10 Big Florida Legal Issues to Watch in 2025

TALLAHASSEE – Numerous important Florida legal matters are pending in state and federal courts as 2024 comes to a close. Here are 10 legal issues to watch in 2025:

BOOK BATTLES:

Publishers, authors and parents have filed federal lawsuits stemming from a 2023 state education law and decisions by school districts that have led to books being removed from school libraries or restricting access. The lawsuits allege violations of the First Amendment, while supporters of the law say it helps remove sexually inappropriate material.

CAMPUS CLOSINGS:

After COVID-19 temporarily closed college campuses in 2020, lawsuits were filed in Florida and across the country arguing that students should receive refunds of the money they paid. The Florida Supreme Court is considering a lawsuit filed against the University of Florida over fees paid for services such as transportation, health care and sports.

AGE OF WEAPON:

The 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals is considering a Second Amendment challenge to a 2018 Florida law that prevents people under 21 from purchasing rifles and other long weapons. The law, challenged by the National Rifle Association, was passed after the mass shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland that killed 17 people.

MEDICAID ELIGIBILITY:

A federal district judge heard testimony this summer in a class-action lawsuit over people who were excluded from Florida’s Medicaid program after the end of a declared federal public health emergency due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The lawsuit alleges that the state did not adequately inform people before removing them from the program.

FIGHT FOR REDISTRICTATION:

In a case focusing on the redrawing of a northern Florida congressional district, the state Supreme Court is considering the constitutionality of a redistricting plan that Gov. Ron DeSantis pushed through the Legislature in 2022. The advocacy groups voting rights went to the Supreme Court after the First District Court of Appeals upheld the plan.

SOCIAL NETWORK PLATFORMS:

Florida and tech industry groups continue to battle in federal court over a 2021 state law targeting major social media platforms. The law, in part, prevents platforms from banning political candidates from their sites. It was approved after platforms blocked then-former President Donald Trump following the assault on the US Capitol on January 6, 2021.

SOCIAL NETWORK RESTRICTIONS:

State lawmakers this year approved a high-profile measure that seeks to prevent children under 16 from opening social media accounts on some platforms, although it would allow parents to consent to 14- and 15-year-olds having accounts. Tech industry groups are challenging the law based on the First Amendment.

STOP WAKE UP:

The 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals heard arguments in June in a battle over a 2022 Florida law that restricts how race-related concepts can be taught at state universities, a law DeSantis called “ Stop WOKE Law.” The state appealed after a district judge issued a preliminary injunction, ruling that the law violated First Amendment rights.

TRANSGENDER LAWS:

The 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals is considering challenging a Florida law that bars Medicaid coverage for transgender people seeking hormone therapy and puberty blockers to treat gender dysphoria. He is also considering a law that would prevent minors from starting to receive such treatments and add restrictions for adults who request them.

WETLAND PERMITS:

Florida and the federal government are appealing a U.S. district judge’s ruling in a dispute over authorizing permits for projects that affect wetlands. The ruling sided with environmental groups and overturned a 2020 decision by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency that transferred permitting authority from federal officials to Florida.

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