US District Judge Remands Pulse Shooting Case to State Court

The case is remanded to the Circuit Court of the Ninth Judicial Circuit.

A judge has rejected government efforts to have a federal court decide a case concerning access to recordings of 911 calls about the Pulse shooting in Orlando.

The Associated Press and 26 other news organizations sued the City of Orlando in state court in June. The city responded with its own lawsuit against the AP in state court and, a few days later, added the U.S. Department of Justice as a defendant. The Justice Department then removed the litigation to federal court, asking a federal judge to decide the dispute.

The federal judge refused and granted Thomas & LoCicero’s motion to send the litigation back to state court. The federal court lacked jurisdiction, Judge Paul Byron explained, because Congress has never passed a statute waiving the federal government’s sovereign immunity to such claims. So Judge Byron sent the case back to state court in Orlando.

Click here to view the Remand Order.

To view more details, click here to access the latest updates on the Pulse club shooting.