STATE OF FLORIDA, APPELLANT,
v.
MARIE NELSON, APPELLEE
AI-generated. These summaries, headnotes, and key points are machine-generated and may contain errors or omissions. Always verify against the full opinion text below. Not legal advice.
The court held that the statute imposing a three-year mandatory minimum sentence for drug offenses near schools is constitutional.
The state appealed a trial court order that declared Florida Statute section 893.13(1)(e)1 unconstitutional. This statute mandates a three-year minimu…
The full statement of facts, procedural history, and disposition for this case are member content.
Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligence© FLexlaw, Inc. — AI-generated enrichments are proprietary. All rights reserved.
Explore caselaw by topic → Browse Constitutionality Of Statutes cases and more on FLexlaw
PER CURIAM.
The state appeals a trial court order declaring section 893.13(l)(e)l, Florida Statutes (applying a three year mandatory minimum sentence to those convicted of sale, purchase, etc. of a controlled substance within 1000 feet of a school) unconstitutional. We reverse.
This court has determined, in State v. Williams, 603 So. 2d 635 (Fla. 4th DCA 1992), that this statute does not violate the cruel or unusual punishment provision of Article I, Section 17, of the Florida Constitution.
We also note that although Williams appears to rely entirely upon Scales v. State, 603 So. 2d 504 (Fla.1992), there are additional authorities that support upholding the constitutionality of this statute even if the opportunity to place a defendant in a drug program pursuant to section 397.12, Florida Statutes (the issue in Scates) were not available to the trial court. See generally e.g., State v. Benitez, 395 So. 2d 514 (Fla.1981); Harmelin v. Michigan, — U.S. -, 111 S.Ct. 2680, 115 L.Ed.2d 836 (1991); Phillips v. State, 578 So. 2d 40 (Fla. 4th DCA 1991); State v. Burch, 545 So. 2d 279 (Fla. 4th DCA 1989), adopted, 558 So. 2d 1 (Fla.1990); Francioni v. Wainwright, 650 F. 2d 590 (5th Cir.1981).
We have considered the “proportionality” test discussed in Solem v. Helm, 463 U.S. 277, 103 S.Ct. 3001, 77 L.Ed.2d 637 (1983) but deem its principles inapplicable to this statute.
GLICKSTEIN, C.J., and GUNTHER and STONE, JJ., concur.
Cases With Similar Vibessemantic neighbors from the corpus
Citator
Authorities Cited
- Solem v. Helm, 463 U.S. 277 (U.S. 1983)
- Harmelin v. Michigan, 501 U.S. 957 (U.S. 1991)
- State v. Benitez, 395 So. 2d 514 (Fla. 1981)
- Burch v. State, 558 So. 2d 1 (Fla. 1990)
- State v. Burch, 545 So. 2d 279 (Fla. 4th DCA 1989)
- Carrick A. Scates v. State, 603 So. 2d 504 (Fla. 1992)
- Philips v. State, 578 So. 2d 40 (Fla. 4th DCA 1991)
- State v. Williams, 603 So. 2d 635 (Fla. 4th DCA 1992)
- Francioni v. Louie L. Wainwright, 650 F.2d 590 (5th Cir. 1981)