FLORIDA: State Supreme Court To Define "Sexual Intercourse" Between Gay People

Via the Associated Press:

The Florida Supreme Court will consider the definition of sexual intercourse in a case involving a gay man charged with not letting a partner know he was HIV-positive. A lawyer for Gary Debaun is trying to have a charge dismissed under a 1986 law designed to prevent the spread of the human immunodeficiency virus. The law says it's illegal not to disclose an HIV infection before "sexual intercourse." Lawyer Brian Ellison argues that the definition applies only to traditional sex between a man and a woman — not oral or anal sex between two partners of any gender. Assistant Attorney General Jeffrey Geldens says it is absurd to think the Legislature would enact a law to prevent the spread of HIV and not consider other forms of sexual activity.

More details from the case:

The case arose in Key West where Gary Debaun was charged in 2011 with falsely telling a man he did not have the virus before they engaged in sex acts. Monroe County Circuit Judge Wayne Miller dismissed the case, saying state law defined “sexual intercourse” as between men and women. The state appealed, arguing that the 1986 law Debaun violated, which requires HIV-infected people to inform their partners, was intended to cover all sex acts, both homosexual and heterosexual, even if it did not precisely define the nature of sexual intercourse. After hearing arguments, the seven justices usually take months to issue rulings. The court has dealt with sexual definitions before, in 1971 striking down an 1868 statute that criminalized “the abominable and detestable crime against nature with either mankind or with beast” in the case of two gay man who faced up to 20 years in jail.

FLORIDA: AG Pam Bondi Tells State Appeals Court To Hold Off Until SCOTUS Rules On Same-Same Marriage

Filing separate motions in both the Monroe County and Miami-Dade County cases, Florida Attorney General Pam Bondi has asked a state appeals court to continue those counties' stays on marriage ban overturn rulings until the US Supreme Court rules on one of the cases already presented to it.

"Neither this Court nor the Florida Supreme Court can decide this federal issue with finality,” Bondi wrote in a filing late Thursday to the state’s 3rd District Court of Appeal. “The United States Supreme Court, however, ‘has the final word on the United States Constitution.’” Bondi told the appeals court she expects the U.S. Supreme Court will act soon on the gay marriage issue. She cited filings this week from the states of Utah and Oklahoma asking their gay-marriage cases be heard by the nation’s highest court. “A ruling from the United States Supreme Court would end the constitutional debate, end this appeal, and end all related cases,” Bondi wrote. “The State of Florida will respect the United States Supreme Court’s final word. In the meantime, this Court should preserve taxpayer and judicial resources by staying briefing until the United States Supreme Court rules.”

Bondi's motions came in response to a request made by Monroe and Miami-Dade plaintiffs to have their cases joined for presentation to the Florida Supreme Court. Bondi has agreed to the consolidation of the cases, but now wants the state appeals court to just sit on them indefinitely - without ruling and without kicking them upstairs to the state Supreme Court. Neither of yesterday's filings address the marriage rulings in Broward and Palm Beach counties.

Crist Steps To The Left, Eyes Senate Run

Florida Gov. Charlie "Closet Case" Crist has just pissed off the fundie world by appointing black civil rights activist James Perry to the state Supreme Court.

In a move that angered some conservatives but could please minority supporters, Gov. Charlie Crist has named Circuit Judge James Perry of Sanford to the Florida Supreme Court. Conservative interest groups including the National Rifle Association, the Florida Family Policy Council and Florida Right to Life had advocated 5th Circuit Court of Appeals Judge Alan Lawson, calling him more qualified. Perry, 65, a registered Democrat with a history of community involvement and occasional involvement in civil rights litigation, was appointed to the bench by former Gov. Jeb Bush in 2000.

Some of the groups who backed Lawson charged that Crist was seeking to win black support for next year's U.S. Senate race.Crist has said he's considering running for the Senate instead of running for re-election. "It's a politically calculated move," said Adam Goldman, legislative vice president of Florida Right to Life. "Gov. Crist really is taking a risk. I'm sure there's going to be a primary for the Senate race, and he's not doing himself any favors." John Stemberger of the Florida Family Policy Council called Crist's decision, "stunning and profoundly disappointing."

LGBT rights groups had supported Perry's appointment. And anything that "profoundly disappoints" the Family Policy Council is good news for us, whatever the motive.