In re Florida Rules of Criminal Procedure 3.131 & 3.132

948 So. 2d 731, 32 Fla. L. Weekly Supp. 71, 2007 Fla. LEXIS 129, 2007 WL 268773
CourtSupreme Court of Florida
DecidedFebruary 1, 2007
DocketNo. SC05-739
StatusPublished
Cited by1 cases

This text of 948 So. 2d 731 (In re Florida Rules of Criminal Procedure 3.131 & 3.132) 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 Florida Rules of Criminal Procedure 3.131 & 3.132, 948 So. 2d 731, 32 Fla. L. Weekly Supp. 71, 2007 Fla. LEXIS 129, 2007 WL 268773 (Fla. 2007).

Opinion

PER CURIAM.

The Criminal Procedure Rules Committee has filed an out-of-cycle report of proposed rule amendments in accordance with Florida Rule of Judicial Administration 2.140(e). We have jurisdiction. See art. V, § 2(a), Fla. Const.

BACKGROUND

The Legislature in 2000 passed a law that provided that “[n]o person charged with a dangerous crime shall be granted nonmonetary pretrial release at a first appearance hearing.” See ch. 2000-178, § 2, at 1906, Laws of Fla. (amending section 907.041(4)(b), Fla. Stat. (1999)). The law also repealed Florida Rules of Criminal Procedure 3.131, Pretrial Release, and 3.132, Pretrial Detention. See id., § 5, at 1909. Five years later, the Court in State v. Raymond, 906 So.2d 1045 (Fla.2005), declared the law unconstitutional and temporarily readopted the rules. The Court ordered that the rules be published for comment in light of the legislation. See In re Fla. Rules of Crim. Pro. 3.131 & 3.132, 907 So.2d 1169 (Fla.2005). The rules were published in The Florida Bar News, and responses were filed by various entities.1 At the Court’s request, the Criminal Procedure Rules Committee (committee) also filed an out-of-cycle report. The Court subsequently returned the matter to the committee for further consideration in light of the comments, and the committee has now filed a supplemental report proposing amendments to both rules 3.131 and 3.132.

After reviewing the comments and the committee’s proposals, we adopt the proposals filed by the committee, with the exception noted below. The major substantive changes are discussed below.

AMENDMENTS

Chapter 2000-178, Laws of Florida, added new subsection (3)(b) to section 907.041, Florida Statutes (1999):

(b) No person shall be released on nonmonetary conditions under the supervision of a pretrial release service, unless the service certifies to the court that it has investigated or otherwise verified: [various specific circumstances concerning the accused’s background].

The law also added new subsection (4)(b) to section 907.041:

(b) No person charged with a dangerous crime shall be granted nonmonetary pretrial release at a first appearance hearing; however, the court shall retain the discretion to release an accused on electronic monitoring or on recognizance bond if the findings on the record of facts and circumstances warrant such a release.

In response to the above statutory changes, the committee proposes that new subdivision (b)(2) be added to rule 3.131:

[733]*733(2) No person charged with a dangerous crime, as defined in section 907.041(4)(a), Florida Statutes, shall be granted nonmonetary pretrial release at a first appearance hearing. At a subsequent hearing, however, a court has the discretion to release an accused on electronic monitoring, personal recognizance, an unsecured appearance bond, or any condition the court deems appropriate if the findings on the record of facts and circumstances warrant such a release.

The committee also proposes that new subdivision (b)(5) be added to rule 8.131:

(5) If the court is considering releasing a defendant charged with a dangerous crime on nonmonetary conditions under the supervision of a pretrial release service, the court must receive and consider the certification of a pretrial release service, as provided in section 907.041(3)(b), Florida Statutes.

We note, however, that the House in its comment to the Court states that the Legislature’s main concern in enacting section 907.041(4)(b) was to delay the release on nonmonetary conditions under the supervision of pretrial services of a person charged with a dangerous crime until the certification process required in section 907.041(3)(b) could be completed. In light of this stated purpose, and in light of the plain language of subsection (3)(b), we amend subdivision (b)(4) of rule 3.131 to read as follows:

(4) No person charged with a dangerous crime, as defined in section 907.041(4)(a), Florida Statutes, shall be released on nonmonetary conditions under the supervision of a pretrial release service, unless the service certifies to the court that it has investigated or otherwise verified the conditions set forth in section 907.041(3)(b), Florida Statutes.

We make this change in lieu of the proposals submitted by the committee, and we note that this amendment is consistent with the gist of the proposal submitted by the House.

As to rule 3.132, the committee proposes that subdivision (d) be deleted. The committee points out that this subdivision is based on former section 907.041(4)(i), Florida Statutes (1999), which was removed in 2000. See ch. 2000-229, § 2, Laws of Fla. In order to render the rule consistent with the statute, the committee proposes that the rule should be similarly revised. We approve the committee’s proposed amendment to this rule.

Based on the foregoing, we amend the Florida Rules of Criminal Procedure as reflected in the appendix to this opinion. New language is indicated by underscoring; deletions are indicated by strike-through type. The amendments shall become effective April 1, 2007.

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, Tthere is a presumption in favor of release on nonmonetary conditions for any person who is granted pretrial release. The judi[734]*734cial 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;
(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
(F) any other condition deemed reasonably necessary to assure appearance as required, including a condition requiring that the person return to custody after specified hours.

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Related

In re Amendments to Florida Rule of Criminal Procedure 3.790
959 So. 2d 1187 (Supreme Court of Florida, 2007)

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948 So. 2d 731, 32 Fla. L. Weekly Supp. 71, 2007 Fla. LEXIS 129, 2007 WL 268773, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/in-re-florida-rules-of-criminal-procedure-3131-3132-fla-2007.