On Tap in the Capital
The News Service of Florida
UNDOCUMENTED IMMIGRANT WHO WANTS TO PRACTICE LAW: The Florida Board of Bar Examiners is asking the Supreme Court whether undocumented immigrants are eligible for admission to the Bar in the case of Jose Godinez-Samperio. The court hears oral arguments Monday, Oct. 8,2012 in the case. Godinez-Samperio was brought to the United States at age nine by his parents, and later graduated from law school, and passed the bar exam. The case has been closely watched by immigrant advocates nationwide. (9 a.m., Florida Supreme Court, 500 S. Duval St., Tallahassee.)
COURT HEARS LESBIAN CHILD CUSTODY CASE: The Florida Supreme Court’s second oral argument on Tuesday, Oct. 9, involves a custody dispute over a child that followed the ending of a lesbian relationship. One of the women, identified only as DMT, gave birth to the child, but using an egg from the other woman, TMH. A Florida law says donors of eggs, sperm or pre-embryos relinquish parental rights, leading a lower court to rule in favor of DMT. But the Fifth District Court of Appeal ruled that the statute was unconstitutional. (About 9:30 a.m., 500 S. Duval St., Tallahassee.)
EX-FELON DISENFRANCHISEMENT: The national president of the NAACP, Benjamin Todd Jealous, will be in Tallahassee on Tuesday, Oct. 10 and will be joined by several others at a news conference launching a national campaign to advocate for restoration of voting rights for former felons. Celebrity activists Judge Greg Mathis and actor Charles Dutton will also participate in the news conference. The NAACP says Florida, Virginia, Iowa and Kentucky are the only states where former felons don’t automatically get their rights back after serving their sentences. (10 a.m., The Capitol; if rain, Florida Press Center.)
