Florida NOW in the News

March 6, 2024 by katforflorida

Florida National Organization for Women Condemns Decision Not to Prosecute Former Florida Republican Party Chairman Christian Ziegler for Sexual Battery

Florida — The Florida National Organization for Women (NOW) strongly condemns the decision by the Sarasota State Attorney’s Office not to prosecute former Florida GOP chairman Christian Ziegler for the alleged sexual battery and videotaping of a woman in her Sarasota apartment. This decision sends a troubling message about accountability for sexual violence and the protection of survivors.

Neurobiology of trauma informs us of how the brain and body respond to trauma and help us understand the various ways that survivors of sexual trauma react. It is critical that this science is understood and considered when evaluating the credibility of survivors.

The decision by the Sarasota State Attorney’s Office, as outlined in their three-page memo, raises serious concerns. While acknowledging the victim’s substantial intoxication and trauma, the memo fails to fully consider the impact of trauma on memory and the complexities of sexual violence cases.

It is deeply troubling that the decision not to prosecute was based on the victim’s inconsistencies in recalling key details of the event, as well as her expressed inability to recall whether she consented to recording the sexual activity. These inconsistencies are not uncommon in cases of sexual violence and should not be used to discredit the survivor’s account.

Trauma creates disruption in the limbic system of the brain which stores emotional responses to experiences. The amygdala is the “fear center” of the brain. Trauma response & memory is stored in amygdala. This is the reason that individuals commonly have a lot of emotions when recalling traumatic experiences. When the amygdala is activated during a traumatic experience, it interferes with the hippocampus. The hippocampus is involved with recall of memory, particularly long-term memory. This means that when someone is having a traumatic response or trying to recall memories of a traumatic event, they may not be able to recall details of the event or their recall of the event may not be chronological or linear, which is called fragmented memory. Fragmented memory is a completely natural way of processing traumatic events. (1)

Furthermore, the memo acknowledges that the victim had no financial, political, or malicious personal motivation to report the incident, yet fails to adequately address the power dynamics at play in cases involving high-profile individuals like Christian Ziegler.

The Florida National Organization for Women stands in solidarity with survivors of sexual violence and calls for a thorough review of the decision not to prosecute Christian Ziegler. We urge the Sarasota State Attorney’s Office to prioritize the safety and well-being of survivors and to ensure that justice is served in this case.

From Florida NOW Legislative Director Kat Duesterhaus: “As a survivor of sexual assault unable to recall details of the assault, I know firsthand the challenges that survivors face in recalling traumatic events. Trauma disrupts the limbic system of the brain, affecting memory processing and recall. It is crucial that the neurobiology of trauma is understood and considered when evaluating the credibility of survivors. The decision not to prosecute Christian Ziegler, based on inconsistencies in the victim’s recall, is deeply troubling and underscores the need for greater sensitivity and understanding in cases of sexual violence. In 2021, the state passed legislation requiring trauma informed investigation training for all law enforcement officers in Florida. However, it seems State Attorneys do not yet have that same level of training, and that is a problem for the safety of Floridians.”

For media inquiries, please contact Florida NOW Legislative Director Kat Duesterhaus at 772.267.6353.

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About Florida National Organization for Women (NOW):
The Florida National Organization for Women is Florida’s most historic non-profit organization dedicated to advocating for the rights of women and girls for over 50 years.

February 26, 2024 by katforflorida

FL NOW in the news: ‘Unborn child’ legislation stalls in Florida Senate, may be doomed this session

TALLAHASSEE – An effort to allow lawsuits stemming from the wrongful death of an “unborn child,” widely opposed by abortion rights advocates, was pulled Monday by its Florida Senate sponsor, signaling the proposal may be doomed for this legislative session.

Sen. Erin Grall, R-Vero Beach, postponed action on the measure (SB 476) in the final scheduled hearing of the Rules Committee. Although a similar bill (HB 651) is ready to be heard by the full House, the Senate move darkens any prospect for the legislation in the session’s closing two weeks.

“Although I have worked diligently to respond to questions and concerns, I understand there is still work that needs to be done,” Grall said. “It is important we get the policy right with an issue of this significance.”

Florida law already allows for lawsuits seeking pain and suffering awards involving the loss of a pregnancy in a car accident or other wrongdoing. With Grall’s measure, advocates saw another goal.

“What this bill does, that current law doesn’t do, is subject health care providers to harassing litigation by domestic abusers, rapists and anyone else who impregnates someone else from the moment of conception,” said Kara Gross, legislative director and senior policy counsel at the American Civil Liberties Union of Florida.

The National Organization for Women in Florida sent an email Monday concluding that the Senate delay amounted to victory. “This is the power of advocacy. Great work everyone,” wrote Kat Duesterhaus, Florida NOW’s legislative director.

Grall and the House sponsor of the legislation, Rep. Jenna Persons-Mulicka, R-Fort Myers, were behind legislation the last two sessions that first banned most abortions after 15-weeks of pregnancy and then reduced that standard to 6-weeks, if the initial prohibition is upheld by the Florida Supreme Court.

Justices heard arguments on the 15-week law in September, but still haven’t issued a ruling.

But the restrictions imposed by Florida’s Republican-controlled Legislature and enacted by Gov. Ron DeSantis spurred a constitutional amendment campaign to guarantee abortion rights up to the point of fetal viability.

The fate of the ballot amendment also is before Florida justices.

As originally published on: https://www.tallahassee.com/story/news/politics/2024/02/26/bill-critics-feared-would-interfere-with-abortion-access-could-be-dead/72751336007/

February 1, 2024 by katforflorida

‘Based on exploitation’: Reform advocates say Florida’s guardianship system is putting seniors at risk

PINELLAS COUNTY, Fla. — In his daughter Sue Melendy’s Belleair Beach home, 95-year-old veteran Thomas Foster Sr. stays busy making crosses out of clothespins.

“He designs the pattern. He gets small ones, medium ones, large ones, picks out the jewels,” Melendy explained.

Foster sells the crafted pieces of art at a local market, raising money for the Disabled Veterans of America.

“We’ve been doing that a long time for the DAV,” said Foster, who also likes staying busy at his church and local senior gym.

“They’re all retired, it’s like a big family,” he explained.

For him, it’s a welcome sense of comfort to be doing what he wants and spending time with his daughter, after what they’ve dealt with over the last few years.

“I feel like we’re the poster child for what is not guardianship,” Melendy explained. “And yet, we were subjected to this for three years. And it completely devastated my father, and me and my entire family.”

Thomas Foster Sr. is one of the rare Floridians, even Americans — most famously pop icon Britney Spears — to get out of a court-appointed guardianship.

“We don’t have the statistics, but we venture to think it’s probably less than 1%,” Melendy added.

Under Florida law, courts can appoint guardians to make all life, health and financial decisions for a minor or often older seniors with perceived mental and physical disabilities. Where they live, who they see, and how their money gets spent is all up to the guardian, a person who in Florida only has to be 18 years old, pass a background check and take a 40-hour training course to become a professional one.

“The first thing they take away from you is the power of attorney and your health care surrogacy; that now is a stranger’s responsibility,” Melendy explained.

A court placed an emergency temporary guardian over Sue’s dad after her mom passed away, triggering a years-long court battle that cost her hundreds of thousands of dollars just to fight and try and take back care. Sue says part of the fight centered on proving her dad wasn’t incapacitated and deserved to make his own life decisions, and that her dad’s “estate” was helping fund the fight against their own interests.

“When people first hear that it happened, or happened to somebody like us, they honestly can’t believe it. They just don’t understand it. They can’t believe that it happens in Florida, in Pinellas County, but we know that it does,” Melendy explained.

“My father is going to be 96 years old. He wants to live in peace. He wants to be able to spend time with family and friends. And this, this just about took my dad out. Literally, it’s been so painful,” she added.

Melendy is one of the many reform advocates pushing for change, saying holes in Florida’s guardianship system are putting our area’s most vulnerable and even some of your loved ones at risk.

While the system is in place to protect the kids and seniors — and many guardians do the job for the right reasons, court-appointed guardians have full control over a person’s decisions and that power in some cases can lead to exploitation.

“The problem is the there is not tremendous oversight, and the temptation to for wrongdoing is just too strong,” says Pinellas County Clerk Ken Burke. Burke says holes in the guardianship system have been on his radar since taking office in 2005.

“There’s been abuses that have taken place. There had been case after case of guardians who have stolen from the wards. We just had a case in Pinellas county, with Traci Samuels Hudson,” Burke explained.

In July, Hudson, the former president of a local guardianship association was sentenced to 8.5 years in prison for stealing hundreds of thousands of dollars from several seniors she had in her care. Using the money to buy a home, jewelry and premium seats to Tampa Bay Buccaneers games.

“We know that there has been nefarious activities, how many others are there out there where it’s not as apparent,” Burke explained.

Burke headed up a statewide Guardianship Improvement Taskforce who drafted a report with 10 recommendations to improve the broken system, from identifying problem guardians to preventing unnecessary appointments.

“I did a sample of the last 30 guardianship filings, and it was like 95% got proved to be incapacitated. So, you wonder, is the examining committee really doing its diligence to make sure that the person really is incompetent? Or is the process too much of a rubber stamp?” Burke questions.

The report has already helped change state law, in 2022 Governor Ron DeSantis signed into law a bill creating a statewide guardian database, that advocates say will give judges and courts better oversight of guardians working in the state.

Burke says more reforms will need to be made especially in Florida, where seniors remain at risk, many of them away from immediate family and potentially just one accident away from losing their rights.

“Florida doesn’t need a good system. Florida needs a great system. And we’re not there yet. And we need to get there,” Burke said.

Right now there’s a bipartisan push in the state legislature to continue building off the taskforce’s recommendations. “I feel like there needs to be some guardrails up to protect people, especially people in their most vulnerable point in their life,” says State Rep. Rita Harris, (D-Orlando).

Harris and State Sen. Ileana Garcia (R-Miami) co-sponsored proposals this legislative session that would in part, change the process in which guardianships are established, require guardians be appointed on a rotating basis every few years, and also secure family visitation rights.

“I think for our state it’s even more important that we let our constituents know that if something were to happen and they did find themselves in a situation where they were incapacitated and needed a legal guardian, that it will be a process that would be transparent and they will be protected through the entire process,” Harris said in an interview with 10 Tampa Bay.

The bills were formally introduced earlier this month and we will monitor them as they move forward in the legislature, advocates say additional protections are necessary and welcome.

“With over 4 million residents over the age of 65 in Florida, the need for urgent reform is undeniable,” said Kat Duesterhaus, Legislative Director of Florida National Organization for Women. “Our imperative is clear to prevent ongoing abuse, safeguard lives, and uphold the fundamental rights, dignity, and autonomy of those who find themselves incapacitated.”

There is some objection to the latest proposal, John Moran an attorney and Chair-Elect of the Real Property and Probate and Trust Law Section of the Florida Bar, says while changes to Florida’s guardianship law “are needed,” his group says he does not believe the bill, in its current form should be adopted into law. “SB 48 encourages interfamily conflict while making guardianship proceedings more adversarial and expensive,” Moran said in a statement to 10 Tampa Bay.

Moran added the proposal would also “encourage more guardianship proceedings because it provides personal financial incentive to petitioners to go after an inheritance.”

Video footage and original story on: https://www.wtsp.com/article/news/local/pinellascounty/guardianship-florida/67-79d7eb46-32e7-488e-a948-ae74248ac896

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