In Re: Amendments to the Florida Rules of Criminal Procedure - 2018 Regular-Cycle Report

CourtSupreme Court of Florida
DecidedJuly 19, 2018
DocketSC18-118
StatusPublished

This text of In Re: Amendments to the Florida Rules of Criminal Procedure - 2018 Regular-Cycle Report (In Re: Amendments to the Florida Rules of Criminal Procedure - 2018 Regular-Cycle Report) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Supreme Court of Florida primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

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In Re: Amendments to the Florida Rules of Criminal Procedure - 2018 Regular-Cycle Report, (Fla. 2018).

Opinion

Supreme Court of Florida ____________

No. SC18-118 ____________

IN RE: AMENDMENTS TO THE FLORIDA RULES OF CRIMINAL PROCEDURE — 2018 REGULAR-CYCLE REPORT.

[July 19, 2018]

PER CURIAM.

The Florida Bar’s Criminal Procedure Rules Committee (Committee) has

filed its regular-cycle report of proposed amendments to the Florida Rules of

Criminal Procedure, in accord with Florida Rule of Judicial Administration

2.140(b). We have jurisdiction1 and adopt the amendments as discussed below.

BACKGROUND

The Committee proposes amending the following rules and forms: 3.010

(Scope); 3.025 (State and Prosecuting Attorney Defined); 3.030 (Service and

Filing of Pleadings, Papers, and Documents); 3.130 (First Appearance); 3.131

(Pretrial Release); 3.172 (Acceptance of Guilty or Nolo Contendere Plea); 3.180

1. See art. V, § 2(a), Fla. Const. (Presence of Defendant); 3.190 (Pretrial Motions); 3.191 (Speedy Trial); 3.203

(Defendant’s Intellectual Disability as a Bar to Imposition of the Death Penalty);

3.213 (Continuing Incompetency to Proceed, Except Incompetency to Proceed

with Sentencing: Disposition); 3.217 (Judgment of Not Guilty by Reason of

Insanity: Disposition of Defendant); 3.218 (Commitment of a Defendant Found

Not Guilty by Reason of Insanity); 3.219 (Conditional Release); 3.220

(Discovery); 3.240 (Change of Venue); 3.330 (Determination of Challenge for

Cause); 3.470 (Proceedings on Sealed Verdict); 3.590 (Time for and Method of

Making Motions; Procedure; Custody Pending Hearing); 3.600 (Grounds for New

Trial); 3.610 (Motion for Arrest of Judgment; Grounds); 3.691 (Post-Trial

Release); 3.692 (Petition to Seal or Expunge); 3.704 (The Criminal Punishment

Code); 3.710 (Presentence Report); 3.770 (Procedure When Pregnancy is Alleged

as Cause For Not Pronouncing Death Sentence); 3.810 (Commitment of

Defendant; Duty of Sheriff); 3.850 (Motion to Vacate, Set Aside, or Correct

Sentence); 3.986(c) (Forms Related to Judgment and Sentence; Form for Charges,

Costs, and Fees); 3.986(d) (Forms Related to Judgment and Sentence; Form for

Sentencing); 3.986(e) (Forms Related to Judgment and Sentence; Form for Order

of Probation); 3.986(f) (Forms Related to Judgment and Sentence; Form for

Community Control); 3.986(g) (Forms Related to Judgment and Sentence; Form

for Restitution Order); 3.989(a) (Affidavit, Petition, and Order to Expunge or Seal

-2- Forms; Affidavit in Support of Petition); 3.989(b) (Affidavit, Petition, and Order to

Expunge or Seal Forms; Order to Expunge); 3.989(c) (Affidavit, Petition, and

Order to Expunge or Seal Forms; Order to Seal); 3.989(d) (Affidavit, Petition, and

Order to Expunge or Seal Forms; Petition to Expunge or Seal); 3.989(e) (Affidavit,

Petition, and Order to Expunge or Seal Forms; Petition to Expunge; Human

Trafficking Victim); and 3.989(g) (Affidavit, Petition, and Order to Expunge or

Seal Forms; Order to Expunge; Human Trafficking Victim).2 In addition, new rule

3.9876 (Motion for Correction of Sentence) is proposed. Following the filing of

the report and the Court’s publication of the proposals in The Florida Bar News,

comments were filed by the Florida Public Defender Association (FPDA) and

Public Defender Blaise Trettis.

After reviewing the Committee’s proposals and considering the comments

filed and the Committee’s response thereto, we adopt the proposed amendments to

rules 3.010, 3.025, 3.030, 3.131, 3.180, 3.190, 3.191, 3.203, 3.213, 3.217, 3.218,

3.219, 3.220, 3.240, 3.330, 3.470, 3.590, 3.600, 3.610, 3.691, 3.692, 3.704, 3.710,

3.770, 3.810, 3.850, 3.986, 3.9876, and 3.989. With modification, we also adopt

2. The Committee originally proposed amending rule 3.111 (Providing Counsel to Indigents). However, upon concerns raised by the Committee’s clerk representatives pertaining to that proposal, the Committee requested that the Court withdraw the proposal to amend rule 3.111. By this opinion we grant that request.

-3- the proposed amendments to rule 3.130. We reject the Committee’s proposal to

amend rule 3.172. The notable changes to the rules are summarized below.

AMENDMENTS

The Committee proposes amending rule 3.130 (First Appearance) in

pertinent part, to add new subdivision (b)(2) (Advice to Defendant; Use of Video

Recording to Provide Notice of Rights), to require that the judge confirm that

defendants, if advised of their rights by a pre-recorded video, had an opportunity to

view and understand the rights explained in the video recording. Based upon the

comment by the FPDA, however, we modify the Committee’s proposal to provide

as follows: “If the defendant was advised of the rights listed in subdivisions

(b)(1)(A)-(b)(1)(C) by pre-recorded video, the judge shall confirm separately with

each individual defendant that such defendant had an opportunity to view and

understands the rights explained in the video recording.” As modified, greater

personal interaction between the judge and each individual defendant will be

encouraged.

Subdivision (k) (Summons on Misdemeanor Charge) of rule 3.131 (Pretrial

Release) is amended to require that the summons state “the title of the hearing to

be conducted” after “the nature of the offense.” This change will assist defendants

who may have multiple cases that are proceeding know the type of hearing for

which he or she is summoned.

-4- The Committee proposes amending subdivision (c)(7) (Determination of

Voluntariness; Terms of Plea Agreement) of rule 3.172 (Acceptance of Guilty or

Nolo Contendere Plea), to require that the terms of the plea agreement include the

amount of time credited for time previously served and an explanation to the

defendant that any credit for time served not included in the time specified would

be a waiver of the defendant’s right to such credit. While the Committee’s

proposal was based upon a referral from the Court that the Committee “propose

language adding a provision to subdivision (c) concerning the trial court advising

the defendant on the issue of credit for time served when determining the

voluntariness of a plea of guilty or nolo contendere,” we decline to amend rule

3.172 as proposed. Instead, we agree with the comment from the FPDA that

unintended consequences of the amendment may include impairment of plea

bargaining, uninformed waivers, conflict with precedent, and an increase of

judicial labor.

Rule 3.180 (Presence of Defendant) is amended to resolve a conflict

between rule 3.130 (First Appearance) and rule 3.180, by permitting a defendant to

appear at the first appearance either physically or by electronic audiovisual device,

as contemplated under rule 3.130.

Rule 3.191(l)(5) (Speedy Trial) is amended to correct the conjunction from

“and” to “or” in the list of “exceptional circumstances” for which the trial court

-5- may order an extension of the time period for bringing a defendant to trial, as the

trial court does not have to find more than one circumstance to grant an extension.

In regard to rule 3.213 (Continuing Incompetency to Proceed, Except

Incompetency to Proceed with Sentencing: Disposition), the Committee originally

proposed numerous changes. Following the comment by the FPDA, however, the

Committee revised its proposal to amend rule 3.213 in its entirety. As amended,

rule 3.213 is reorganized for clarity, to make it easier to determine the dismissal

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Related

Younghans v. State
90 So. 2d 308 (Supreme Court of Florida, 1956)
Scipio v. State
928 So. 2d 1138 (Supreme Court of Florida, 2006)
Johnson v. State
336 So. 2d 93 (Supreme Court of Florida, 1976)
Frederick Smart v. State of Florida
179 So. 3d 477 (District Court of Appeal of Florida, 2015)
Washington v. State
151 So. 3d 544 (District Court of Appeal of Florida, 2014)
In re Amendments to the Florida Rules of Criminal Procedure
185 So. 3d 1169 (Supreme Court of Florida, 2015)
Barber v. State
293 So. 2d 710 (Supreme Court of Florida, 1974)

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