STATE OF FLORIDA, APPELLANT,
v.
I. B., JR. AND S. D. M., CHILDREN, APPELLEES

Fla. 1st DCA | 1979-01-22
No. JJ-126
BOYER, Acting C. J., and BOOTH, J., concur., SMITH, J., dissents.
366 So. 2d 186 Florida District Court of Appeal, First District (1979) Positive Treatment
Cited by 5 cases

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Synopsis

The State appealed the release of two juveniles from custody following a detention hearing, arguing the trial judge erred by excluding hearsay evidence. The Florida appellate court held that hearsay evidence is admissible at juvenile detention hearings to the extent of its probative value under the juvenile rules, and thus the trial judge departed from the essential requirements of law.


Holding

Hearsay evidence is admissible at a juvenile detention hearing to the extent of its probative value under Fla.R.Juv.P. 8.050(f)(1). The trial judge departed from the essential requirements of law by misconstruing the juvenile rules and unequivocally ruling that no hearsay testimony is admissible.


Headnotes

[1] The State may seek review of a juvenile court's order releasing juveniles from custody following a detention hearing by petition for writ of certiorari.

[2] Florida Rules of Juvenile Procedure permit the admission of hearsay evidence at a detention hearing to determine the need for detention or shelter care, to the extent of…

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Key Quotes

“in addition to the sworn testimony of available witnesses all relevant and material evidence helpful in determining the specific issue, including oral and written reports, may be relied upon to the extent of its probative value, even though it would not be competent at an adjudicatory hearing.”

Establishes that hearsay evidence is explicitly permitted at detention hearings under the juvenile rules

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Facts & Procedural History

Two juveniles were taken into custody for alleged delinquent acts. The State filed requests for detention contending that continued detention was nece…

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Opinion of the Court
PER CURIAM.

PER CURIAM.

The State seeks review of an order releasing juveniles from custody following a detention hearing. Two juveniles were taken into custody for alleged delinquent acts. Section 39.03(l)(b), Florida Statutes (1977). Requests for detention were filed alleging that continued detention was required to protect the person or property of others or the child and to secure the child’s presence at the next hearing. Section 39.03(3)(c), Florida Statutes (1977). A detention hearing was held pursuant to Section 39.03(7)(a), Florida Statutes (1977) and Fla.R.Juv.P. 8.050. The court ordered the children released from detention.

We find no authority for review of this order by the State. Fla.App. Rule 4.2 (1962).1 The State submits that the challenged order may be reviewed on certiorari. See State v. Smith, 260 So. 2d 489 (Fla.1972). We treat the notice of appeal as a petition for writ of certiorari.

The State contends the juvenile court departed from the essential requirements of law by ruling that hearsay evidence was inadmissible at the detention hearing. Fla.R.Juv.P. 8.050(f) provides the court should determine at the detention hearing the need for detention or shelter care and the existence of probable cause to believe the child is delinquent, dependent or ungovernable. Fla.R.Juv.P. 8.050(f)(1) provides that in making the determination of the need for detention or shelter care, “ . . .in addition to the sworn testimony of available witnesses all relevant and material evidence helpful in determining the specific issue, including oral and written reports, may be relied upon to the extent of its probative value, even though it would not be competent at an adjudicatory hearing.” Fla.R.Juv.P. 8.050(f)(2) provides that in determining the existence of probable cause, “ . . . [t]he court shall apply the standard of proof necessary for an arrest warrant and its finding may be based upon a sworn complaint, affidavit, deposition under oath, or, if necessary, upon testimony under oath properly recorded.” Thus, Fla.R.Juv.P. 8.050(f) provides that hearsay evidence may be admitted and may be relied upon to the extent of its probative value.

The record reveals that at the hearing the assistant public defender objected, saying: “Your honor, that would be hearsay, I would object to that statement.”

The following colloquy between the learned trial judge and the assistant state attorney then ensued:

“THE COURT: Just a minute. The man is objecting to any hearsay testimony.

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“MR. BURNETTE: It’s for purposes of probable cause, your honor. “THE COURT: Look, I’m tired of your telling me this is preliminary matters for probable cause. There are rules that we go by, and hearsay is one of them. Now if you can’t prove the case, dismiss it. “Do you understand? Don’t you testify to anything that somebody else told you. * * *

Thus, it clearly appears that the learned trial judge misconstrued the rules and unequivocally ruled that no hearsay is admissible. In so doing he departed from the essential requirements of law.

The Petition for Certiorari is granted and this case is remanded for further proceedings not inconsistent herewith.

Petition for rehearing, if filed, shall be filed within 8 days from the date hereof.

IT IS SO ORDERED.

BOYER, Acting C. J., and BOOTH, J., concur. SMITH, J., dissents.

. Review by the child of an order finding detention is required is authorized by Section 39.03 (7)(a), Florida Statutes (1977).

Dissent
SMITH, J.,

SMITH, J.,

dissenting.

In my opinion the court has no jurisdiction. The state’s appeal is unauthorized. Resort to common law certiorari is unauthorized by State v. Smith, 260 So. 2d 489 (Fla.1972), which did not review evidentiary rulings but rather an order requiring witnesses to be called by the state at trial to be examined for visual acuity by a doctor, which was said to violate “the right of an individual to the possession and control of his own person, free from all restraint or interference of others, unless by clear and unquestionable authority of law.” 260 So. 2d at 491. The court’s writ of certiorari leaves matters below precisely where they were as a result of the juvenile judge’s order: the state was then and is now authorized to proceed against the children as delinquents. The court’s writ cannot roll back the months to January 18, 1978, when this detention hearing was held; and it cannot resurrect the circumstances that may then have existed to detain the children for the protection of them or the property of others, or to secure their attendance at an adjudication hearing. The court’s writ is therefore futile except as a lecture, which is not the purpose of common law certiorari. I would dismiss the appeal.


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Citator

Cited By

  • State v. Chapman Levi Creighton, 469 So. 2d 735 (Fla. 1985)
    …e not only in criminal cases but in civil cases as well. See, e.g., State ex rel. Sebers v. McNulty, 326 So. 2d 17 (Fla.1975); Clement v. Aztec Sales, Inc., 297 So. 2d 1 (Fla.1974); State v. Matera, 378 So. 2d 1283 (Fla. 3d DCA 1979); State v. I.B., 366 So. 2d 186 (Fla. 1st DCA 1979); State v. Brown, [*740] 330 So. 2d 535 (Fla. 1st DCA 1976); see generally Fla.R.App.P. 9.140, Committee Note. This understanding is in keeping with the common-law rule that a writ of error6 would lie for the defendant but not fo…
  • In the Interest of M.S., 455 So. 2d 557 (Fla. 4th DCA 1984)
    …ncern with the overall laxity that permeated the proceeding. The state’s verified petition was woefully inadequate. It did not provide sufficient facts to allow a neutral and detached magistrate to find probable cause. See, e.g., State v. I.B., Jr., 366 So. 2d 186 (Fla. 1st DCA 1979). Of greater concern, however, is the fact that the magistrate did not seem to understand that his responsibility was to "perform his ‘neutral and detached’ function and not serve merely as a rubber stamp for the police.” Aguilar…
  • …ed in rule 8.050(f), the predecessor version of rule 8.010(g)(2), the First District Court of Appeal concluded that the rule “provides that hearsay evidence may be admitted and may be relied upon to the extent of its probative value.” State v. I.B., 366 So. 2d 186, 187 (Fla. 1st DCA 1979). Likewise, recognition of the admissibility of hearsay in the context of disposition hearings per the nearly identical language of section 39.408(2) (allowing consideration of relevant and material evidence “even though no…

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