put your laptop in a separate bin, etc., etc.). But the Clayton County P.D. in Atlanta added another fun wrinkle: purportedly random stops of TSA-cleared passengers on jet bridges that involved questioning about contraband and additional searches. 

Two black passengers named Eric Andre and Clayton English--who both also happen to be celebrity comedians--claimed these stops weren't so random and that the department selectively targeted black passengers.

The Eleventh Circuit held that the plaintiffs didn't plausibly allege a discriminatory purpose. But it also held that, if what the Plaintiffs said about the stops was true, the County's "drug interdiction program"constituted a policy and custom of unlawful seizures that violated the Fourth Amendment. 

If you have a connecting flight in Atlanta anytime soon, may want to read this one in its entirety!

Opinion here.

See Ya Later, Alligator: Judge Williams says no more Alligator Alcatraz

 Here's the 82 page order.  

The Everglades just got a reprieve. Judge Kathleen Williams granted in part and denied in part a motion for preliminary injunction in Friends of the Everglades v. Noem. The case challenges plans to convert the Dade-Collier Training and Transition Airport—smack in the middle of Big Cypress National Preserve—into a massive detention facility.

The bottom line is that no more detainees can be sent to the facility and much of it needs to be dismantled. 

From the conclusion (without the footnotes):

For the reasons set forth above, it is ORDERED AND ADJUDGED as follows: 

1. For the purposes of Defendants becoming compliant with their obligations under NEPA, the Court GRANTS IN PART AND DENIES IN PART Plaintiffs’ Motion for a Preliminary Injunction (DE 5), as follows: 

2. The Court ENTERS a Preliminary Injunction prohibiting the State and Federal Defendants39 and their officers, agents, employees, attorneys, and any person who is in active concert or participation with them from (1) installing any additional industrial-style lighting (described by witnesses as “Sunbelt” lighting); or doing any paving, filling, excavating, or fencing; or doing any other site expansion, including placing or erecting any additional buildings, tents, dormitories, or other residential or administrative facilities on the TNT site; and (2) bringing any additional persons onto the TNT site who were not already being detained at the site at the time of this Order going into effect. The Preliminary Injunction does not prohibit modification or repairs to existing facilities, which are solely for the purpose of increasing safety or mitigating environmental or other risks at the site. 

3. The Preliminary Injunction shall include among those “who are in active concert or participation with” the State or Federal Defendants or their officers, agents, employees, or attorneys, and thus prohibited from conducting the activities specified above, any contractors, subcontractors, or any other individuals or entities authorized to conduct work on the TNT site or provide detainee transportation or detention services. See Fed. R. Civ. P. 65(d)(2)(C) (including “other persons who are in active concert or participation with” the parties or the parties’ officers, agents, servants, employees, and attorneys among those bound by any injunction). 

4. No later than sixty (60) days from the date of this order, and once the population attrition allows for safe implementation of this Order,40 the Defendants shall remove 1) the temporary fencing installed by Defendants to allow Tribe members access to the site consistent with the access they enjoyed before the erection of the detention camp; 2) the Sunbelt lighting fixtures and any additional lighting installed for the use of the property as a detention facility; and 3) all generators, gas, sewage, and other waste and waste receptacles that were installed to support this project. 

5. Finally, Plaintiffs shall post a bond of $100. See BellSouth Telecomm., Inc. v. MCImetro Access Transmission Servs., LLC, 425 F.3d 964, 971 (11th Cir. 2005) (internal citations omitted) (“the amount of security required by the rule is a matter within the discretion of the trial court”).  

SDFLA Bench & Bar Conference

Who's in?  It looks like a wonderful conference.  September 12 at the Miami Beach Convention Center.  You can RSVP here.

I'm biased, of course, but this particular panel -- moderated by my partner Margot Moss -- looks especially interesting:

 

Shipwrecked!

By John R. Byrne

"Two 16th-century storylines set the stage for the sinking of la Trinité and France’s doomed efforts to colonize Florida. The first is one of empire: France, England, Spain, Portugal, and the Netherlands all hungered for new lands, new trade routes, and new resources in the so-called New World. The second is one of religion: Europe, long united in faith under the Catholic Church, fractured and descended into religious wars as the Protestant Reformation spread from kingdom to kingdom."

Is this the opening passage of a riveting non-fiction book about the fate of a cursed French ship? No! It's the background section of an Eleventh Circuit opinion that came out yesterday. The case involved a fight over the sunken remains of la Trinité, a French ship which sank off the coast of Cape Canaveral in 1565. In 2016, a company called Global Marine Exploration, Inc. (which in my head I'm imagining as the equivalent to Bill Paxton's crew from the movie Titanic) discovered the remains of the ship. But France called dibs, resulting in this litigation. 

In the end, the Eleventh Circuit held that the Sunken Military Craft Act (yes, this exists) barred Global Marine’s lawsuit because la Trinité was on military noncommercial service when it sank. But in getting to this holding, Chief Judge Pryor recounts an intriguing aspect of Florida history that involved warring battle ships, a devastating hurricane, and beheadings. Opinion here. 

It's all Alligator Alcatraz (UPDATED with full order)

 As we wait Judge Williams' decision on whether to issue a permanent injunction, another Alcatraz case was assigned to Judge Rudy Ruiz. 

Below is a portion of his 47-page order transferring the case to the Middle District (UPDATE -- here's a link to the full order):

Update: Judge Ruiz orders ACLU Alligator Alcatraz case be moved from the Southern District of FL to The Middle District of FL where Collier County falls under.

Dismisses the fifth amendment claim because the federal government announced Krome as the immigration court for AA. https://t.co/wf6dK4gS0T pic.twitter.com/61SgfOGZCl

— Churchill Ndonwie (@ChurchillNdonwi) August 19, 2025

  And here's the Miami Herald coverage:

Saying circumstances had changed, a federal judge in Miami dismissed a key claim in a lawsuit over Alligator Alcatraz detainees’ access to courts and legal services on Monday and moved the case to a different district.

U.S. District Judge Rodolfo A. Ruiz II wrote in a 47-page ruling that the lawsuit by lawyers and detainees at the Everglades immigration detention camp belonged in the Middle District of Florida because that court oversees legal disputes in Collier County, where the facility is largely located. He ordered the case transferred. But first, he said an allegation that Alligator Alcatraz detainees had no access to immigration courts was rendered moot when the Trump administration in recent days designated Krome North Processing Center in west Miami-Dade County as the venue for detainees’ cases to be heard.

The designation came more than a month after the first detainees were brought to Alligator Alcatraz. But Ruiz wrote that there was nothing more to be done and tossed a claim alleging violations of detainees’ Fifth Amendment rights. That left one claim — alleging a lack of confidential and swift access to attorneys in violation of the First Amendment — alive. “Prudence in this matter has revealed changed circumstances, a moot claim, and improper venue warranting transfer,” Ruiz wrote. Ruiz’s ruling came hours after he gathered attorneys on the case in his courtroom to debate a request by the American Civil Liberties Union and other plaintiffs to force the state and federal governments to identify an immigration court for the facility and a confidential channel for detainees to talk with their attorneys. The lack of an official immigration court designated to handle cases for detainees held at the makeshift detention camp has been a chief sticking point for lawyers, who said the issue was a violation of detainees’ Fifth Amendment rights. Immigration attorneys said their clients initially began receiving hearings at Krome after Alligator Alcatraz opened in early July, but that quickly ended, leaving detainees unable to petition the courts for bond.