Nation IN BRIEF : FLORIDA : Judge Strikes Down Hate Crimes Law
A circuit court judge has struck down Florida’s three-year-old hate crimes law--at least in his county--as unconstitutionally vague. The statute stiffens penalties for crimes motivated by bigotry. Pinellas County Circuit Judge Robert Beach granted a defense motion to dismiss the hate crime enhancement against five blacks accused of beating and taking jewelry from a 14-year-old white girl, who said that her attackers used racial slurs. The attorney general’s office has asked the state Supreme Court to review the law.
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