President Joe Biden is threatening to veto legislation that would expand the federal judiciary.

Forty (40) new citizens were sworn in Tuesday morning in a ceremony at First Coast High School.

An ex-JSO officer is headed to federal prison for eleven years. Alejandro Carmona-Fonseca admitted to sending and requesting nude pictures from several minors. He was arrested in April 2022, and pleaded guilty last December.

Dozens gathered Wednesday at Riverside High School to take part in a special milestone: becoming U.S. citizens.

A hearing in a federal lawsuit challenging Duval County Public Schools mask mandate was delayed Friday after a conference the previous day identified some jurisdictional issues.

Federal judge Timothy Corrigan has set several dates in the Corrine Brown case.

Judge Timothy Corrigan has set a date for the status conference requested by federal prosecutors in the Corrine Brown case.

A divided federal appeals court Thursday overturned the conviction of former U.S. Rep. Corrine Brown on fraud and tax charges, ruling that a juror was improperly removed from her trial because he said the “Holy Spirit” told him Brown was not guilty.

Prosecutors last week filed a 69-page brief, as the 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals prepares to hear arguments Feb. 22 about whether it should order a new trial. There’s nothing wrong with belief in answered prayers or in answered prayers themselves,” prosecutors wrote in the brief. But prosecutors in the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Middle District of Florida wrote in the brief last week that the key issue is whether jurors properly weigh evidence. Prosecutors wrote in the brief last week that Brown and her chief of staff, Ronnie Simmons, solicited and obtained more than $833,000 in donations for One Door for Education.

Corrigan’s decision came after the juror said the “Holy Spirit” told him Brown was not guilty. “If affirmed on appeal, the district court’s holding poses significant concerns for religious people who believe that God communicates with them,” said the brief, led by the Nebraska attorney general’s office. But religious jurors may not say that they believe the inner voice they attribute to the divine told them the same thing. “The district court’s decision here handily withstands that review. “What the argument is that Corrine Brown was discriminated against in that she had a juror removed from her panel for religious reasons, and you can’t remove a juror for religious reasons,” Nichols said Tuesday.

“There is no question that John R. Nettleton (”Defendant") misled, concealed, and lied about facts he knew regarding the disappearance and death of Christopher Tur (“Tur”)," the memo states. “I’d like to apologize to my Navy and Marine Corps friends, and I offer my sincere condolences to the Tur family. “Earlier disclosure might have provided a clearer understanding of his (Tur’s) death,” Corrigan said. Even following Tur’s death, Captain Nettleton continued his obstruction, which the jury found to be criminal. Tur’s family members said they are considering civil action against Nettleton in Tur’s death.

Chief Judge William Pryor wrote a scathing dissent to the 2-1 decision, and Brown’s attorneys subsequently asked the full court to take up the case. AdThe appeal centers on a decision by U.S. District Judge Timothy Corrigan to replace a juror during Brown’s 2017 trial. The juror was replaced by an alternate, and Brown was ultimately convicted on 18 felony counts and sentenced to prison. AdBut in fighting the conviction, Brown’s attorneys have cited the dismissal of the juror and raised the prospect of religious discrimination. He was dismissed during jury deliberations after another juror reported concerns to Corrigan about the man’s Holy Spirit comments.

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – Some Florida strip club owners are lobbying to lower the age limit for dancers from 21 to 18-years-old, calling the current age requirement unconstitutional. A lawyer representing 13 clubs and four dancers in Jacksonville argued before a federal judge that dancing is a form of expression protected under the First Amendment. The city law currently bans dancers under the age of 21 and was passed in an effort to reduce sex trafficking. City attorneys said younger people are more susceptible to the coercion that’s often part of trafficking and argued that 21 is a safer age. During Friday’s hearing U.S. District Judge Timothy Corrigan repeatedly asked about the trade-off between personal rights and pubic interests.

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – The COVID-19 pandemic has led to another delay for the federal sentencing of retired Navy Capt. John Nettleton, on charges stemming from the 2015 death of a civilian employee at Guantanamo Bay – the base Nettleton commanded. In January, a federal jury in Jacksonville convicted Nettleton on six of the eight charges he faced. In light of the pandemic, federal courts have been holding some sentencing hearings via video, rather than in person. The sentencing hearing is now set for Oct. 8 at 9:30 a.m.

The ruling last week by U.S. District Judge Timothy Corrigan against UF Health Jacksonville is part of years of legal battles stemming from a 2004 Florida constitutional amendment that was designed to provide access to medical records in malpractice cases. In March, U.S. District Judge Allen Winsor ruled against UF Health Shands, part of the same health-care system as UF Health Jacksonville, in a similar case. UF Health Shands has taken that case to the 11th U.S. The cases focus heavily on the interplay between the 2004 state constitutional amendment and a 2005 federal law that provides confidentiality protections for certain medical records. UF Health Jacksonville contended, in part, that handing over records sought by Caro would violate the federal law and could subject it to penalties.

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – The federal trial for a Jacksonville Navy captain accused of lying during the investigation into the disappearance and death of a Marine Corps veteran in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, nearly five years ago, is set to begin with jury selection on Monday. Judge Timothy Corrigan said he would hear arguments on the matter next week if the defense decided to go in that direction. Defense attorneys expressed concerns to Corrigan during a hearing last month since Nettleton is not accused of homicide. They said they were concerned prosecutors would try to infer to the jury that Nettleton had a role in Tur’s death. When the jury selection process begins Monday, Judge Corrigan is allowing Nettleton’s attorneys to check out social media profiles for potential jurors and look at anything they have posted that can be seen by the public.

Photo by Joe Raedle/Getty Images/fileJACKSONVILLE, Fla. - The owner of a Jacksonville Beach substance abuse treatment center pleaded guilty Tuesday for his role in a $57 million money laundering conspiracy in a scheme that overbilled the federal government for lab testing services. Kyle Ryan Marcotte, 36, of Jacksonville Beach, pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit money laundering. As part of his guilty plea, Marcotte agreed to forfeit $10,220,281, including an Atlantic Beach home he bought for $1.6 million in 2016. The lab owner subsequently acquired Chestatee Hospital, in Dahlonega, Georgia, and other rural hospitals. Marcotte arranged to transfer a portion of the reimbursements from KTL Labs as kickbacks to the individuals and companies that controlled the substance abuse treatment centers in order to further the fraudulent scheme.

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – A federal appeals court has announced it will hear oral arguments in former U.S. Rep. Corrine Brown's appeal of her conviction on 18 federal fraud and tax charges in the One Door for Education scheme. A panel of judges from the United States Court of Appeals for the 11th Circuit will hear the arguments during the week of Dec. 10 in Atlanta. Brown's appeal is based on the removal of a juror, Juror 13, during deliberations. Brown's appellate attorney, William Kent, filed his appeals brief in March, arguing that U.S. District Court Judge Timothy Corrigan erred in dismissing the juror. Prosecutors still have time to file a reply to that appeal from Brown's attorney.

In signing the order to deny Carla Wiley's motion, U.S. District Court Judge Timothy Corrigan said Wiley can still make the same request directly to the Bureau of Prisons. When federal prosecutors filed their opposition to Wiley’s motion, they said Wiley’s request is one that should be made to the Bureau of Prisons, not to the court. Wiley and Brown's former chief of staff, Ronnie Simmons, were both sentenced to prison time for their role as co-conspirators in Brown's federal corruption scandal. DOCUMENT | Judge denies Wiley's motionLegal experts said federal prisoners typically only serve 85 percent of their sentences if they show good behavior. Both Wiley and Simmons pleaded guilty and testified against Brown.

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – Former U.S. Rep. Corrine Brown's former chief of staff Ronnie Simmons has been ordered to home confinement in Maryland until he reports to federal prison next week. Simmons' confinement was ordered Tuesday by Jacksonville Judge Timothy Corrigan, who changed the terms of Simmons' bond pending his reporting to federal prison, which is scheduled for next Monday. Simmons didn't fight the order at a hearing Wednesday, and a judge made it permanent. She told the News4Jax I-TEAM that she also notified the pretrial services office inside the federal courthouse in Jacksonville. Simmons is scheduled to report back to the Annapolis courthouse on Wednesday for a formal hearing on the new peace order.

GAINESVILLE, Fla. – Corrine Brown's sentencing is scheduled for Dec. 4. Gainesville City Commissioners are waiting until after that date to decide on whether to keep her name on the regional transportation system building, according to WCJB. The building was named after Brown in 2014, three years before she was found guilty of 18 fraud-related charges. Brown asked twice for the sentencing hearing to be delayed, but those motions were denied. "The City Commission is aware of the court findings last week, and we are awaiting direction from them on the facility name.”According to WUFT, the idea of naming the building for Brown emerged during a July 2014 city commission meeting.