FL- Court: Miami's Julia Tuttle sex-offender suit to be heard in Tallahassee

9-23-2009 Florida:

In the battle between Miami and Tallahassee over the colony of sex offenders living under Miami's Julie Tuttle Causeway, round one goes to the state.

A three-judge panel of a Miami appeals court ruled Wednesday that the dispute over the sex offenders' makeshift living quarters should be held in Tallahassee, where the state Department of Transportation -- the defendant in the lawsuit -- is headquartered. Miami-Dade Circuit Judge Victoria Sigler had ruled otherwise and was reversed.

The lawsuit at the center of the dispute blames state transportation administrators for placing dozens of convicted sex offenders and predators under the Julia Tuttle Causeway -- a strip of land where about 45 sex offenders live in tents, rusted automobiles and cardboard shelters.

The city contends the ``shantytown,'' which lacks electricity, sanitation and permanent housing, has become a public health hazard.

City leaders also argue that the colony is within 2,500 feet of a city park -- which violates a city law banning sex offenders from living within that distance from anywhere children gather.

The city is asking the courts to grant a temporary and permanent injunction requiring the sex offenders to be moved from under the bridge and no longer be issued identification listing the Julia Tuttle Causeway as their permanent address.

The appeals court panel -- which included Chief Judge Juan Ramirez Jr. and judges Barbara Lagoa and Vance E. Salter -- said the state is protected by its ``home venue'' privilege, which allows state goverment to litigate where agencies are based. ..Source.. by CAROL MARBIN MILLER