Florida high court upholds three-strikes law
TALLAHASSEE, Florida (AP) -- Florida's "three-strikes" law mandating longer prison sentences for repeat felons was upheld Thursday in a 4-3 ruling by the state's Supreme Court.
Florida's five midlevel appeals courts had been at odds over the constitutionality of the 1999 law. Two had concluded the Legislature violated the state constitutional requirement that bills deal with only one subject when it passed the law; three ruled there was no problem with the law's scope.
After the first ruling against the original law, state lawmakers came back in 2002 and passed the same provisions in five different bills. The bills require judges to give defendants the maximum sentence for a third felony.
Chief Justice Barbara Pariente wrote for the majority that the key question before the courts was how to define "single subject." She said the 14 sections of the law are all properly connected to the subject of sentencing.
The get-tough-on-criminals measure was a centerpiece of Gov. Jeb Bush's 1998 gubernatorial campaign. Spokesman Jacob DiPietre said Bush was pleased by Thursday's ruling.
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