Florida Supreme Court Suspends DNA Deadline

By a vote of 4 – 3, the Florida Supreme Court has set aside an October 1^st dead­line for inmates to request DNA test­ing of evi­dence that could prove their inno­cence. The jus­tices sus­pend­ed the dead­line while they con­sid­er the inmates’ chal­lenge to the rule’s con­sti­tu­tion­al­i­ty. Arguments in the case are slat­ed for November 7, 2003. According to the law that estab­lished the dead­line, if inmates con­vict­ed pri­or to 2001 fail to file for test­ing before October 1, 2003, DNA evi­dence in their cas­es may be destroyed. (Associated Press, September 30, 2003) Read the Court Order. See Innocence.