City of South Miami v. Desantis

UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT SOUTHERN DISTRICT OF FLORIDA Case No. 19-cv-22927-BLOOM/Louis CITY OF SOUTH MIAMI, et al., Plaintiffs, v. RON DESANTIS, et al., Defendants. ________________________________/ ORDER THIS CAUSE is before the Court upon an Amended Motion for Leave to File Amicus Brief in Support of Plaintiffs, ECF No. [146] (“Motion”). The Court has considered the Motion, the record in this case, the applicable law, and is otherwise fully advised. For the reasons set forth below, the Motion is granted.

While the Federal Rules of Appellate Procedure and the Supreme Court Rules provide for the filing of amicus curiae briefs, the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure contain no provision regarding the involvement of amici at the trial court level. However, the district court possesses the inherent authority to appoint amici to assist in a proceeding. Resort Timeshare Resales, Inc. v. Stuart, 764 F. Supp. 1495, 1501 (S.D. Fla. 1991). “Inasmuch as an amicus is not a party and does not represent the parties but participates only for the benefit of the court, it is solely within the discretion of the court to determine the fact, extent, and manner of participation by the amicus.”

News & Sun-Sentinel Co. v. Cox, 700 F. Supp. 30, 31 (S.D. Fla. 1988) (citations and quotations omitted). Therefore, an amicus participates only for the benefit of the court. A.R. v. Dudek, 2014 WL 12519764, at * 4 (S.D. Fla. Apr. 7, 2014). “Further, acceptance of an amicus curiae should be Case No. 19-cv-22927-BLOOM/Louis allowed only sparingly, unless the amicus has a special interest or unless the Court feels that existing counsel need assistance.” News & Sun-Sentinel Co., 700 F. Supp. at 32.

Upon review, the Court finds that the instant Motion is well-founded. The Rural Women’s Health Project, the Florida Council Against Sexual Violence, M.U.J.E.R., Tahirih Justice Center, Los Angeles Center for Law and Justice, Oxfam America, The Center for Gender & Refugee Studies, the University of Miami School of Law Human Rights Clinic, Human Rights Watch, and Florida Legal Services “are national and international educational, advocacy, and legal service organizations whose members, clients, and constituencies are affected by the implementation of SB 168.” ECF No. [146] at 5. Amici also all have a special interest in the instant action because they “regularly encounter clients and community members who will be exposed to law enforcement due to their immigration status[.]” /d. Likewise, amici explain that their proposed brief “will focus on how SB 168 directly impacts survivors of gender-based violence [] who are immigrants, due to their knowledge of domestic violence and work with that specific population.” Id. Due to the nature of the issues in this case, and the relevance of the proposed amicus brief, the Court finds that it will benefit from further briefing from the amici curiae.

Accordingly, it is ORDERED AND ADJUDGED that the Motion, ECF No. [146], is GRANTED. The amici curiae may file an amicus brief by no later than October 2, 2020.

DONE AND ORDERED in Chambers at Miami, Florida, on September 24, 2020.

BETH BLOOM UNITED STATES DISTRICT JUDGE Copies to: Counsel of record