Significant Cases Where Stephen Hanlon
Was Counsel of Record
Race Discrimination
Debra P. v. Turlington, 474 F. Supp. 244 (M.D. Fla. 1979), aff'd in part, vacated in part
and remanded, 644 F.2d 397 (5th Cir. 1981); 564 F. Supp. 177 (M.D. Fla. 1983), aff'd,
730 F.2d1405 (11th Cir. 1984).
Class action on behalf of all Florida high school students challenging the
constitutional validity of Florida's Functional Literacy Test. Plaintiffs obtained a
four-year injunction prohibiting use of the functional literacy test to deny
diplomas.
Givens v. Hamlet Estates, Ltd., Case No. 90-1908-CIV-NESBITT, (S.D. Fla. 1990)
After obtaining an ex parte seizure order to gain possession of racially coded
documents establishing a discriminatory scheme by a landlord to deny apartment
housing to approximately 5,000 dark-skinned tenant applicants over the course of
a decade, plaintiffs obtained a consent order for a preliminary injunction with
extensive remedial provisions, including goals and timetables. The damages
claims of the class were then settled for $3.4 million, which is the highest amount
ever paid, either in settlement or pursuant to judgment, to resolve housing
discrimination claims in a single action.
The Rosewood Claims Bill
Rosewood was a town located in Levy County between Cedar Key and Otter
Creek, Florida. In the 1920's it was a prospering working class African-American
Community. In 1923 this African-American town was burned to the ground by
white people from surrounding communities and six African-Americans were
killed. This incident was buried in Florida's history until the filing of a claims bill
for the nine survivors of the Rosewood Massacre and their descendants. In April
1994 the Florida Legislature passed and the Governor signed a claims bill for 2.1
million dollars to compensate the victims of the Rosewood Massacre.
The Death Penalty
Spaziano v. State, 692 So.2d 174 (Fla. 1997).
Death sentence vacated after case remanded to trial court by Florida Supreme
Court for evidentiary hearing on newly discovered evidence of recantation of the
testimony of key prosecution witness.
Arbelaez v. Butterworth, 738 So.2d 326 (Fla.1999)
On behalf of two public law firms who represent Florida death row inmates in
their postconviction challenges to their death sentences, we asserted that Florida
death row inmates have a Florida constitutional right to effective post-conviction
counsel. We argued that counsel must be adequately funded, and that the funding
then provided by the Florida Legislature was grossly inadequate. We asked the
court to impose a moratorium on the imposition of the death penalty in Florida
until such time as these public law firms were adequately funded pursuant to a
reliable caseload methodology. In June 1999, approximately 14 months after we
argued this case in the Florida Supreme Court — during which time there were no
executions — the court found that the funding for these public law firms had
significantly changed and increased through two legislative session so that the
case was moot. The court specifically commended the firm for its "valuable and
conscientious pro bono representation in this case." Importantly, Justice Anstead,
joined by Justice Kogan, wrote a lengthy concurring opinion agreeing with our
contention that the court should now recognize a state constitutional right to
postconviction counsel. This concurring opinion is the most thorough articulation
of a right to post-conviction counsel in the reported cases to date.
Olive v. Maas, 811 So 2d 644 (Fla., 2002)
The Florida Registry Act that provided for compensation for private counsel for
postconviction work for death row inmates, but the statute imposed a cap on
attorneys fees equal to 840 hours of work. In Arbalez v. Butterworth (see above),
we retained the nationally recognized Spangenberg Group to study the problems
in post-conviction representation for death sentenced individuals in Florida. The
Spangenberg Group concluded that on average, in both the public bar and private
bar, the number of hours required for this work was approximately 3,100 hours or
roughly three and a half times the hours to be compensated by the Registry Act.
After the case was certified to the Supreme Court of Florida because the issues
were of great public importance and may have a great effect on the administration
of justice throughout the state, the Florida Supreme Court held, in a 4-3 decision,
that despite the statutory cap, trial courts are authorized to grant fees in excess of
the statutory schedule where extraordinary or unusual circumstances exist in
capital collateral cases, noting its previous holding that "all capital cases by their
very nature can be considered extraordinary and unusual and arguably justify an
award of attorney fees in excess of the current statutory fee cap." See also Olive
v. Maas, 911 So.2d 837 (Fla. 1st DCA 2005) and Maas v. Olive, 992 So.2d 196,
2008 WL 4346431 (Fla), 33 Fla. L. Weekly S694
Civil Rights and Liberties
Diaz v. Tampa Gen. Hosp., 165 F.R.D. 689, (M.D. Fla. 1990)
This is a class action case brought on behalf of thousands of low income, high risk
pregnant women who were unwitting subjects of medical experimentation at a
teaching hospital. An administrative complaint filed with the Office of Protection
from Research Risks at the National Institutes of Health resulted in an
administrative finding in favor of the complainants. As a result of both actions,
substantial reform of the system of medical experimentation occurred at this
institution. A class of approximately 5,000 such women who were subjects of
such medical experiments was certified. This case was settled for $3.8 million in
2000, the tenth year of the litigation. The damages claim in this case was for
violation of each woman's liberty interest in bodily integrity. These damages are
called dignitary harm. This is the first case in which a substantial damages claim
has been sustained for failure to give informed consent in medical
experimentation where no physical injury has been claimed.
Clean-Up '84 v. Heinrich, 582 F. Supp. 125, 590 F. Supp. 928 (M.D. Fla. 1984), aff'd,
759 F.2d 1511 (11th Cir. 1985).
 This case successfully challenged the constitutional validity of two state statutes.
The Florida Statute prohibiting free signature verification on initiative petitions
for groups unable to pay was declared unconstitutional. The Florida Statute
prohibiting the gathering of signatures on petitions within 100 yards of a polling
place on election day was also declared unconstitutional.
Matthews & Kohler v. HRS, 645 So. 2d. 487 (Fla. 2nd DCA 1994)
 This action sought injunctive relief on behalf of a foster parent who was denied a
license as a foster parent because of her lesbian relationship with another woman.
The trial court found that the defendants' policy of not licensing homosexuals as
foster parents was unconstitutional. However, the trial court found that "the
unmarried couple" policy was constitutional. The Second District Court of Appeal
held that the unmarried couple policy and the homosexual policy violated state
rule-making procedures under Chapter 120, Fla. Stat.
Fullani v. Krivanek, 973 F.2d 1579 (11th Cir. 1992)
 This was a successful constitutional challenge to a Florida statute which allowed
independent but not minor party candidates to obtain waiver of signature
verification fees upon showing of indigence.
Merkle v. Hogan, 545 So.2d 471 (Fla. 2d DCA 1989).
 This was an undue influence action brought by the guardian of an incompetent,
seeking to set aside inter vivos transfers of assets. The court held that the facts
giving rise to a cause of action based on undue influence do not become
discoverable by the exercise of reasonable diligence until termination of the
undue influence, and that the trial court erred in finding that all transactions
occurring more than four years prior to the filing of the amended complaint were
time-barred.
Flores v. Fulwood Farms of Fla., Inc., 450 F. Supp. 1046 (M.D. Fla. 1978).
 Migrant farm workers obtained preliminary injunction under Farm Labor
Contractor Registration Act prohibiting retaliatory eviction and retaliatory
termination of utility service to their residential units.
Children's Rights
Martinez v. School Bd. of Hillsborough County, 692 F. Supp. 1293 (M.D. Fla. 1988),
vacated and remanded, 861 F.2d 1502 (11th Cir. 1988); 711 F. Supp. 1066 (M.D. Fla.
1989).
 This case involved a 6-year-old mentally handicapped pediatric AIDS victim who
lacked control of her bodily fluids. She sought admission to a classroom for
trainable mentally handicapped children in public school. The district court
initially ordered that the child be placed in a glass enclosure. The Eleventh Circuit
vacated this ruling and remanded the case to the district court. The district court
then ruled that the child should be admitted to a classroom for trainable mental
handicapped children in the public school system of Hillsborough County without
any restrictions.
Prisoners' Rights
Gates v. Cook, 376 F.3d 323 (5th Cir.2004)
 Trial court's finding that conditions of confinement on Mississippi's death row
constituted cruel and unusual punishment under the Eighth Amendment upheld in
substantial part. This is the only known successful challenge to conditions of
confinement on a death row in this country. Relief obtained in this case
subsequently expanded by consent decree to entire supermax facility at Parchment
Prison.
Russo v. Akers, 724 So.2d 1151 (Fla. 1998)
 At the request of the Florida Supreme Court, represented Wesley Akers, a
convicted felon who sought to challenge his conviction in post-conviction
proceedings. The Florida Supreme Court rejected the public defender's claim that
he no authority to represent Mr. Akers and held that due process requires that
counsel be provided for such a postconviction challenge to Mr. Akers' conviction.
State v. Keeble, 427 S.W.2d 404 (Mo. 1968).
 This case established the right of an indigent criminal defendant in Missouri to a
free transcript in a post-judgment collateral attack upon sentence and judgment of
conviction.
Protecting Communities
Concerned Parents of Jordan Park v. The Housing Authority of the City of St.
Petersburg, 934 F.Supp. 406 (M.D. Fla. 1996)
 This lawsuit was filed on behalf of an unincorporated association, seeking wideranging injunctive relief to end years of neglect of problems attendant to leadbased paint at the Jordan Park Public Housing Complex in St. Petersburg, Florida.
In a settlement agreement, the Housing Authority agreed to abatement relief far
beyond that required by applicable federal regulations. All such abatement was
monitored by an agreed-upon expert, who reported that prior to the institution of
abatement, 18% of children in this public housing complex tested positive for
lead-based paint; after abatement, no children were testing positive for lead-based
paint.
In Re Dixstone, Inc., 667 So.2d 780 (Fla. 2nd DCA 1995)
 This case was brought on behalf of the residents of Kossuthville who formed a
volunteer fire department to provide fire protection for this small town in Central
Florida. The modern members of this non-profit corporation decided to dissolve
the corporation and distribute the assets of the corporation to themselves as the
sole remaining members of the non-profit corporation. At trial the court found
that the organizational purpose of the non-profit corporation was a charitable
purpose and accordingly ordered the assets of the corporation to be transferred to
another organization engaged in activities substantially similar to that corporation.
The trial court's decision was affirmed on appeal.
Miscellaneous
In re Estate of Pettit, 657 S.W.2d 636 (Mo. 1983).

The St. Louis Court of Appeals held that a Florida judgment was entitled to full
faith and credit, directing the return of $300,000.00 in listed securities to the
Florida personal representative. The Court further held that the language of the
testatrix's will, coupled with the deposition of her attorney, constituted
overwhelming evidence that the testatrix intended that her $2.5 million estate be
distributed only to her two legitimate sons residing in Florida, and did not intend
that her two illegitimate sons residing in Missouri take anything under the will.