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On Wednesday, thousands of immigrants across the state and county will be sworn in to become US citizens. Jose Godinez-Samperio is 26, a graduate of New College and the College of Law at Florida State University. He wants to be a lawyer, but his lack of citizenship is holding him back. As Mike Vasilinda tells us, Jose’s case is the perfect example of why some are calling for a “Dream Act.”

Jose Godinez Samperio attended the Florida Bar Annual Meeting this year. The Eagle Scout and Valedictorian of his Tampa high school graduated from New College, the state’s Honors College and from the Florida State College of Law, but whether Jose ever becomes a lawyer in Florida is up in the air. He is an undocumented alien who came to the US when he was 9.

“One day, about six months later, I was watching Barney and my visa expired. Of course, I didn’t know it then, as I was still 10 years old, and eventually I went through school just like any other kid,” Godinez-Samperio said.

Jose passed the Bar Exam with Flying colors.

But because Jose isn’t a citizen, bar examiners refused to admit him to practice law, and instead sent this first-ever case here to Florida’s Supreme Court.

Former FSU President Sandy D’Alemberte, along with three other former American Bar Association Presidents, have filed paperwork supporting Jose’s quest to be a lawyer.

“When you’re a nine year old and you decide to stay with your parents, that’s hardly a character defect,” D’Alemberte said. “What I would say to people is that Jose is exactly the kind of person we want as a citizen of the United States.”

No one has filed paperwork opposing Jose’s admission to the bar. He believes he’s proven he’s worthy to be a lawyer.

“I have not taken advantage of anybody’s taxes, I’m just here to contribute,” he said.

In the meantime, he is working as an activist and he plans to practice immigration law when and if he is allowed to be a lawyer.

State officials say state law forbids them from talking about Sanford Shooter George Zimmerman’s concealed weapons permit. Information about concealed weapons was taken out of the public domain in 2006, so we don’t know who has a concealed weapon, but as Mike Vasilinda tells us, we do know a lot of people are carrying weapons in Florida.

One in every 20 Floridians has a valid concealed weapons permit. Sanford shooter George Zimmerman still has his. State law is very specific about when the permits can be suspended or revoked.

“If you’re charged with a felony crime, and the department is notified, we can certainly move to have the license suspended,” Sterling Ivey with the Florida Dept. of Agriculture and Consumer Services. “Once a conviction takes place, we can revoke that individual’s license.”

This past year, state lawmakers lowered the cost of a concealed permit by fifteen dollars. They now cost 70 dollars. Applicants must also pass a gun safety course. The Brady Project to prevent gun violence says concealed carry permits are too easy to get in Florida.

“You know, this man George Zimmerman, is a living example of that,” Brady Project President Dan Gross said. “This is a guy who had an arrest record, this is a guy who had a violent past. This is a guy who in numerous other states would never be offered a permit to carry a loaded, hidden, handgun.”

The NRA declined to appear on camera for this story. But they argue that statistics show only law abiding citizens get and keep a permit. State figures show 98 percent of all applicants receive a carry permit.

Since 1987, more than 2 million concealed weapons permits have been issued in Florida, and of those permits just three of every thousand have been revoked.

The Brady project counters that just one concealed permit in the wrong hands is an injustice.

In addition to lowering the license fee, lawmakers also reduced the renewal fee by ten dollars. Concealed weapons permits now cost about eight and a half dollars a year.

Florida lawmakers begin a once a decade “extraordinary” session tomorrow because the state Supreme Court found the maps they drew for state senate districts were invalid. The court found problems with the way eight districts were drawn, as well as the way they were numbered in an effort to protect incumbents. District lines in North Florida were drawn east to west. The court says north to south lines would have made the districts more compact. Senate Redistricting Chairman Don Gaetz of Niceville says he’s ready to listen to the courts.

“And we are pleased that thirty-two of our forty districts have been approved by the court, and we’re going to go back and make the adjustments the court asked in the other eight districts. We don’t plan to be involved with changes in any districts that have been approved by the court,” said Gaetz.

The court also found problems with two districts in Northeast Florida and four districts in South Florida. Lawmakers have two weeks to correct the problems pointed out by the court. If they fail, the court will have sixty days to draw the maps.

If lawmakers don’t act by Friday, Florida’s unemployment tax will more than double. The tax is going from 71 dollars an employee to more than 170. As Whitney Ray tells us, efforts are underway to reduce the increase, but lawmakers will have to act fast or they’ll run out of time.

Good food and great services are the ingredients for success for Brian Rowe and his BBQ business. Piggy’s BBQ employees 35 workers. The restaurant has added catering and a food truck, but the rising price of food and fuel presents a huge challenge.

“It hurts our bottom-line. I’m not going to do a price increase to our customers,” said Rowe.

It could get worse. Piggy’s is about to be hit with a 35-hundred dollar increase in state unemployment taxes. The tax is skyrocketing from 71 dollars to more than 170 per employee.

“It’s kind of a double whammy there. When you have all these increases that are affecting us, ultimately you will have to increase the prices or drop your staff and have fewer staff,” said Rowe.

And if lawmakers don’t act by Friday there will be an 817 million dollar increase to all business owners statewide. Legislation to cut the increase in half is being heard late in session. State Senator Ellyn Bogdanoff says the bill will make it across the finish line.

“I don not anticipate Sine Dieing before this thing passes. This is a priority of the governor and we have been working diligently to get it through,” said Bogdanoff.

The increase is needed to pay back the federal government. In 2009, the state ran out of cash to pay unemployment claims. Florida borrowed 2.6 billion dollars from Uncle Sam to keep the money flowing and now the bill has come due with interest.

Critics of the bill say delaying the increase will only prolong payment to the federal government, and since they are charging interest, in the long run businesses will end up paying more.

In 2010 voters overwhelmingly told state lawmakers to draw new political maps without any favoritism for those in the legislature. Today, the task of deciding if lawmakers followed voters’ instructions fell to the Florida Supreme Court. As Mike Vasilinda tells us, a divided court seemed unsure of what it should do next.

By a two-to-one margin, voters in 2010 told lawmakers to be fair when drawing new districts. Keep them small, keep them compact, don’t favor an incumbent or party, said voters. But what they meant has never been interpreted by Florida’s Supreme Court.

The court got differing advice. State lawmakers said the court should take their word for it–they followed voters wishes.

“Coherent approach on how to apply and implement all of the standards,” George Meros, attorney of House of Representatives said. “This House map does so, and does so without any nefarious intent.”

But the City of Lakeland, which got split in two, says the city is a perfect example of not being compact or following political boundaries

“Unless we redrew the whole map, we can’t help Lakeland,” Supreme court Justice Barbara Pariente said.

“Yes, your honor, we think they should redraw the whole map,” the attorney for the city of Lakeland replied.

And the League of Women Voters and Fair Districts argued the maps still favor incumbents in the Senate, where none are pitted against each other. And they favor the GOP in the House.

“Both maps build in a very significant advantage for the Republican party over the Democratic Party,” Paul Smith with the League of Women Voters said.

The court was told that interpreting what voters meant was their job and lawmakers shouldn’t be taken at their word.”

“It could be fairer, that’s the main issue with the House,” Smith said. “But the Senate map, they disregarded a lot of this stuff and it’s a very biased map in terms of partisanship.”

The court has until next Saturday to rule on the maps.

In 2010, Florida voters approved a constitutional amendments requiring state lawmakers to fairly draw new legislative districts, but todayThe Florida Democratic Party filed suit, saying GOP drawn maps are anything but fair. And as Mike Vasilinda tells us, lawmakers are now trying to block the court from asking them what they did and why.

Florida Supreme Court Justices can approve the maps or send them back to lawmakers with guidelines for changes.

62 of every 100 voters in the 2010 GOP landslide told state lawmakers to be fair when drawing legislative maps.

But discovering what lawmakers intended may soon be more difficult.

Sparks flew at a legislative committee where GOP lawmakers approved legislation attempting to block the courts from asking lawmakers, or their staff members, why maps were drawn a particular way.

�The people who had direct input in drawing those maps, what was their intent when they drew the maps the way they drew them,� Rep. Richard Steinberg (D-Miami) said. �The voters have told us that�s relevant.�

Sponsor Larry Metz says there is plenty of public testimony about the maps.

�You�re not going to be able to use the power of another coequal branch of government, in this case the judiciary, to compel a member to answer such questions,� Rep. Larry Metz (R-Lake County).

Florida Democrats have filed suit, challenging the maps. They say the immunity legislation is just more proof the maps were drawn to favor Republicans.

�It�s frankly the most brazen grab for legislative power that we�ve seen in years,� Florida Democratic Party Executive Director Scott Arceneaux said.

Even if the immunity bill becomes law, there�s no guarantee the court won�t say the constitution gives them a right to look at legislative intent.

The Florida Supreme Court will hear the case February 29th. Whether they can ask lawmakers why something was or wasn�t done, may still be up in the air.

Florida Supreme Court Justices can approve the maps or send them back to lawmakers with guidelines for changes.

The Florida Supreme Court will decided if police can continue to ticket drivers with loud stereos. Right now an officer can pull a driver over if their music is �plainly audible� 25 feet from their car. As Whitney Ray tells us, a Pinellas County attorney is challenging a ticket he received in 2007 in front of the state�s highest court.

State law says music is too loud if it�s �plainly audible� from 25 feet away. In 2007, Pinellas County Attorney Richard Catalona was caught with his stereo turned up. He challenged the ticket and won.

�The problem is it means whatever the officer says it means. When you get laws like that you�ve got a major problem,� said Catalona.

Catalona�s case made it all the way to the Florida Supreme Court, where Thursday he stood 25 feet from the justices and asked.

�Am I plainly audible now?�

The state augured the law is meant to protect drivers who may not here emergency sirens if their music is too loud.

�What the legislature has done is draw a statute and try to draw lines based upon what would be unsafe, what level of noise inside the car would be unsafe,� said Timothy Osterhaus, attorney for the state.

The justices listened to the case for 45 minutes. If they side with Catalona look for roadways to get even louder. The law exempts political speech or business ads from the 25 feet rule if the speakers playing the messages are on the outside of the vehicle. The court could issue a ruling anytime or not at all.

Florida law on drug possession is on trial tomorrow at the Florida Supreme Court. As Mike Vasilinda tells us, the case is on an extraordinarily fast track in the state judicial system and the outcome of dozens of cases is at stake.

21-year-old Luke Atkins was threatening suicide on June 11th of this year. His mother called police. Deputies disarmed the youth, then found a small amount of marijuana in his pocket. Adkins has become the unlikely poster child for a court case on the fast track.

At issue is a 2002 Florida law that says being in possession of drugs is a crime, whether you knew you had the drugs or not. Legal scholars say the law ignores basic constitutional rights.

�The person could be arrested, prosecuted, and put in jail for the rest of their life for believing they were doing a friend a favor,� Randal Marshall with the Florida ACLU said.

The legal term in the case is mens rea…or evil mind. The legal principle says you must have intended to violate the law. All 20 of the state�s prosecutors, including 26 year veteran Willie Meggs, are fighting to keep the law, less intent, on the books.

�Well certainly if you have in your sock or in your trouser pocket contraband, to wit, drugs, then you know you have those things there, so knowledge will be inferred,” Meggs said.

More than 40 criminal cases are gone if the Florida Supreme Court says the law is unconstitutional.

Meggs says in 26 years, he�s never prosecuted someone who lacked the intent to commit a crime. But lawyers fighting the law say depending on the government�s good will isn�t enough when basic constitutional rights are at stake.

The importance of the case is evident in the time line. Arrested in mid June, Adkins case was thrown out of court in September. Three months later it is before the states highest court.

Rick Scott has lost his first court battle. The Florida Supreme Court ruled Scott overstepped his authority by freezing new agency rules. Rulings in five more cases are pending. As Whitney Ray tells us, plaintiffs in those cases are confident Scott�s losing streak will continue.

Governor Rick Scott defeated the train, turning down 2.4 billion federal dollars for high speed rail, then winning a suit challenging his authority to railroad the cash.

But Scott�s perfect record in the courts was derailed Tuesday, when the Florida Supreme Court ruled he over stepped his authority when he froze agency rules his first day in office.

�It doesn�t make any sense to me. I don�t think it follows the constitution. It�s a disappointment,� said Scott.

Scott�s record stands at one win, one loss, but Scott�s challengers are lining up to keep his losing streak alive. Five lawsuits are still pending. Some are decision ready. Others have yet to be heard in court.�

In October, in a Leon County courtroom, the Florida Education Association will ague against a law Scott signed forcing state workers to contribute to their pension plans.

�I think we are seeing a lot of litigations that is the result of some fairly outrageous legislation and overreaching by the solid Republican majorities,� said Ron Meyer, attorney for FEA.

The Florida Police Benevolent Association is joining FEA in that suit, but in another lawsuit they�re challenging Scott�s plans to privatize 18 state prisons.

�As we get into it more and engage in discover, we are more and more confident that we will be successful in the privatization suit,� said Hal Johnson PBA General Counsel.

A decision in federal court is pending in a suit the ACLU brought after Scott issued an executive order requiring drug testing for state workers. After the ACLU filed suit Scott suspended the testing. Another lawsuit challenging a law prohibiting pediatricians from asking their patients if guns are in their house was argued in federal court last month. A challenge to provisions in Florida�s new election law is awaiting a hearing. Scott has asked for his name to be removed for that lawsuit.

The state�s highest court has ruled against the governor in a suit that challenged his authority to freeze rules and regulations. The first move Rick Scott made when he took office was to freeze new rules until he could review them to see if they would stifle economic growth. He was challenged. The court ruled against him. Today Scott told reporters if he�s going to be in charge of state agencies he needs the authority to oversee their policies.

�The secretaries of these agencies report to me. They work for me at will and then I�m not supposed to supervise them? It doesn�t make any sense,� said Scott.

Scott responded to reporters about an hour after the Florida Supreme Court issued its ruling. Scott said he wanted to take a closer look at the court�s decision before he made any more statements.