The Bizarre Origin of Florida Man

[@LegalEagle]

⚖ Did you know about Florida’s law? 👨‍💻 Remove personal data online with Incogni! incogni.com/legaleagle

[@RabblesTheBinx]

I did, actually. The Daily Show did a piece about it and I think John Oliver did a piece about it, as well. I think Adam Ruins Everything might have covered it, as well. Not confident on the last one

[@timgerk3262]

If only, Devin. We would not know you're on the troubled prostate list (5:22)

[@randomguy1769]

Maybe you could do a video covering the Hachette v. Internet Archive lawsuit?

[@ymeynot0405]

The fact that those head lines are often caused by mean-spirited memes due to drug and mental issues, YET their own government does nothing to help them because they are too busy fighting "Woke" schools.

[@Sarge92]

im not understanding this everytime you finish a point about how these laws make the government accountable and open you then give examples of how this is good by listing off stories of CITEZENS being named and shamed in the papers what does man gets found drunk with alligator have to do with demonstrating how government meetings being public record is a good thing

[@patrickw9634]

The rare instance of a LegalEagle question being answered with a “yes” instead of “it depends,” and it’s completely correct.

[@AACraft555]

'yes' is the only correct answer to that question

[@peterkn2]

I'm very surprised that he kept a straight face when he said, "Yes". I was cracking up

[@Manofvideos292]

I know right?

[@brycedunlap]

That 'Yes" was soooo satisfying

[@gm2407]

I answered "Yes" before he said it. The answer yes is so worth it.

[@CompletelyNormal]

I'd like to get a "sunshine law" passed in Washington state, but there's some difficulties, such as explaining to Washingtonians what sunshine is.

[@angelc286]

Hey, we see sunshine!… hidden behind the clouds 👀

[@ranelgallardo7031]

There’s also a sunshine law like law in Texas, but it was recently made in 2015 (when our Governor Abbott started to take over). So you’re seeing more Texas weird news.

[@nobodysbaby5048]

Muffled Laughter. I love Washington summers. Course they're only eight wks long, but very nice.

[@firstnext5482]

As a man trapped in Arizona- I'll mail ya' some if you mail me some of that "rain" shit I read about.

[@RajasPoorna]

Made me lol 😂😂😂

[@tayzonday]

It began in the 1980s with the man on TV news reports walking knee-deep in a flood and holding an umbrella.

[@DarkLink1996.]

Did he stay dry, or did he feel the pain?

[@foxximoxxi5028]

​@@DarkLink1996. 10/10

[@SamAronow]

It all started with a badly-timed bald joke.

[@Pwnhenge1997]

I heard he built a tent and said the world was dry.

[@metalcookie8355]

​@@DarkLink1996. "Ketchup Stain, some stay high and others live in a drain!"

[@CaelanAegana]

My family's more a fan of the lesser-known meme, Kennewick Man. Long story short, Kennewick Man is a skeleton found along the banks of the Columbia River and initially reported as a homicide victim to the Kennewick city police. The bones were later established to be about 9,000 years old and were, after long protracted legal battles and DNA analysis, remanded to related tribes for a culturally-appropriate burial. Being locals, my family often see headlines like today's "Kennewick Man Hit by Car could Face Charges". We're pretty impressed by his long rap sheet, considering how long he's been dead.

[@SugarandSarcasm]

At that point, the skeleton could get hit by a car, bones flying everywhere, then do the cartoony skeleton move of magically forming back together. Mostly in the proper position.

[@drchicken2477]

@@SugarandSarcasm but, like, skull and hips swapped for comedic effect

[@SugarandSarcasm]

@@drchicken2477 I was also thinking one leg and one arm swapped as well

[@kindauncool]

LMAOOO I had to read this so many times to get it but this was funny.

[@PFMediaServices]

Okay definitely gonna look into this further. 👍🍍

[@ashleyg05]

As a native Floridian, I feel a responsibility to remind everyone that Floridians are, also, generally bizarre and prone to getting caught doing weird things.

[@St.Linguini_of_Pesto]

WHA-?!?!? No _way_ 😂😂

[@pixpusha]

It's the sun. It fries y'alls brains. No one hears of North Dakota man doing such shenanigans.

[@ItIsTheLordWhoKeepsme]

​@@pixpushabut I like the sun

[@raymondwiggins354]

3:20 luckily you have copgater in pursuit of criminals

[@xanthousizalith5641]

Also to be fair, there's a lot more chances for weird stuff when you've got both crazy animals like Gators and a metric ton of Tourist Traps and rich people hot spots.

[@reganator5000]

I think the 'police started sending emails of arrest reports' is kind of indicative of why there's such a big difference between states. Dealing with the press is obviously STILL annoying for the police. But now they have no way to deny sending them, if a local journalist gets in touch once or twice, it's easier to just put them on the mailing list than have to deal with individual requests.

[@Drake5607]

I was gonna comment just this ^^^ It makes total sense.

[@donaldsanders8163]

Nope, Our county sheriffs are just attention whores (see Grady Judd, Polk County) and any chance to get a quote in the news is taken.

[@Echo81Rumple83]

hence why that one sheriff was openly talking about lynching them along with the... other less desirable people according to their preferences of "what is a human"

[@resisilobus3191]

@@Echo81Rumple83 I think you replied to the wrong comment

[@shadenox8164]

@@resisilobus3191 No?

[@CharlieFoxtrot06]

Having lived in Texas for a number of years, I can confirm that everyone going Yosemite Sam at the drop of a hat is not necessarily a stereotype.

[@Lent24]

Fellow Texas resident - definitely not just a stereotype. Number of roadrage-turned-shootings alone is nuts, not to mention all the other constant gun-related news.

[@WindFireAllThatKindOfThing]

@@Lent24 I got a gun pointed at my car on the freeway outside San Antonio for having plastic Longhorns duct-taped to the hood of my '88 VW Scirocco when I was stationed at Ft Sam. Well, **I** thought it was funny...homeboy in a stepside Chevy apparently did not.

[@Wulfpack1]

Dam guys. I'm so freaking sorry. I'm from the RGV here in TX and we dont have much of road rage instances since the lower valley is kinda spread out and the roads here are more than big enough to accommodate. Slow ppl can drive slow and ppl that are in a hurry can safely and easily pass them with no problems. Dont get me wrong we aren't immune, many flip people off, and cuss each-other out from the safety of their vehicle but its extremely rare to hear about road rage involving firearms here in our news. Up towards McAllen/Edingburg there is a traffic problems happening daily but its under construction to make it bigger. People have kept their cool for the most part but we all know if the problem doesn't get fixed its going to raise the likely-hood of a nut killing someone over road rage. Its common sense that it raises chances of triggering road rage in someone weak minded. Its especially bad when i spend time in Austin where its so densely populated, They have massive over and underpasses but its still not enough to accommodate to where its gridlock and chaos daily. Best wishes. Take care of one another, stay vigilant, keep your emotions in check and protect yourselves my fellow Texans.

[@joey.99]

Boomer

[@diydame7163]

Native Texan here. Can confirm. 🤦🏼‍♀️😏

[@ellahyland1705]

While I agree that we don't need anyone's eviction record necessarily, how the governor selects judges should absolutely be public information. A lot of fuckery goes on in that sphere.

[@redstoneactive6589]

Especially since it's DeSantis, that guy's corrupt as hell

[@MonkeyJedi99]

@@redstoneactive6589 I'm not saying DeSantis is a fascist, but one identifying trait of fascists is hiding what they are doing when in positions of power.

[@TheWonkster]

​@@redstoneactive6589he is corruption and partisan bs incarnate

[@oatmongen4263]

Eviction records are better off as public. Landlords will sometimes evict a person unfairly, and also people looking at allowing someone to rent their property can also check them first.

[@ArtGirl82]

Agreed. Ron DeSantis seems like the kind of guy who would appoint a stray dog to the bench, so long as it hates trans kids and can donate money to his re-election. If he's trying to hide something as important as how he screens judges, then Floridians should be suspicious as hell.

[@jackihutch87]

thank you for calling out desantis' attempts to gut the sunshine laws--laws we floridians on both sides of the aisle have long supported and are proud of! kudos especially for mentioning the college president hiring process, which became more opaque right before ben sasse was named president of uf. SUS

[@amykat75]

Everything is sus with him. If he told me what day it was, I’d still look at the calendar to make sure.

[@culwin]

Sorry but I don't think "both sides of the aisle" support anything together.

[@NoThankUBeQuiet]

​@@amykat75I read that as calculator

[@NoThankUBeQuiet]

​@culwin Nah this is one. Actually I think we support a lot of things they just REALLY like to make us focus on the things we disagree on. And it's usually not even a big disagreement. Take abortion, Nobody wants it to be much more than an emergency option but Republicans want to just outright ban it, democrats want to improve sex education, health insurance and access to forms of birth control.

[@LKMNOP]

​@@amykat75And make sure it was my own calendar and not his.

[@eeyorehaferbock7870]

You know, I’ve read about this before, but I gotta be honest with you: if Florida’s legal records transparency laws are, in fact, the main reason why you hear so many bizarre stories out of that state, then that really does create a horrifying implication that there are plenty of people like that in other states as well (I’m from Wisconsin btw), but unlike Floridians, we aren’t even aware of them for the most part.

[@drirene57]

Wisconsin definitely is full of Florida men! 😂

[@gollygoshdarn]

My 9 year old daughter has been watching select episodes of Legal Eagle, and would like to grow up to be a Mandalorian defense lawyer. Like, defense lawyer for Mandalorians, but also Mandalorian herself. She reasons that Mandalorians have many specialties, like blasters, hand to hand, jet-packs, etc., so like the Vikings, lawyering should be in there somewhere. She is worried someone is going to hit them with a negligence charge for baptizing kids in monster water, and possibly also a charge for killing endangered species. She reckons her defense strategy for the last one would be to point out that they themselves are endangered, both physically and numbers-wise. Please advise on the gross negligence charge, thank you.

[@SmilingCorpse]

I'd go the religion route with the Gross Negligence charge. The Children of the Watch is more of a religious order and has very specific customs. It could be argued that despite great care, risks have to be taken because their customs are so specific and strict.

[@gollygoshdarn]

@@SmilingCorpse maybe some of that Can Jehovah’s Witness Parents Refuse Blood Transfusions For Their Kids stuff?

[@gollygoshdarn]

@@SmilingCorpse does taking steps to mitigate the risk (jet pack clad people, explosives, blasters, etc.) make a difference?

[@davydatwood3158]

@@gollygoshdarn It would depend on the jurisdiction; in some places, acting to mitigate a risk is a defence to a charge of negligence (which does boil down to "did something risky without taking proper precautions, so by demonstrating the precautions you have demonstrated you're not being negligent); in others it would be a sentencing factor - meaning it doesn't come into play until and unless you get convicted, at which point it acts to reduce your sentence. Which does raise a different strategy your daughter should explore: it's very possible that there's no government with a legitimate authority over that planet. The New Republic requires worlds to voluntarily join before they're subject to NR law. And the Empire has collapsed and does not seem to be recognised as a legitimate government by anyone just at the moment. Assuming there aren't other people living on the planet somewhere that we haven't seen yet, the Mandalorian Coven could very likely argue that the only law that applies to them on their current world is the law they brought with them. And since The Way involves baptising people in (nominally) Mythosaur infested waters, presumably there's nothing in there preventing the baptising of people in giant-lizard infested waters. And to just bring this around to history and real-world law, there is some precedent for colonial (British, and later American - not so much Canada because the situation has changed by the time there's a Canada) authorities being unable to act on colonists' actions taken outside the formal boundaries of the colony. They might be liable under the Royal Proclamation of 1760 or some other thing, but this was usually better than being tried for murder, say. So the whole idea of "actually, they're outside of everyone's laws" has some potential for learning in it, if you wanted to explore that more deeply. Though perhaps that will lead into territories a bit too heavy for a 9yo. Hmm..

[@dinoankylosaurus]

You, internet person of indeterminate gender, are raising an absolutely awesome daughter. Well done!

[@kaijulicious]

I work in trucking, specifically hiring drivers and FL is a phenomenal state to have a driver from. Their Motor Vehicle Records are insanely detailed and transparent. It makes finding out details on commercial licenses and violations a breeze. Fun to realize why it’s like that.

[@CarlosRodriguez-dd4sb]

There used to be a publication in Tampa (found at all top gas station convenience stores for $1) that would publish all the mug shots for the week. It was always fun to find your friends in the pages and give them the commemorative mug shot for their albums.

[@mindeesin4388]

I used to read those!

[@kingofhearts3185]

That sounds hilarious, what was it called?

[@publicguy1664]

Shouldn't shame people who end up arrested. Mug shots are made to be as unflattering as possible #1, #2 it could hurt people in the future, especially if they were wrongfully charged.

[@mindeesin4388]

@@kingofhearts3185 I think it was called “Busted”. It’s been years since I’ve seen them. I live just south of Tampa and we used to get them here too.

[@Funnyvid16]

This was around till 2018, though they actually only went to violent people as it went on.

[@MWDFrancis]

I genuinely respect Florida for making so many records public. I would LOVE to hear about the exploits of other men like Utah Man, California Man, South Dakota Man, and Alabama Man.

[@eggn00dle36]

I feel like screaming at a bear until it leaves your kitchen is a very normal way to handle the situation. Like they're scared of loud noises, so it's not a bad way at all to get a bear to leave. Am I missing something here?

[@oldfrozenwolf6803]

Ya actually because bears are tricky and depending on which type it could work or you might be challenging it to a fight and only bear experts know what to actually do

[@littleblueclovers]

I’m pretty sure it’s actually a good strategy, it’s just that it’s also equally as funny to visualize it happening.

[@Jade-iz7wo]

Weather or not you're getting out of an encounter with a bear alive depends mostly on the bear. Black bears are better than grizzlies are better than polar bears. If it's a mama polar bear who thinks you're a threat and/or just too close to her cubs then you're going to die (and so is anyone who tries to help you). With most other things I would say "nothing is ever 100%" and I likely would if it were a childless non pregnant polar bear or a non-polar mother bear who things you're endangering her cubs, but even then I wouldn't risk a dollar on you surviving

[@Blasted2Oblivion]

​@@Jade-iz7wo I can't remember where I heard it first but there is a fun little saying for dealing with bears. If it's black, fight back. If it's brown, lay down. If it's white, goodnight.

[@Jade-iz7wo]

@@Blasted2Oblivion I was trying to think of that one! Thank you

[@JohnSmithShields]

John Oliver did a fantastic piece on the stuff discussed at around 13:00 and how police statements are uncontested and sometimes incorrect.

[@MonkeyJedi99]

I saw that one too. Police have a tendency to tell their side of the story to put themselves in the best light, and the people they interact with in the jail cell or the morgue. And news corporations have gotten lazy with real journalism, making the practice an endangered occupation.

[@KanuckStreams]

Odd way to spell "often".

[@TheBeatlesShow]

I watched that on KZbin just last night!

[@JasperJanssen]

Yeah. Media uncritically posting this stuff is exactly why this amount of openness is bad, actually, and should definitely not be emulated or be considered with pride. These people are *suspects*, not convicted. Redacting the name but publishing the mugshot is definitely bad.

[@Gos1234567]

@@JasperJanssen openness and transparency are the bedrock of a real democracy you commie

[@TooLateForIeago]

The open records laws also give us a glimpse into the damage that can be done by undiagnosed and untreated mental illness, drug addiction, and starving public education.

[@christinaify]

I had no idea. This should be the default in every state! Except for rare and obvious examples, transparency in government is essential to a functioning democracy.

[@StCreed]

Indeed. Although I think the US could do a bit more about privacy, because their openness also have a few nasty sideeffects. That said, I'm all for it.

[@noahhuffstutler2686]

​@@StCreed That's the challenge, isn't it? Ideally we would have total transparency and total privacy at the same time. But we can't. So how far can we go to hold people accountable before we clamp down on freedom too much?

[@darthparallax5207]

My honest belief is that whenever one is not drunk one can admit government is a hard job and many policies, there is simply merit to both sides. I like the idea of being able to hide transparency more easily if it should seem surprisingly necessary or good for some reason. But of course I have sympathy for everyone who would prefer more transparency as the default. Wouldn't it be great if we could just find someone actually trustworthy and give them the power to decide whether to disclose anything or not? Shame that nobody trustworthy has ever been found who would not abuse it.

[@marshalhammel5065]

@@noahhuffstutler2686 I don't think it's necessarily about having both, but finding the balance between about the two. Records of Police and emergency service activity should be made accessible to the public, for example. While information that could be dangerous shouldn't.

[@NukeMarine]

I'm of the opinion that while crime reports can be published, names and faces should be redacted UNLESS the person waved it. Honestly, the redaction of identifiable information should apply to all parts of the criminal judicial process up until a defendant receives a guilty verdict or pleads guilty.

[@Funnyvid16]

As a Floridian, all these stories made me smile. All these stories are quite normal, I worked at a mobile gas station and would often buy gator meat from some hunters once a month. Good eating, would recommend!

[@Wired_User]

Can you hook a Texan up? I miss alligator, it’s so good

[@RamadaArtist]

I appreciate this video, because it actually calls attention to the fact that we only know about these cases *because* of a dedication to transparency. It also calls to mind the notion that most places are probably also like this, and we just don't hear about it.

[@supimbob12]

Honestly, tons of respect for what the creator of the meme said about how the humor of the meme had become mean spirited, and his attempts to distance it from that. If we judged everybody at their lowest point, there would be no good people.

[@ScamallDorcha]

Word. A lot of people who end up on these headlines would be helped in many european countries. Here, they just get jail.

[@gnarthdarkanen7464]

It could be legitimately argued that there ARE no good people. Everybody's got some angle to play at, and everything they do or contribute to "out of the kindness in their hearts" involves some form of scheme to gain them something. No gains, and the "investment in society" evaporates instantly. You can argue the "Good Christian" or other religious bias of choice, BUT they're all hellbent to get into Heaven and sneer down at the rest of "the lost souls" of humanity, they've convinced themselves are going to Hell... You can argue the "Atheists" without even that motivation, BUT they have a point to prove "that you don't need God or Heaven to do good"... or make the right choice. Even George Pryce wrote it up in his "Game Theory as it Pertains to Natural Selection" that any act of Altruism is primarily motivated by the biological drive to preserve the genes for the next generation... AND in human society, we put the intangible value of "Prestige" on those who are quantifiably somehow "more altruistic" and even "self sacrificing" than others... Exemplar being "Saints" and "Heroes" among the "mere mortals". ;o)

[@Firegen1]

So perfectly put 🙏🏾

[@NoriMori1992]

Well said.

[@TincMetals]

Yet the left does this a lot. Hrmm. It's why they eat themselves.

[@Sam_on_YouTube]

I learned this several years back. Anyone who I explained it to was surprised. Glad to see it get wider attention.

[@Azby64]

Me too. I always wish I could credit where I read things for others, but I'm so lazy and learning on the web is so fast. When I saw the title I wondered if I would see many more people bring it up.

[@lynnwood84]

FINALLY someone speaks on the Sunshine Laws. So frustrating as a Floridian for everyone to always assume my state is (the only one) filled with the crazies. Great coverage of the topic, I learned 2 new facts. One, didn't realize the original laws were so old, and I'd never considered before how our state's 3rd largest population probably played a part in the amount of stories.

[@Sarge92]

what im still not getting is theese laws seem to be written to hold GOVERMENT accountable with a lot of verbiage detailing government meetings hearings and votes being made public so why is every single example of these laws being use naming and shaming citizens

[@ijuggle42]

Ron DeSantis is working hard with the Republican super majority here to do away with the sunshine so he can screw us all in the dark.

[@seraphina985]

Hey to be fair respect on the whole transparency thing, I consider that a good thing. That is actually a great idea I should try to convince my fellow Europeans to steal. Sadly that would be the only way I'll ever get to see that one as I'm not sure how to even begin getting American's on board with the whole lets not let people die or go into lifelong debt for being born with treatable illnesses thing. If only we could combine such good ideas in one place it would be great.

[@transsnack]

I'm from Louisiana. Floridians are wild, but not Louisiana wild. Let's just say the number of laws broken using alligators and other dangerous wildlife reported by the media would quadruple. There was a guy who tried to rob a gas station with a wild alligator snapping turtle who lost his hand to said snapping turtle. Louisiana man is... wild.

[@UnstablePax]

@@seraphina985 Nordic countries have similar, but more inclusive. For example, tax records are public.

[@dankachilles9356]

I just love that you took the time to read out every single headline just for our entertainment. You a real MVP for this one LegalEagle 👏

[@jeremytucker9239]

I've been thinking about the problem with "no reasonable person would . . ." coming out of the courts as reasons why the powerful shouldn't be held to account. The problem is that most people are not reasonable and that's why we have laws.

[@mrknots]

It’s a shame someone was arrested for giving away weed on Christmas. A kind stranger gave me weed cuz it was Christmas one time and it was just a lovely experience

[@ryansenft3315]

Yeah, it could help with the holiday stress! 😄😄

[@nobodysbaby5048]

🤭

[@abbie_joan]

it's sad... too many jerks lacing their stash have ruined the free weed fun for the rest of us 😢

[@martinebonita2658]

Y'all just be accepting unvouched and unverified substances huh. U not scared that Ur smoking sewer weed???

[@Xeno1798]

Fr Free That Man

[@randomguy1769]

Internet Archive's digital library is currently facing legal pressure! Maybe you could do a video covering the Hachette v. Internet Archive lawsuit?

[@jbird4478]

Seems a pretty clear cut case. Obviously you can't copy books and then redistribute them. That's like the most obvious case of copyright infringement you can have. I don't understand how come nerds keep thinking copyright does not apply to them.

[@noahhuffstutler2686]

​@@jbird4478 The fear is that this lawsuit will shut down Internet Archive. The Wayback Machine is run by them, for example. Should Internet Archive be taken down, a lot of the history of the internet might be lost.

[@quintessences]

@@jbird4478 not necessarily; archives exist to preserve; traditional archives are concrete buildings and by extension usually has rules bout who can see and access them; but all of the operate under the idea of preservation. Internet archive is still an archive; just digital and one who’s mission isn’t necessarily aligned with the views and politics of traditional archives; plus the DMCA is sorta of broken… just look at how KZbin handles DMCAs and countless abuse of it.

[@jbird4478]

@@quintessences They don't just archive them. They lend them out. That's the problem, not the archiving itself. This also has nothing to do with the DMCA, but copyright in general as it has existed since the invention of the printing press. This is literally why copyright was invented: to prevent others from supplying unlimited amounts of copies of books. KZbin is a different story. KZbin has agreements with virtually every major publishing company, which makes it so that on KZbin actually a lot more is allowed then what would be without agreements.

[@Sonny_McMacsson]

@@jbird4478 I'm not sure on the details of what they've done. If they actually own physical copies and loan the digitized copies out in a way that preserves the properties of lending a physical copy, any attempt to stop that is an egregious farce. If they just digitized books they don't own, then my opinion changes.

[@joewilson3393]

Meanwhile, DeSantis has continuously expanded the exemption list to the Sunshine laws since he took office. And he is not alone. After the GOP lead Senate in Arizona lost their open records case regarding the 2020 audit, they shortened senate records retention to 30 days. To which I say, democracy dies in the dark.

[@Kalahridudex]

He really is desanctimonious

[@anna_in_aotearoa3166]

30 days?? 👀 When the decisions made can presumably have impacts for decades to come? I can't even imagine our government archives authority here allowing any retention rules to be set that only lasted ONE MONTH! 😬 Frankly, I believe any political party that can't withstand open scrutiny of their decision-making processes is clearly setting up an environment in which corruption can run rife... Yikes.

[@trillionbones89]

It dies with thundering applause, too. Too many fascists in the US...

[@AngelVazquez-vs9xp]

@@trillionbones89here we go with the buzzwords again🥱

[@n8pls543]

@@AngelVazquez-vs9xp If the man is a dead ringer for Mussolini, it becomes a fair comparison.

[@WinVisten]

I'm from Kentucky and you've already mentioned a crazy story on MY home turf. But I've got another: My computer networking teacher back at my college (I've graduated years ago) showed our class an article about a guy from the eastern side of our state that was high, and he broke into his cousin's house, and stole a CHEESE GRATER, and EMPTY SHAMPOO BOTTLES.

[@warmachine5835]

In a moment of weakness, I was shredding junk mail when you did your sponsor spot. I signed up, but it would be awesome to get a LegalEagle video on privacy laws and how they factor into what companies can do legally regarding junk mail, spam, and cold calls.

[@TheJocularJurist]

I'm slated to take the California bar July 2024, I gotta say, you and Attorney Tom have been a constant source of entertainment for me throughout law school.

[@gangweed406]

good luck brother

[@TheJocularJurist]

@@gangweed406 Thank you much! :)

[@kingofhearts3185]

Good luck man, hope you make it

[@TheJocularJurist]

@@kingofhearts3185 Thanks!

[@Treekicker]

I was about to say who gets entertainment out of law videos, then I realized oh wait..... Thats me.

[@TimothyCHenderson]

That Simpsons clip was aptly timed and used to maximum effect. Once again, kudos to your editor and their low key comedy chops.

[@Natalie-101]

YES LETS GOOOO. As a floridian I tell people about this law any chance I get to try and break the stereotypes, now I can just send them this video! Thank you!

[@VLS-Why]

I feel like having all records public is good, BUT all involved identities should be private until/unless there is a conviction (similar to Germany)

[@thajocoth]

There are a lot of pros & cons of having all the records open like this. This level of openness should make it harder to abuse power, which is a kind of balance that's unfortunately needed in many places... But I feel like it also takes away a level of privacy that people should have a right to in my opinion. If someone does something crazy, but later gets their life together, they're going to have a permanently low ceiling as to what they can ever do career-wise, which is already a big problem without this openness, but this kind of thing amplifies the degree of the problem. Today, if you simply take a 1 year break, that alone could permanently destroy your career, even without crazy antics or arrests, when it really shouldn't. Somebody who shoplifted once when they were 19 having that still impact their career choices more than their Master's Degree does when they're 45 is ridiculous, but that's unfortunately the current state of employment.

[@StCreed]

There's a reason we have a GDPR in the EU, and it's actually quite popular with most professionals who work with privacy issues. It's helping to straighten out parties like Facebook and Google, and intimidate a few wannabe privacy violators before they could do too much damage.

[@merrymachiavelli2041]

Completely agree, most of the wackier headlines also sound like they are coming from people with mental health problems, particularly schizophrenia, or else drug issues. I get why they are funny, but its kinda sobering to think about.

[@dinamosflams]

but what if everyone has their lowest points shown wide open to everyone? then if someone does something crazy the only answer the people around them would be "well, who didn't?". and it becomes a good talk

[@Humorism1]

He said that names and personal info in the arrest reports are redacted, though i agree that if that wasn't the case then I'd be worried about privacy

[@ooooneeee]

I mean Florida's governor is passing laws left and right to violate the human rights of Floridians while exempting himself from those laws. So the sunshine laws did fuckall to limit his powers.

[@StormsparkPegasus]

Speaking of Ohio Man, we had an amusing incident in the next town over from the city I'm in...I guess it's been 13 years ago now. A guy managed to get a DUI on a barstool. He had hooked it up to a lawnmower engine and would just drive to/from the bar on his barstool, and wrecked it.

[@SarafinaSummers]

He.... what now? XDDDDDDDD

[@StormsparkPegasus]

@@SarafinaSummers This was sometime around 2009 if I remember correctly. I live in a fairly large city, but there is a small town about 40 minutes east of me where this occurred. Let's just say it's a hick town where the environment is like rural West Virginia.

[@DonJuanDecepticon]

Can you do a video on Afro man’s case with the Ohio police? I’d assume it’s actually the Ohio police’s case with Afro-man considering they are taking him to court….

[@Alustar22]

this needs WAY more attention. What those criminals did to Afroman is appaling and the fact that it is not front page news is infuriating.

[@OtakuUnitedStudio]

Can't even make a music video in Ohio.

[@DonJuanDecepticon]

@@OtakuUnitedStudio fuckin A

[@HotTakeAndy]

Lemon Pound Cake!

[@oracleofdelphi4533]

Which state is Afro? Just kidding. Based off that title alone, I'd click on that.

[@XeonAlpha]

Born and raised Floridian here and THANK YOU!!! I’ve been telling people about the Sunshine Law for years and how it how it colors how people see the state. I mean the people here are nuts but still.

[@8bitpix]

everyone asks what floridaman is doing, no one asks HOW floridaman is doing

[@teddyjones7444]

"I'm not a state, I'm a monster" truer words have never been spoken.

[@Magicghost23]

Not the superhero we need but the one we deserve

[@piercearora7681]

Ahahahaha hilarious.

[@OtakuUnitedStudio]

Was just going to say the same thing.

[@Klaaism]

Open government is so beautiful.

[@WindFireAllThatKindOfThing]

And we've been a very naughty boy

[@Vollification]

... we aren't gong to make it are we? People I mean...

[@howlingwolf317]

About halfway through I started thinking "I wonder if DeSantis is trying to get rid of this since it sounds like a good thing." I wasn't at all surprised that he is.

[@TrinityCore60]

I automatically hope he won’t succeed.

[@philtkaswahl2124]

Devin reading those article titles in his matter-of-fact voice somehow makes them even funnier.

[@Kaylin5171]

I'm a local news reporter in eastern Pennsylvania and getting arrest reports isn't difficult, at least for the magistrates around me. I walk in, give them the name or complaint number from the public docket portal (only has charges and basic info, no narrative), and if the person has been booked, they give me the complaint. The only time I've ever been denied is if the person wasn't booked yet or they literally didn't have it (i.e. an on-call magistrate handled the arraignment and the actual magistrate didn't get it yet)

[@janerkenbrack3373]

DeSantis doesn't like the open records laws when they apply to him. Seems like an authoritarian angle to me.

[@zombieoverlord5173]

DeSantis has shown himself very authoritarian

[@edgeninja]

Right. What is he trying to hide? What's he so afraid of?

[@zombieoverlord5173]

@Edgycated Likely simple corruption and misuse of funds.

[@TeamCat1128]

Agree. He’s so slimy.

[@fhdhdjdjdjdjdjd7466]

Hypocrisy is hard baked into conservative ideology they don't actually stand for free speech they stand for stuff like this

[@josynaemikohler6572]

I always had the theory, that newspapers have employees... who do nothing but browsing the public records, and then print the most stupid stuff they uncover..

[@hannahk1306]

Yeah, a lot of these will be a keen newbie who's been told to find an interesting local story and public records are a great place to start for a wealth of free information. I've also noticed a recent tactic of posting on social media, "We're looking for people who have been affected by X. Contact us if you have something to share." and then a couple of days later will be an article published saying lots of people are experiencing exactly what they were fishing for. A good example I've seen is about the recent strikes here in the UK, rather than doing an in-depth analysis piece on why people are striking, certain media outlets will fish for people negatively affected by them and then post the worst examples (some of which aren't even directly related to the strikes or are why people are striking in the first place).

[@OtakuUnitedStudio]

I guess technically a handicap scooter IS a motor vehicle, but somehow I don't fell like that's in the spirit of the law. EDIT: Wait. The governor claimed an executive privilege that he doesn't have, and a judge sided with him, over information on how the governor approves judges? Does this maybe sound like a little bit of a conflict of interest?

[@Razmoudah]

That sounds like a 'lottle' bit of a conflict of interest, not a little bit.

[@Llortnerof]

No, that sounds more like an abuse of power.

[@Sonny_McMacsson]

@@Llortnerof If no one pushes back and limits you actions, then you have that power, end of story. That's life.

[@Curt_Sampson]

If Democrats were doing it, It would not only be a conflict of interest but also a direct Woke Marxist attack on American Freedom and Christmas. But you have to remember, this is _Republicans_ doing it, so they're doing it _for_ Freedom, Jesus and The American Way, and to Own The Libs, so it's a good thing.

[@Llortnerof]

@@Sonny_McMacsson That doesn't stop it from being an abuse of it.

[@elliotmarks06]

Man, I'd love to see the bloopers for this video. No way you got through all those headlines with a straight face.

[@thembill8246]

The problem with this open access to arrest records is that none of these people have usually been to court yet. And they're not required to say that something was alleged. Most other states, it needs to go through the court system first. And I think the people involved are entitled to their privacy up to that point, especially when it comes to talking about something that they supposedly did. It should be established in the record of the court first. Otherwise, it has a risk of providing unfair bias toward the defendant for council for the judge and for the jury.

[@koytheartist2423]

Idk if this is on your radar, but can you do a piece on Adam's County sheriff suing afroman for using footage of them executing a search warrant in a music video? I really just want more info on it, and to see if they even have a case.

[@shroomyk]

This

[@SeveralAnts]

I'd like to hear about whether their case holds water too, cause to a layman it sounds utterly unhinged.

[@jordeahgrosko]

Same!!!

[@urekmazino6800]

Right soon as I heard that I was disgusted

[@5EVr]

Thank you for covering this! I try explaining to people that in high school a tradition on mondays was getting the mugshot newspaper from the gas station to see who got arrested over the weekend. Just a normal FL thing that seems weird in other places.

[@Serenity_Dee]

I once read a story about a dude who wanted a threesome with two women, so his girlfriend recruited her cousin to join them. (Yes, her cousin.) After he finished, they kept going with each other, and he didn't like that, so he pulled his girlfriend off her cousin and punched her. Police came out, arrested him, and then released him on bond… so he went back to the house to threaten his girlfriend AGAIN, this time taking her phone and her car. The cops called the phone, he answered and identified himself, then hung up and turned it off, which didn't stop him from being arrested for domestic violence AGAIN and also for taking her car without permission. What surprised me (um, aside from the alarmingly close family relationship) is that this was in Myrtle Beach, SC, not, like, Tallahassee.

[@SarastistheSerpent]

What in the Sweet Home Alabama did I just read lmao?!

[@willegan1823]

My first thought was "Why wouldn't he like it? That's supposed to be every man's dream." My second thought was "Oh, they weren't paying enough attention to him. That explains it." That's something that I think a lot of threesome-chasers don't take into account: just because you're a man, that doesn't mean you're automatically going to be the center of attention, and this man couldn't handle that.

[@luismovil5341]

As an international viewer from a country that does not allow direct dissemination of recordings in public without potential liability, this really rings true. Which is even more ironic when said country has news agencies that have no problem on reporting on news from the US that make it international. I'm always like, "Have you no shame? Like, you realize it would be nigh impossible to report instances of similar events that might occur here." Let's not even discuss trying to access even the police reports that involve things that affect you personally, like thefts or vandalism you've suffered.

[@darichthethird]

3:51 - LegalEagle outing himself as dota player by confusing invisibility with invincibility

[@tranquilthoughts7233]

I'm a bit torn with open records laws. First of all open records are extremly important to maintain accountability. However, i can also see the value in delaying the publication of records or in some cases even sealing them, especially in very serious criminal cases. The problem is that it's incredibly easy to just make accusations. And accusations, especially if they get aired out publicly, can very easily ruin someones life even if they are immedietly or later on proven wrong. Easy example: As unfortunate as it is, men working in Kindergartens are often under the generel suspicion of being child molesters. Because hey, why else would a man ever want to work in a Kindergarten? Just for the dullwitted, that of course was sarcasm. Back to the point, an accusation of child molestation no matter how farfetched, no matter how ridiculous the reasoning, no matter how thin the evidence, even if the man was on a two week vacation on the other side of the planet during the time the molestation allegedly took place, the accusation alone usually is enough to get the man fired and, especially if the media catches a whiff of that, socially branded as a child molester.

[@grmpEqweer]

I'd agree that accusation is one that can be easily weaponized... ...Actual child m0l€sters try to gain the whole family's trust. That way, if the child talks, they won't be believed.

[@kingofhearts3185]

A waiting period for crimes seems like a fair balance, maybe a week or 2 to have a chance to see if there's anything backing it up.

[@hannahk1306]

Exactly my thoughts - I think the original intention of the law was good, but it started to get distorted when random arrests were being reported in the news without much context and from the worst possible angle. I think maybe having the records publicly available a few weeks after the event, but not actively published (unless it's genuinely important news) would be a good compromise. So people can look up records when they need to with all the facts associated, but (potentially innocent) people aren't being used as a sort of modern day freak show for strangers' entertainment.

[@Cynbel_Terreus]

@@kingofhearts3185 Michigan specifically has a period where certain records are shielded and can remain shielded as long as the AG goes in like every 55 days and requests it. This is actually on going with 2 investigations one involving a former Republican Legislator and the other being the whole kidnapping attempt of Gov Whitmer. Both are ongoing investigations, both have pretty good reasons to remain sealed for now.

[@tranquilthoughts7233]

I actually don't think the classical "floridaman did crazy thing" headline is much of a problem. Mainly because such headlines are usually quicky forgotten. Yes, the floridaman in question will be a laughingstock for some time but this will blow over pretty quickly. The only thing i'd probably change is to insert a passage into the law that forbids the press from publishing personal details like name, age, adresse etc without explicit permission. I'm mostly talking about serious crimes like for example, murder, rape, robbery etc. or crimes where the evidence is shaky. A headline like "floridaman calls police to ask them to verify wether his meth is any good" in my opinion can be published pretty much immedietly simply because there is very little room for doubt here. However when there has been a break in and the police has arrested some suspect the media should probably report that there has been a break in and that the police has arrested a suspect. But the name, age, adresse and photo of the suspect should probably not be released until the suspect has been found guilty by a judge. And if he is removed from the list of suspects or found not guilty by a judge then nothing further about him should be released by the media. Essentially, if you just made a clown of yourself then i don't see much harm in you being publicly humiliated for a bit. But if you are accused of a serious crime information about you should only be released if and when you are found guilty of that crime by a proper judge. And at that point the entire casefile should be released to the public.

[@oliviamoore3426]

We have the same laws in Sweden, we call it the openness principle where everything the government does is available to the public and also what the citizens are doing

[@UnstablePax]

As far as I know, all Nordic countries has similar laws. For example, you can look up how much anyone pay in taxes. Papers even come out with "Who earned the most in your county/These are the richest in your county" where they write name, adress and how much they have. Oh, and sometimes pictures also!

[@timmccarthy9917]

Sweden Man steals 1m euros worth of pickled herring, claims Gustavus Adolphus told him to do it in a dream

[@oliviamoore3426]

@@UnstablePax this is true, at least do Sweden. I’m sure it’s similar in the rest of the Scandinavian countries as we are very similar

[@oliviamoore3426]

@@timmccarthy9917 lmao

[@cjm8160]

@@UnstablePax tax records are not public in Denmark. But they are in Norway, Sweden and Finland

[@CognitiveApprentice]

Hey LegalEagal, PLEASE do a video on the police raid of Afroman's residence, and the cops' subsequent lawsuit claiming "emotional distress"!!!

[@maargenbx1454]

This was fun. And the pacing was great - just as you’re sorry he’s done listing FL Man antics he throws a few more at the end of every sentence - brilliant 😂

[@MrFearDubh]

Devon, I was just vacationing in FL telling this to a friend living there. Ironically, had I not been on vacation, I would have seen this video as soon as it was posted. Instead, I'm going to share the link with her. Thanks for being America's Legal Eagle!

[@fdjaklffjadslkfja4355]

I don't think people's names and faces should be released to the press unless they're public figures and reporting on them is of public interest. The arrest itself is fine as long as people's names are removed.

[@DrDipsh1t]

Yeah court of public opinion will ruin that person before they even go to trial.

[@megalonoobiacinc4863]

that's what i find so shocking about the US. In many of our european neighbor countries there's great effort to avoid witch hunting and releasing private info like name and photos, even of the ones committing the crimes. Only in really big media storms where containing the info is impossible is the info released, while in america you're basically a dead man if you committed a socially sensitive crime.

[@ericthompson3982]

Naming your machete "kindness" is next-level ballsy.

[@Jessidafennecfox]

Any weapon named kindness is goat

[@ericthompson3982]

​@@Jessidafennecfox Fair.

[@00Mandy00]

I appreciate that you summed up the answer at the beginning and then expanded on it, instead of being annoyingly coy.

[@izzyxblades]

Wow, both Devin and Campion are really compassionate. I think I need to have more compassion. I do hope more people get help with their mental health problems and addiction.

[@nugboy420]

4:55 that Hawley jab 😅

[@BigStarEyes]

I really don't think that arrests should be public record considering how often this information is used to ruin people's lives post-arrest.

[@baileybasinger3455]

Can I just say how much I appreciate the factual yet humorous nature of your videos? No matter your political leanings, they tend to stay pretty neutral and that is something that our country is in dire need of. Much obliged for the context and insight you provide as well! I think people often forget there's a reason behind everything and everything has an origin story😊

[@timurhant469]

As some from Europe, I always wanted to know the origins of this concept. I always thought that there was an unfair stigma. Now I know it wasn't unfair :)))Thanks so much for this episode!!!

[@nickrl113]

So basically, "You're the most insane person I've ever heard of" "But you have heard of me"

[@petergerdes1094]

I think we should be careful before assuming that sunshine laws are always a good thing. The problem is that crafting compromise can often be messy and require revealing a willingness to trade off the interests of one part of your coalition against another in a way that can look bad. Unfortunately, this can mean sunshine laws that block unofficial meetings and discussions prevent the kinds of compromises necessary for good governance (eg getting together in private to hash out a compromise) and instead favor hardline no compromise canidates rather than getting stuff done. I'm generally in favor of opening up official buisness but I think we ought to carefully look at the costs and benefits of going beyond that with unofficial meetings and political deals.

[@zainab58]

I am frankly surprised Ron hasn't made the legislature repeal all of these laws, so he can do his thing in comfortable secrecy.

[@doomsdayrabbit4398]

That's the point at which Floridians need to take things into their own hands, like the citizens of Virginia did after the illegal actions of Governor Letcher in 1861.

[@irok1]

He's got more of an honest dedication than the majority of politicians, that's for sure

[@Skyb0rg]

While it seems like a good idea, publishing arrest mugshots is unfortunately something that completely ruins peoples lives by itself. Even if you’re wrongfully arrested and aren’t charged with a crime, mugshot organizations are often able to extort your mugshot for money. I also don’t have to mention biases between arrests and crimes.

[@andrewwerner5992]

4:20 "Oh, don't think I can't do both. I am quite the multitasker" -Kirito

[@pelago_]

I can tell this is a passion project Devon

[@ambylove]

I’m pretty sure the abysmal access to mental health care services might contribute.

[@MsZeeZed]

13:36 of course DeSantis thinks open government applies to everyone but him 🤦🏻‍♀️

[@i-love-comountains3850]

"Who gave the internet the right to add to someone's punishment?" Just because you can doesn't mean you should or that it's okay.

[@seancstew]

Bravo for seamlessly weaving both discussion of the law, as well as just ridiculous news headlines into a cohesive video.

[@Enraged-Gecko]

Yea, the camel story is one I know pretty well. It happened at a truck stop (Tiger Truck Stop) in Grosse Tete, Louisiana. Originally known for having a Bengal Tiger enclosure, Tiger Truck Stop replaced the less than imaginatively named Tony the Tiger with a camel named Casper. The woman at the center of the story had allegedly been pelting Casper with dog biscuits when her dog ran under the fence, presumably to get at said dog biscuits. The truck stop made the most out of a really bizarre situation by plastering billboards along the I-10 corridor with pictures of Casper along with the quote “Come in for a bite.”

[@julibeanbag]

The video we all wanted but didn’t know we needed

[@markymark7247]

I knew the origin was from very open reporting standards for police reports, and unfortunately I was expecting that there would inevitably be a discussion about DeSantis chipping away at government accountability.

[@hawkatsea]

Agreed. This episode needs a follow-up with more detail regarding the public official aspects of the laws. Please let that episode come out the day of/before Desantis officially declares his presidential bid.

[@blackfirehedgehog7725]

I did know that the stories had something to do with Florida's laws, but I didn't realize how extensive the open government thing was. I had thought it was mostly focused on police reports. Interesting stuff.

[@lazaruscomplexofficial]

This is actually absolutely fascinating and had no idea about the release of public records

[@jasonlyons1575]

Love ur content keeping them going ty for all the laughter and learning

[@MrSchism]

The issue with this is that arrests with mugshots get published and are often on e-billboards. They never publish when someone is cleared of charges.

[@hanthonyc]

You just know he had way too much fun googling around for these headlines.

[@joylox]

The curse one reminds me of when I had an alarm clock malfunction. There was a power outage, and when it came back on, I couldn't get it reset, it just kept speaking a foreign language (I think it was Mandarin), and no matter what I did, the only way to get it to stop was to unplug it. I went to return it because it wouldn't work ever after plugging it in again, and the person at the store was like, "I don't think demon possessed is a reason for return on the form..." LOL, it was such a funny experience and I can imagine that being a headline if that ever were to make it to the store higher ups, but it was fine to get a refund on it. So I bought a different brand that seems to be better.

[@DeRien8]

Already knew about a bunch of this, but it's good to have a clearer idea of the whole situation

[@ticklemeelmo73]

Seeing how many of my high school bullies ended up with mugshots on Google from Pinellas and Hillsborough County Sheriff's departments makes my heart sing.

[@samlevi4744]

The Josh Hawley burn was 💯 🔥.

[@realfloridaredneck1988]

I'm a Floridaman, please don't tell folks that we ain't more crazy than other states, we are nuts and we are proud of it.

[@C2Talon]

Incogni sounds no better than data brokers. "Pay me to not have my friends sell your data" sounds like a protection racket.

[@ooooneeee]

Yeah you shouldn't have to pay to uphold your right to privacy. Ideally databrokers would be regulated much more heavily and have to pay gigantic fees for breaking the rules.

[@johnladuke6475]

That's a real nice identity you got there. Be a shame if something were to _happen_ to it...

[@andrewwerner5992]

4:53 when I was in Denali National Park, they told me that making lots of noise and standing tall with your arms up is the best way to scare off bears... They probably told me which kind of bears that works on, but I either have forgotten or wasn't listening.

[@brianmcclenahan617]

I'm on the road a lot in California, the amount of times I've been stuck trying to find info on a certain situation that happened even in my own neighborhood is staggering. As much as I wouldn't like to see so much anarchy happening in even my own city much less the state overall it would help alleviate not only any distrust from police but also give more transparency to see exactly how safe we really are in our own neighborhoods. I'm more concerned by the lack of information available to the public than I am the security of it because who knows what kind of crime waves we really have or what kind of things cops are covering up.

[@tomsmits259]

Meanwhile in the Netherlands our privacy laws lead to a bird that managed to get into a cell having its identity hidden in the pictures

[@yorky2002]

Pertinent issues or flimsy excuse? Yes. Well played Devon, well played...

[@kalabars_revenge]

As a Missouri resident that Josh Hawley burn was very appreciated.

[@jordeahgrosko]

Same! I was like damn ain't that the truth 😂

[@ozvoid1245]

While I definitely have my concerns over records involving individuals being so easy to access, I definitely enjoy that official and unofficial meetings alike are public, that they're forced to be transparent.

[@dahat1992]

I love the ad. "Did Honey sell all your info? Try this new company!" 😂

[@joelelliott7892]

if there were sunshine laws in every state, we'd all want to move to Canada

[@JasonFightsCrime]

All states have them to some degree.

[@JerkWarlord]

According to that logic, if Canada had them, everyone would want to leave there, too. Stupidity is everywhere. It's not specific to any one country or any one region.

[@Sarge92]

@@JerkWarlord its not the stupidity in a lot of cases it breaches privacy rights of citizens

[@DBurpees1]

Nah, outside of some crazy drug users, there isn’t too much going on up here in Oregon.