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Marsy's Law doesn't protect law enforcement officers who use deadly force, Florida Supreme Court rules

Ruling stems from 2 separate incidents involving Tallahassee police in 2020
Florida Supreme Court as of December 2023
Posted at 3:57 PM, Nov 30, 2023
and last updated 2023-11-30 23:40:38-05

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. — Marsy's Law can't be used to shield the identities of law enforcement officers who use deadly force, the Florida Supreme Court ruled Thursday.

The ruling stems from separate 2020 incidents in which two Tallahassee police officers shot someone while on duty.

Florida enacted a version of Marsy's Law through a 2018 constitutional amendment.

Initially, the city of Tallahassee agreed to release the two officers' names, but the police union filed to block the names from being released.

A Leon County circuit judge ruled in 2021 that the city could release the names, but that ruling was later overturned by an appellate court.

"Marsy's Law does not preclude the city from releasing the names of the two police officers whose conduct is at issue in this case," the high court said.

The opinion was authored by Justice John Couriel, with Chief Justice Carlos Muniz and Justices Charles Canady, Jamie Grosshans and Renatha Francis concurring. Justice Jorge Labarga concurred in the result only, and Justice Meredith Sasso didn't participate in the ruling.