In re Amendments to the Florida Rules of Traffic Court

105 So. 3d 1267, 2012 Fla. LEXIS 2685, 2012 WL 6619336
CourtSupreme Court of Florida
DecidedDecember 20, 2012
DocketNo. SC12-38
StatusPublished
Cited by1 cases

This text of 105 So. 3d 1267 (In re Amendments to the Florida Rules of Traffic Court) 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 Traffic Court, 105 So. 3d 1267, 2012 Fla. LEXIS 2685, 2012 WL 6619336 (Fla. 2012).

Opinion

REVISED OPINION

PER CURIAM.

This matter is before the Court for consideration of proposed amendments to the Florida Rules of Traffic Court.1 We have jurisdiction. See art. V, § 2(a), Fla. Const.

We issue this revised opinion to address the enactment of new legislation that affects our analysis of the proposed amendments to rule 6.600(c). We also address the inadvertent omission from our opinion of the words “by jury,” which was brought to our attention in a motion for clarification filed by attorney Steven D. Rubin.

BACKGROUND

The Traffic Court Rules Committee (Committee) has filed its regular-cycle report of proposed amendments to the Florida Rules of Traffic Court. The Committee proposes amending rules 6.340 (Affidavit of Defense or Admission and Waiver of Appearance); 6.600(b) (Appearance After Notice Sent); and 6.600(c) (Reinstatement of License). The Board of Governors of The Florida Bar unanimously approved the proposed amendments.

Consistent with rule 2.140(b)(2), the Committee published the proposed amendments for comment. No comments were received. After submission to the Court, we republished the proposed amendments for comment. At that time, the Court received comments from the Traffic Court Rules Committee of the Conference of County Court Judges of Florida, the County Judges and Traffic Hearing Officers of the Seventeenth Judicial Circuit, and attorney Steven D. Rubin. Each commenter opposed the proposed amendment to rule 6.340, which informs a party of his or her right against self-incrimination. The Committee filed a response. We held oral argument on the Committee’s proposals, at which time Judge Robert W. Lee appeared on behalf of the Broward County Judges and Traffic Hearing Officers and the Conference of County Court Judges to provide background • and helpful insight on the Committee’s proposals.

Having considered the Committee’s report, the comments, and the Committee’s [1268]*1268response, and having heard oral argument, we adopt the amendments to rule 6.600(b) as proposed by the Committee. However, we decline to adopt the proposed amendments to rule 6.600(c). As to rule 6.340(d), we decline to adopt the proposed amendment because that rule relates to a substantive issue regarding the applicability of the privilege against self-incrimination in traffic court proceedings. However, as more fully explained below, we refer this matter to the Conference of County Court Judges in conjunction with the Traffic Court Rules Committee to consider whether this issue could best be addressed through a model colloquy incorporated into our rules.

PROPOSED AMENDMENTS TO RULES 6.600(b) and (c)

The amendments to rule 6.600(b) clarify the process by which a defendant may request and obtain a hearing on a traffic citation after notice of the defendant’s failure to comply with the citation has been sent to the Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles (DHSMV), but has not been acted upon by DHSMV. The amendments require a clerk, before DHSMV has acted on a notice of the defendant’s noncompliance with a citation, to set a case for hearing upon the request of a defendant.

We decline to adopt the amendments proposed by the Committee to rule 6.600(c). The Committee proposed amending rule 6.600(c) to provide that a defendant, whose driver license has been suspended for failing to comply with a citation, may request and obtain a hearing within six months after the commission of an offense. Under the proposed amendment, a clerk is required to set a defendant’s case for hearing upon a defendant’s request within the six-month period.

After the Court considered and rejected the proposed amendments to rule 6.600(c), we became aware of the enactment of new legislation amending section 318.15, Florida Statutes (2012). See ch.2012-181, § 17 at 18, Laws of Fla. The new legislation mirrors several of the Committee’s proposed amendments to rule 6.600(c). In particular, the new legislation adds an additional paragraph to section 318.15 that addresses when a defendant, whose driver license has been suspended, may request and obtain a hearing. See ch.2012-181, § 17 at 18, Laws of Fla.

The Committee has advised the Court that, in light of the new legislation, there is no longer a need to amend rule 6.600(c). No party has raised a question as to whether the new legislation is procedural in nature. See art. V, § 2(a), Fla. Const. Further, no party requests that we amend rule 6.600(c) to conform to the new legislation. Therefore, we simply decline to adopt the proposed amendments to rule 6.600(c) without elaboration.

PROPOSED AMENDMENT TO RULE 6.340(d)

The majority of the comments in opposition focused on the proposed amendment to rule 6.340. For the reasons explained, we decline to adopt the proposed amendment to rule 6.340.

The Committee proposes amending rule 6.340, titled “Affidavit of Defense or Admission and Waiver of Appearance,” by inserting a new subdivision (d) and re-lettering the subsequent subdivisions accordingly. Proposed new subdivision (d) informs a party filing an affidavit of defense or an admission with a court that he or she cannot be compelled to give testimony against himself or herself. It specifically provides: “Testimony of Accused. No accused person shall be compelled to give testimony against himself or herself.”

The Committee indicates that the proposed amendment ensures that a pro se defendant filing an affidavit or admission [1269]*1269clearly understands his or her rights under the Fifth Amendment and article I, section 9, of the Florida Constitution. The com-menters take the position that because civil traffic hearings are not criminal proceedings, the privilege against self-incrimination is not applicable.

Through the enactment of chapter 318 of the Florida Statutes, the Legislature decriminalized specific traffic offenses and provided for a system of civil penalties for traffic infractions. See § 318.12, Fla. Stat. (2012). Traffic offenses that fall within the scope of chapter 318 are deemed noncriminal violations and cannot be punished by incarceration. § 318.13(3), Fla. Stat. (2012). A defendant charged with an infraction under chapter 318 does not have a right to court appointed counsel or to a trial by jury. Id. The Court has previously recognized that proceedings conducted pursuant to chapter 318 are “civil actions at law.” Netbleton v. Doughtie, 373 So.2d 667, 668 (Fla.1979).

The constitutional privilege against self-incrimination — found in both the Fifth Amendment to the United States Constitution and article I, section 9, of the Florida Constitution — protects an accused from being compelled to testify against himself or herself in a criminal proceeding or to otherwise provide the State with testimonial evidence. State v. Cino, 931 So.2d 164, 167 (Fla. 5th DCA 2006) (citing Pennsylvania v. Muniz, 496 U.S. 582, 588, 110 S.Ct. 2638, 110 L.Ed.2d 528 (1990)). Since the enactment of chapter 318, no legislative act or appellate decision has expressly extended the privilege against self-incrimination to every defendant in a traffic infraction case.

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Related

In re Amendments to the Florida Rules of Traffic Court
131 So. 3d 714 (Supreme Court of Florida, 2013)

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Bluebook (online)
105 So. 3d 1267, 2012 Fla. LEXIS 2685, 2012 WL 6619336, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/in-re-amendments-to-the-florida-rules-of-traffic-court-fla-2012.