The scheme allows anyone to challenge sentences they believe to be unreasonable and insufficient.
The Conservative party conference will also hear on Tuesday from the home secretary, Amber Rudd, who is to announce an extension to the unduly lenient sentence scheme to make sure that the public can challenge sentences in most terrorist cases if they believe an error has been made.
Neither of the challenged sentences was so grossly disproportionate as to violate the Eighth Amendment's prohibition against cruel and unusual punishment, Justice Sandra Day O'Connor wrote today, adding that any criticism of the law "is appropriately directed at the Legislature".
Concerned that the Supreme Court will overrule the more liberal federal judges of the Ninth Circuit, as it did in a medical marijuana case last May, some public defenders are scrambling to challenge sentences quickly, making use of the favorable ruling for as long as it lasts.
Indeed, Justice Stephen G. Breyer wrote, Mr. Holland had had a better understanding of the complicated time limits for challenging death sentences in federal court than his lawyer had.
Solicitors are hopeful, if not optimistic, that normal service may be resumed after next week when the appeal court is due to hear 10 cases challenging riot sentences.
It could help other inmates in Florida and some other states who are challenging their sentences.
Mr. Glover has argued that he is entitled to a new sentencing hearing because his lawyer failed to challenge a sentence that was up to 21 months longer than he should have received.
Under Supreme Court precedents, a suspension at other times may nonetheless be permissible as long as adequate alternate procedures exist for challenging a conviction or sentence.
Enacted in 2009, the law lets death-row inmates challenge their sentence (though not the underlying conviction) on grounds of racial bias.
