U.S. justices press Florida over death penalty sentencing

The U.S. Supreme Court will hear arguments in a Florida case Tuesday that calls into question allowing a divided jury to recommend the death penalty.

The case is Hurst v. Florida. When the judge imposes a death sentence, only the judge’s decision, which includes a written opinion as to which aggravating factors she has found, is considered on appeal. Florida spells out 17 such aggravating factors, and they range from a murder carried out in a particularly heinous way to whether the victim was a child or a law enforcement officer.

Notably, however, Justices Anthony Kennedy and Antonin Scalia both expressed concerns with the system, although Scalia also critically questioned Hurst’s lawyer, Seth Waxman, about how, exactly, Florida’s system differed from others in a way that was constitutionally relevant.

At issue is not whether Hurst murdered Harrison, but rather whether the way he was sentenced to death was constitutional.

The state requires juries to weigh aggravating factors against other factors, such as a troubled childhood, that might lead them to spare defendants from the death penalty.

But much of the argument concerned whether the Supreme Court had jurisdiction to review the Louisiana Supreme Court decision applying the federal retroactivity doctrine in the case, which did not come to the court as a habeas appeal, the National Law Journal explains.

Waxman said the system goes against a 2002 Supreme Court ruling that says factual findings supporting the death penalty must be made by a jury, not a judge. But state Solicitor General Allen Winsor disputed that argument, saying “Florida’s capital sentencing system was constitutional before Ring v. Arizona and it remains constitutional in light of Ring v. Arizona”.

Here’s how it works in Florida: A simple majority of the jury agrees that there is an aggravating factor. Jury recommendations are legally seen as just that – recommendations that the judge may or may not decide follow.

The Florida Supreme Court a year ago rejected Hurst’s challenge. This, Kagan appeared to believe, would violate Ring.

There are around 400 people on Florida’s death row.

Most other court watchers and reporters seem to think that the body will likely rule against Florida.

Chief Justice John Roberts said in a typical trial, jurors don’t have to agree on a particular basis for the verdict, so there could be “12 different reasons” to find a defendant guilty.

The justices are due to issue a ruling by the end of June.