Bryan Gowdy was invited by First Coast News to join a live, on-air panel discussion entitled #LetsTalk: A Community Conversation. The forum discussed current events related to terrorism, the Islamic faith, and GOP presidential candidate Donald Trump's statements on banning Muslims from the United States. Bryan joined the panel, which included three other prominent Jacksonville leaders, as a constitutional law expert, and to analyze the legality of Mr. Trump's intentions to ban all Muslims from the U.S. if elected president. You can watch the full discussion here.
Bryan Gowdy was recently quoted by the Jacksonville Daily Record in an article about the juvenile justice system. In the article, Mr. Gowdy expressed the need for judicial involvement and discretion in determining whether juveniles are tried as adults or in juvenile court. There is currently a bill, HB 129, that will reform this system, but the judicial involvement portion of the bill was recently taken out, leaving just "window dressing" that could leave people thinking that real reform took place. You can read the whole article here.
Creed and Gowdy helped a client reach a settlement with the City of North Port regarding allegations of brutality by the North Port Police Department's K-9 unit. This is the first of three suits filed against the K-9 unit since 2014, all alleging the use of excessive force. The lawsuit asserted that the client, a 17-year old, was allowed to be attacked and bitten by a North Port police canine for anywhere from two to five minutes, which left him with injuries that required plastic surgery and 30 staples in his leg. Scott Jeeves, of the Jeeves Law Group, who was primary counsel, said the settlement was amicable and in the best interest of the client and his family. You can read the full article here.
Creed & Gowdy successfully defended a trial court's judgment from attack by a former spouse who claimed that the trial court did not have personal or subject matter jurisdiction over him and improperly awarded attorney's fees. In a written opinion, the First District Court of Appeal rejected all of the former husband's arguments. Briefing for the case was handled by attorneys Jessie Harrell and Bryan Gowdy. The opinion of the First District Court of Appeal can be found here.
On November 2, firm partner Bryan Gowdy filed a motion for certification in the First District Court of Appeal. The motion asked the court to certify to the Supreme Court of Florida that its recent decision in Southern Baptist Hospital v. Charles - which held that federal law trumps the 2004 Florida constitutional amendment allowing all citizens to access reports of adverse medical incidents - is both in conflict with the decision of another appellate court and an issue of great public importance. Patient access to adverse incident reports is an issue that is drawing attention from around the country. Mr. Gowdy's efforts were recently discussed in more detail in Law360, a copy of which can be viewed here.