STATE OF FLORIDA, APPELLANT,
v.
MARVIN DENNIS, APPELLEE
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Florida's Second District Court of Appeal held that the county court, not the circuit court, has jurisdiction over a juvenile charged as an adult with a misdemeanor when the state attorney exercises statutory authority to prosecute the juvenile under Florida Statutes Section 39.04(2)(e)4. The court rejected the juvenile's argument that exclusive juvenile court jurisdiction in the circuit court applies regardless of the state's charging decision.
The county court has jurisdiction. Although exclusive jurisdiction over juveniles is initially vested in the juvenile division of the circuit court, this jurisdiction is expressly qualified by statutory exceptions. Section 39.04(2)(e)4 creates an exception allowing the state attorney to prosecute juveniles 16 or older as adults when the public interest requires, and when such an exception applies, the county court properly has jurisdiction over the misdemeanor charge.
[1] When the state files a direct information charging a juvenile, sixteen years of age or older, with a misdemeanor, and the juvenile has previously committed two delinquent…
[2] A juvenile charged with a crime has no constitutional right to juvenile treatment.
Previewing 2 of 4 headnotes on this case. FLexlaw’s editorially structured points of law — every proposition, pinpointed — are reserved for members.
Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligence“while exclusive jurisdiction over juveniles is initially vested in the juvenile division of the circuit court, this jurisdiction is expressly qualified to the extent of the statutory exceptions”
Establishes that circuit court juvenile jurisdiction is not absolute and may be limited by statutory exceptions
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Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligenceMarvin Dennis, a 16-year-old juvenile, was charged by information in county court with a misdemeanor. The state attorney filed the information pursuan…
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BOARDMAN, Acting Chief Judge.
This appeal presents the issue of whether the county court or the circuit court has jurisdiction over a juvenile when the state files a direct information charging the juvenile with a misdemeanor. We hold that jurisdiction is in the county court.
The state filed an information in the county court charging appellee, a sixteen-year-old juvenile, with a misdemeanor. The information was filed pursuant to Section 39.04(2)(e)4, Florida Statutes (1979), which authorizes the state attorney to criminally prosecute a juvenile who is sixteen years of age or older as an adult when the juvenile has in the past committed two delinquent acts, one of which involved a felony offense. Appellee filed a motion to dismiss on the ground that because he was a juvenile, jurisdiction was properly in the circuit court. Following denial of the motion, appellee filed a petition for writ of prohibition in the circuit court. The circuit court entered an order ruling that the county court did not have jurisdiction over appellee. This appeal followed timely.
In State v. Cain, 381 So. 2d 1361 (Fla.1980), our supreme court held that a juvenile charged with a crime has no constitutional right to juvenile treatment. The court stated that “while exclusive jurisdiction over juveniles is initially vested in the juvenile division of the circuit court, this jurisdiction is expressly qualified to the extent of the statutory exceptions . . . .” Id. at 1366. The legislature has enacted an exception from juvenile treatment for juveniles ages sixteen or older when, in the discretion of the state attorney, the public interest requires that the juvenile be prosecuted as an adult. § 39.04(2)(e)4, Fla.Stat. (1979). Because appellee in this case was tried as an adult pursuant to this statutory exception, the county court had jurisdiction over his misdemeanor case.1
Accordingly, the circuit court’s order is REVERSED.
SCHEB and CAMPBELL, JJ., concur. . In the event that appellee is ultimately convicted in the county court, that court must conduct a disposition hearing pursuant to Section 39.111(6), Florida Statutes (1979), prior to sentencing.
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State v. The Honorable Virgil B. Conkling, 421 So. 2d 1108 (Fla. 5th DCA 1982)…ction such as would warrant prohibition. Other district courts have recognized prohibition as the proper remedy to determine the question of jurisdiction as between the juvenile division and the adult division of the circuit courts. State v. Dennis, 386 So. 2d 24 (Fla. 2d DCA 1980); Robidoux v. Coker, 383 So. 2d 719 (Fla. 4th DCA 1980); rev. denied, 389 So. 2d 1108 (Fla.1980); State ex rel. Register v. Safer, 368 So. 2d 620 (Fla. 1st DCA 1979). We agree. The right to counsel in state criminal proceedings is…
Authorities Cited
- State v. Cain, 381 So. 2d 1361 (Fla. 1980)