FLORIDA REJECTS CHALLENGE TO MULTIPLE JUVENILE LIFE SENTENCES

Florida trial courts can sentence minors to multiple 25-year terms, potentially giving juvenile defendants life without the possibility of parole, the state high court ruled Thursday.

The Eighth Amendment of the US Constitution doesn’t require the state to prohibit courts from assigning multiple consecutive maximum sentences to minors, even if it would mean that juveniles might spend the rest of their lives behind bars, the 6-0 Florida Supreme Court ruled.

The US Supreme Court’s “opportunity-for-meaningful-review requirement” for juvenile sentencing “does not apply to juveniles who commit homicide offenses,” said Justice Renatha Francis.

The decision addressed what defense lawyers call ...