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1:00 AM A bill to expand the stand your ground law now awaits Gov. Rick Scotts signature.

Orlando Sentinel

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. Floridians could fire warning shots or display a weapon in self-defense under a bill approved by the Florida Legislature on Thursday.

The measure, a substantial expansion of the states controversial stand your ground law, now goes to Gov. Rick Scott for his signature.

He has not indicated as yet whether he will sign it.

The Senate voted 32-7 to approve it. The House approved the bill on March 20.

The measure says someone can threaten the use of force if that person feels his or her life, home or property were at risk of harm.

State Sen. Chris Smith, a Fort Lauderdale Democrat, spoke against the proposal.

I just dont think its responsible right now to encourage people to fire warning shots, he said. I think it sends the wrong message to Florida.

The bill stems from the conviction of Marissa Alexander, a Jacksonville woman sentenced to 20 years in prison for firing a warning shot during an incident of alleged domestic violence.

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Jury selection in the Marissa Alexander case will begin a week ahead of her trial in July in Jacksonville.

Circuit Judge James Daniel said Wednesday he planned to start interviewing jurors July 21. The trial is scheduled to begin July 28.

Usually the start of a trial is when jury selection begins. But Daniel said he wanted to pick the jury the week before and be ready to go with opening statements July 28.

Daniel also said he was leaning against sequestering the jury but hadnt made a final decision. Attorneys for the prosecution and defense both told Daniel they preferred not to sequester the jurors.

Alexander, 33, is out on bond while awaiting a new trial on charges of firing a gun at her estranged husband and his two children. She was previously convicted of three counts of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon and sentenced to 20 years in prison, but that conviction was thrown out on appeal.

She could face 60 years in prison if shes convicted again. The case has generated international attention.

Daniel also set a hearing for May 16 to decide whether he was going to allow another Stand Your Ground hearing in the case.

It will be the second time Alexander seeks immunity from prosecution under the states Stand Your Ground law, which allows the use of deadly force instead of retreating if the person is afraid for his or her life. A claim in July 2011 was rejected.

Daniel indicated Wednesday he wasnt sure if he would allow a second Stand Your Ground hearing but acknowledged he had not yet read the filings by Alexanders lawyers.

The new Stand Your Ground motion, filed last month by attorney Bruce Zimet, argues that there is critical new information that wasnt heard in the original Stand Your Ground hearing. It also says the information presented at the original hearing was at best grossly incomplete.

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TALLAHASSEE (CBSMiami/NSF) An appeals court Friday ruled that a correctional officer can use the states controversial stand your ground law in a case stemming from an altercation with an inmate.

Correctional officer Brad Heilman was charged with aggravated battery after an inmate was injured in an incident at Lake Correctional Institution.

A three-judge panel of the 5th District Court of Appeal sided with Heilman Friday.

A circuit judge found that Heilman could not use the stand your ground law in defense because of another state law that deals with circumstances when correctional officers can use force. But Fridays seven-page opinion, written by appeals-court Judge Thomas Sawaya and joined by judges William Palmer and Wendy Berger, concluded that the Legislature intended for the stand your ground law to apply to correctional officers and sent the case back to circuit court.

The stand your ground law says people can use deadly force and do not have a duty to retreat if they think it is necessary to prevent death or great bodily harm. The law offers criminal and civil immunity in such cases.

The News Service of Florida contributed to this report.

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