In re Amendments to the Florida Rules of Criminal Procedure

959 So. 2d 250, 32 Fla. L. Weekly Supp. 389, 2007 Fla. LEXIS 1103, 2007 WL 1774440
CourtSupreme Court of Florida
DecidedJune 21, 2007
DocketNo. SC06-434
StatusPublished
Cited by2 cases

This text of 959 So. 2d 250 (In re Amendments to the Florida Rules of Criminal Procedure) 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.

Bluebook
In re Amendments to the Florida Rules of Criminal Procedure, 959 So. 2d 250, 32 Fla. L. Weekly Supp. 389, 2007 Fla. LEXIS 1103, 2007 WL 1774440 (Fla. 2007).

Opinion

PER CURIAM.

This matter is before the Court for consideration of proposed amendments to the Florida Rules of Criminal Procedure, the Florida Rules of Juvenile Procedure, and the Florida Family Law Rules. We have jurisdiction. See art. V, § 2(a), Fla. Const.

By administrative order dated July 6, 2004, the Court charged the Task Force on Treatment-Based Drug Courts (Task Force)1 with the following:

[251]*2511. Develop strategies to assist judges with integrating drug court principles in family court proceedings.
2. Review national and state evaluations on drug courts and develop recommended standards of practice for the management of drug courts.
3. Develop standards for dependency and delinquency drug courts.

In re Task Force on Treatment-Based Drug Courts, Fla. Admin. Order No. AOSC04-27 (July 26, 2004) (on file with Clerk, Fla. Sup.Ct.). The Task Force was also “authorized to propose amendments to rules of court procedure on issues involving drug courts, as well as pursue those amendments with the appropriate Florida Bar rules committees.” Id.

On July 24, 2006, the Task Force submitted to this Court a petition requesting that the Court recognize the importance and effectiveness of drug courts by adopting the recommendations made by the Task Force in its 2004 Report on Florida’s Drug Courts and formally recognizing the Ten Key Components of drug courts recently codified by the Legislature, see § 397.334(2)(a)-(j), Fla. Stat. (2006). The petition also proposed, for the Court’s consideration, several “critical performance indicators and data elements” to be used in evaluating the performance and effectiveness of Florida drug courts and a set of guidelines for juvenile delinquency and dependency drug courts. Finally, the petition proposed amendments to Florida Rules of Criminal Procedure 3.131 (Pretrial Release) and 3.170 (Pleas), Florida Rules of Juvenile Procedure 8.010 (Detention Hearing), 8.115 (Disposition Hearing), 8.160 (Transfer of Cases), and 8.250 (Examinations, Evaluations, and Treatment),2 and Family Law Rule 12.010 (Scope, Purpose, and Title). Only the proposed rule amendments are addressed in this opinion. The Task Force’s other recommendations and requests have been severed from this case and will be addressed separately.

The proposed rule amendments were published for comment in The Florida Bar News on October 15, 2006, with a specific request that the Criminal, Juvenile, and Family Law Rules Committees provide comments to the Court. The committees’ comments have been received. No other comments were filed in response to the publication. The Task Force has filed a response to the committees’ comments.

Upon consideration of the committees’ comments and the Task Force’s response, we adopt several amendments to the Florida Rules of Criminal Procedure and Florida Rule of Juvenile Procedure 8.115 as proposed by the Task Force. Florida Rule of Juvenile Procedure 8.115 (Disposition Hearing) is amended to provide that a child’s need for substance abuse evaluation and treatment may be considered at the disposition hearing. Similarly, Florida Rule of Criminal Procedure 3.131 (Pretrial Release) is amended to provide that a defendant’s need for substance abuse evaluation and treatment may be considered by the court as a factor in determining whether, and on what conditions, to grant pretrial release.

Rule 3.170 (Pleas) is amended to permit a defendant who pleads guilty or nolo con-[252]*252tendere to a charge for the purpose of transferring the case and participating in a drug court program pursuant to section 910.035, Florida Statutes (2006), to file a motion to withdraw the plea upon successful completion of the program. In order to establish a similar provision in the juvenile rules, the Task Force proposed an amendment to Florida Rule of Juvenile Procedure 8.160 to provide that a child who pleads guilty or nolo contendere to a charge for the purpose of transferring a case under section 910.035 may file a motion to withdraw the plea upon successful completion of the juvenile drug court treatment program. We agree with the Task Force that this provision should be included in the juvenile rules but conclude that the more appropriate placement for this provision is in rule 8.075 (Pleas). Accordingly, new subdivision (f) is added to rule 8.075 to provide:

(f) Withdrawal of Plea After Drug Court Transfer. A child who pleads guilty or nolo contendere to a charge for the purpose of transferring the case, under section 910.035, Florida Statutes, may file a motion to withdraw the plea upon successful completion of the juvenile drug court treatment program.

Finally, we decline to amend Florida Rule of Juvenile Procedure 8.010 and Florida Family Law Rule 12.010 as proposed by the Task Force. We refer the proposed amendment to rule 8.010 back to the Task Force and to the Juvenile Court Rules Committee for joint consideration. The proposed amendment to rule 12.010 is referred to the Family Law Steering Committee and the Family Law Rules Committee for further consideration.

Florida Rules of Criminal Procedure 3.131 (Pretrial Release) and 3.170 (Pleas) and Florida Rules of Juvenile Procedure 8.075 (Pleas) and 8.115 (Disposition Hearing) are amended as set forth in the appendix to this opinion. New language is indicated by underscoring; deletions are indicated by struck-through type. The amendments shall become effective immediately upon the release of this opinion.

It is so ordered.

LEWIS, C.J., and WELLS, ANSTEAD, PARIENTE, QUINCE, CANTERO, and BELL, JJ., concur.

APPENDIX

Rule 3.131. Pretrial Release

(a) [No change]

(b) Hearing at First Appearance— Conditions of Release.

(1) Unless the state has filed a motion for pretrial detention pursuant to rule 3.132, the court shall conduct a hearing to determine pretrial release. For the purpose of this rule, bail is defined as any of the forms of release stated below. Except as otherwise provided by this rule, there is a presumption in favor of release on non-monetary conditions for any person who is granted pretrial release. The judicial officer shall impose the first of the following conditions of release that will reasonably protect the community from risk of physical harm to persons, assure the presence of the accused at trial, or assure the integrity of the judicial process; or, if no single condition gives that assurance, shall impose any combination of the following conditions:

(A) personal recognizance of the defendant;

(B) execution of an unsecured appearance bond in an amount specified by the judge;

(C) placement of restrictions on the travel, association, or place of abode of the defendant during the period of release;

[253]*253(D) placement of the defendant in the custody of a designated person or organization agreeing to supervise the defendant;

(E) execution of a bail bond with sufficient solvent sureties, or the deposit of cash in lieu thereof; provided, however, that any criminal defendant who is required to meet monetary bail or bail with any monetary component may satisfy the bail by providing an appearance bond; or

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Related

In Re Amendments to Fl. Family Law Rule 12.010
997 So. 2d 401 (Supreme Court of Florida, 2008)
In re Amendments to the Florida Rules of Criminal Procedure
993 So. 2d 503 (Supreme Court of Florida, 2008)

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
959 So. 2d 250, 32 Fla. L. Weekly Supp. 389, 2007 Fla. LEXIS 1103, 2007 WL 1774440, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/in-re-amendments-to-the-florida-rules-of-criminal-procedure-fla-2007.