PATRICIA M. ROSENFELD, APPELLANT,
v.
CRIMINAL JUSTICE STANDARDS AND TRAINING COMMISSION, APPELLEE
AI-generated. These summaries, headnotes, and key points are machine-generated and may contain errors or omissions. Always verify against the full opinion text below. Not legal advice.
Patricia Rosenfeld, a police officer, challenged the revocation of her law enforcement certification by the Criminal Justice Standards and Training Commission. The Commission found she violated the good moral character requirement by accepting $20,000 in cash from a friend, knowing or believing it was proceeds from a marijuana theft, and this court affirmed the revocation based on substantial competent evidence.
The revocation of Rosenfeld's certification was affirmed because substantial competent evidence, including her own statements, Washington's testimony, and corroborating hearsay from Clanton, supported the Commission's finding that Rosenfeld knew the source of the money and violated the good moral character requirement.
[1] An administrative agency's factual findings are supported by substantial competent evidence when the evidence, viewed in its entirety, is sufficient to convince a reasona…
[2] An appellate court should not substitute its judgment for that of an administrative agency regarding the weight of the evidence on disputed findings of fact.
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 Washington's testimony contained apparent internal inconsistencies, it was the province of the hearing officer to determine what weight to assign to that testimony.”
Establishes that the appellate court defers to the hearing officer's credibility assessments and weighing of evidence in administrative proceedings.
Previewing 1 of 3 key quotes on this case — the court’s exact language, pinpointed for members.
Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligenceIn September 1982, six bales of marijuana were stolen from the Florida City Police Department. Rosenfeld's roommate, Wendy Clanton, agreed to store $2…
The full statement of facts, procedural history, and disposition for this case are member content.
Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligence© FLexlaw, Inc. — AI-generated enrichments are proprietary. All rights reserved.
Explore caselaw by topic → Browse Hearsay Evidence In Administrative Proceedings cases and more on FLexlaw
PER CURIAM.
In September 1982, six bales of marijuana were stolen from the Florida City Police Department. Appellant Patricia Rosenfeld, then a Metropolitan Dade County Police Officer, was indisputably not involved in the planning or execution of the theft. A friend, Caroline Washington, in contrast, was among those participating in the theft. After the crime was committed, Washington asked Rosenfeld’s roommate, Wendy Clanton, to store $20,000 of her proceeds from the theft in Rosenfeld’s and Clanton’s apartment. Clanton agreed, without consulting Rosenfeld. Rosenfeld conceded that she became aware that cash belonging to Washington was being stored in the apartment, but testified she understood the cash to be proceeds of an inheritance from Washington’s grandmother. According to Rosenfeld, Washington claimed she needed a safe place to keep her money. Rosenfeld testified she told Washington to use a bank, but the funds were not removed. Rosenfeld eventually obtained from Washington what was described as an automobile loan in the amount of $2,000, which was given to Rosenfeld in cash.
The Criminal Justice Standards and Training Commission filed a complaint to revoke Rosenfeld’s certification to be a law enforcement officer. The Commission alleged Rosenfeld accepted funds from Washington, knowing or believing the currency was proceeds of the unlawful sale of a controlled substance, with intent to apply the funds to her own personal use. The Commission maintained that her acceptance of the money from Washington was a violation of her obligation to have “good moral character.” § 943.13(7), Fla.Stat. (1981).1 The Commission, adopting the order and recommendation of a hearing officer, revoked Rosenfeld’s certification. Rosenfeld appeals, arguing that the record does not contain substantial competent evidence to support the revocation. We affirm.
The crucial issue before the hearing officer was whether Rosenfeld knew the source of the money at the time she received it from Washington. Washington was the main witness against Rosenfeld, and Rosenfeld argues that Washington’s testimony was so ambiguous, speculative, and contradictory that it cannot support the Commission’s order. We disagree, based upon the statutory requirement that we not substitute our judgment for that of the agency as to the weight of the evidence on any disputed finding of fact. § 120.68(10), Fla.Stat. (1987). See McCray v. Dep’t of Health & Rehab. Services, 384 So. 2d 980 (Fla. 3d DCA 1980); Erwin v. Dep’t of Professional Regulation, 320 So. 2d 2 (Fla. 2d DCA 1975), cert. denied, 334 So. 2d 605 (Fla.1976). In this case the hear ing officer heard the testimony of Rosen-feld, Washington, and other witnesses, and was in a position to observe their demeanor and assess their credibility. While Washington’s testimony contained apparent internal inconsistencies, it was the province of the hearing officer to determine what weight to assign to that testimony.
Further, the Commission’s decision was not based solely on Washington’s testimony. Rosenfeld was incriminated by her own statements. She was recorded during a police investigation saying that there was no way to “trace” the money and admitted in a police department memorandum to a “bad judgment call.” For corroboration purposes, the hearing officer received over objection the hearsay statement of Clanton, who indicated first, that she had personally told Rosenfeld that the money was derived from the theft and, second, that Washington’s story was correct. Clanton’s statements, though hearsay, were admissible under Section 120.58(l)(a), Florida Statutes, which permits consideration of hearsay in administrative proceedings when the hearsay corroborates other testimony. See Florida Dep’t of Law Enforcement v. Dukes, 484 So. 2d 645 (Fla. 4th DCA 1986). Washington’s testimony, along with Rosen-feld’s admissions and the statements of Clanton, constitute substantial competent evidence to support the revocation of Ro-senfeld’s law enforcement officer certification.
AFFIRMED.
. Rosenfeld had earlier been charged with the crimes of official misconduct and perjury. This court declared the official misconduct statute to be unconstitutionally vague, State v. Rosenfeld, 467 So. 2d 731 (Fla. 3d DCA 1985), and a jury acquitted Rosenfeld of perjury.
Cases With Similar Vibessemantic neighbors from the corpus
Citator
Cited By
-
Mullins v. Dep't OF LAW Enf't, 942 So. 2d 998 (Fla. 5th DCA 2006)…their demean- or and assess their credibility. We conclude that there is substantial competent evidence to support the revocation of Mr. Mullins’s law enforcement officer certification. See Rosenfeld v. Criminal Justice Standards & Training Comm’n, 541 So. 2d 745 (Fla. 3d DCA 1989) (acknowledging that the district court of appeal cannot substitute its judgment for that of the agency as to the weight of the evidence on any disputed finding of fact, court held that substantial competent evidence supported the…
Authorities Cited
- McCRAY v. Dep't OF Health & Rehabilitative Servs. of the State of Fla., 384 So. 2d 980 (Fla. 3d DCA 1980)
- Bert F. Erwin, D.D.S. v. State, 320 So. 2d 2 (Fla. 2d DCA 1975)
- State v. Rosenfeld, 467 So. 2d 731 (Fla. 3d DCA 1985)
- Fla. Dep't OF LAW Enf't v. Dukes, 484 So. 2d 645 (Fla. 4th DCA 1986)