TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (AP) — The Florida Supreme Court is being asked to decide the constitutionality of a 14-year-old’s 70-year prison sentence for attempted first-degree murder.

The 1st District Court of Appeal on Tuesday sent the issue to the justices as a question of great public importance.

It is one of several cases that have resulted from a U.S. Supreme Court ruling that sentencing juveniles to life in prison for non-homicide crimes is cruel and unusual punishment.

The federal justices said in a Florida case that states must give such inmates a meaningful opportunity to seek release based on maturity and rehabilitation.

The certification comes in the case of Shimeek Grindine who was 14 when he shot a Jacksonville man during a robbery attempt.

The appellate court upheld his sentence in December.

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