By Sascha Cordner
http://stream.publicbroadcasting.net/production/mp3/wfsu/local-wfsu-988275.mp3
Tallahassee, FL – The question of whether it's constitutional to privatize 30 South Florida prisons is in the hands of a Leon County Circuit judge. As Sascha Cordner reports, a hearing was held Thursday to determine if a lawsuit filed by a state prison officers' union to block the privatization plan has any merit.
Steve Turner is a lawyer for the Florida Police Benevolent Association. He told Judge Jackie Fulford that the legislature violated state law when they slid a provision into the budget without going through the proper channels:
"That's not the way you do it! You pass a bill, You give Senator Fasano, you give Senator Oelrich, you give all these Senators who were against this a chance to be heard."
Arguing for the state is Assistant Attorney General Jonathan Glogau. He said the move to privatize was actually part of the legislature's duty to decide how state money is spent
"The Legislature tells people what to do and they have authorized that this be done."
Both sides spent most of Thursday morning trading arguments before Judge Fulford.