A.N., A JUVENILE, APPELLANT,
v.
THE STATE OF FLORIDA, APPELLEE

Fla. 3d DCA | 1995-10-25
No. 95-1631
Before SCITWARTZ, C.J., and COPE and LEVY, JJ.
666 So. 2d 928 Florida District Court of Appeal, Third District (1995) Positive Treatment
Cited by 2 cases

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.

Synopsis

A juvenile appellant sought to appeal an adjudication of delinquency order, but the Florida District Court of Appeal dismissed the appeal for lack of an appealable order. The court held that only a final disposition order—not an intermediate adjudication order—is appealable in juvenile delinquency cases under Florida law.


Holding

An adjudication order in a juvenile delinquency case is not a final, appealable order. Only a disposition order marks the end of the judicial labor and constitutes a final order. The adjudication order is therefore a non-appealable nonfinal order, as the Florida Supreme Court has not adopted rules authorizing interlocutory appeals in juvenile delinquency cases.


Headnotes

[1] An order of adjudication of delinquency is not a final, appealable order until an order of disposition has been entered.

[2] The right to appeal a final order in a juvenile delinquency case is created by statute.

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Key Quotes

“The rather well-established test of finality is "whether the order in question marks the end of the judicial labor in the case, and nothing further remains to be done by the court to fully effectuate a termination of the case as between the parties directly affected."”

Establishes the legal standard for determining whether an order is final and appealable

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Facts & Procedural History

A.N. was adjudicated delinquent by the circuit court in Dade County. The court ordered the case transferred to Broward County for disposition. Before …

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Opinion of the Court
COPE, Judge.

COPE, Judge.

The State moves to dismiss the appeal of A.N. for want of an appealable order. We grant the motion.

A.N. was adjudicated delinquent by the circuit court for the Eleventh Judicial Circuit, in and for Dade County, Florida. The court ordered the case transferred to the circuit court for the Seventeenth Judicial Circuit, in and for Broward County, Florida, for disposition. See Fla.R. Juv.P. 8.160. Prior to the transfer of the case to Broward County, A.N. filed his notice of appeal of the adjudicatory order. A.N. seeks reversal of the adjudication of delinquency.1

The State has moved to dismiss the appeal for want of an appealable order. The State argues that the adjudication order is a non-appealable nonfinal order. The State contends that there is no appealable final order until a disposition order is entered. The State’s point is well taken.

The right of the child to appeal a final order in a juvenile delinquency case is a right created by statute. See State v. Gurican, 676 So. 2d 709, 711-12 (Fla.1991); State v. Pettis, 520 So. 2d 250, 252 (Fla.1988); State v. Creighton, 469 So. 2d 735, 740 n. 8 (Fla.1985).

By contrast, under the Florida Constitution the right to appeal an interlocutory order to the district court of appeal exists only “to the extent provided by rules adopted by the supreme court.” Art. V, § 4(b)(1), Fla. Const, (amended 1972); State v. Pettis, 520 So. 2d at 252; State v. Smith, 260 So. 2d 489, 490-91 (Fla.1972) (construing predecessor provision of Florida Constitution); State v. M.G., 550 So. 2d 1122, 1123 (Fla. 3d DCA), review denied, 551 So. 2d 462 (Fla.1989).

The legislature has created the right to appeal a final order in a delinquency case by enacting paragraph 39.069(l)(a), Florida Statutes (1993).2 The statute does not itself define what is a final order in a juvenile delinquency proceeding. “The rather well-established test of finality is “whether the order in question marks the end of the judicial labor in the case, and nothing further remains to be done by the court to fully effectuate a termination of the case as between the parties directly affected.’ ” C.L.S. v. State, 586 So. 2d 1173, 1175 (Fla. 1st DCA 1991) (citations omitted).

We agree with the First District that the judicial labor ends upon entry of the order of disposition in a delinquency case. Id. at 1176; T.L.W. v. Soud, 645 So. 2d 1101, 1104-05 (Fla. 1st DCA 1994), review dismissed, 650 So. 2d 992 (Fla.1995). Since no disposition order has been entered in the present case, it follows that there is no appealable final order. At the present time the Florida Supreme Court has not adopted a rule which authorizes interlocutory appeals in juvenile delinquency cases. See State v. M.G., 550 So. 2d at 1123. The adjudicatory order is therefore not an appealable nonfinal order. Appeal dismissed.

. Because the notice of appeal was filed prior to transfer of the file from Dade County to Broward County, appellate jurisdiction lies in this court, see Vasilinda v. Lozano, 631 So. 2d 1082, 1087 (Fla. 1994), assuming that the adjudication order is appealable.

. The statute states:

(1) An appeal from an order of the court affecting a party to a case involving a child pursuant to this part may be taken to the appropriate district court of appeal within the time and in the manner prescribed by the Florida Rules of Appellate Procedure by:
(a) Any child, and any parent or legal guardian or custodian of any child.

Id. Since the legislature only has the power to authorize appeals from final orders, not interlocutory orders, it follows that this broadly-worded statute must necessarily be read to create only a right to appeal a final order in a juvenile delinquency case.


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Citator

Cited By

  • State v. J.A., 679 So. 2d 316 (Fla. 3d DCA 1996)
    …nded. . We grant J.A.'s motion to treat the appeal as a petition for writ of certiorari. The Florida Supreme Court has not promulgated a rule permitting the State to appeal an interlocutory suppression order in a juvenile proceeding. A.N. v. State, 666 So. 2d 928 (Fla. 3d DCA 1995). Certiorari is the only relief the State may seek in this case. State v. M.G., 550 So. 2d 1122 (Fla. 3d DCA), review denied, 551 So. 2d 462 (Fla.1989). We note that Proposed Florida Rule of Appellate Procedure 9.145(c)(1)(B), if a…

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