R.D.S., A CHILD, APPELLANT,
v.
STATE OF FLORIDA, 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.
A trial court's reasons for disregarding a juvenile placement recommendation must be supported by a preponderance of the evidence and cannot be based solely on observations of demeanor or lack of contrition.
The trial court disregarded the Department of Juvenile Justice's placement recommendation for a juvenile, relying primarily on observations of the juv…
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.
PER CURIAM.
Our review of the entire record in the case at bar persuades us that the trial court elected to disregard the minimum risk placement recommendation of the Department of Juvenile Justice (DJJ) regarding the juvenile appellant in this case relying primarily on his observations of appellant. These observations included appellant’s “body language,” a perceived disrespectful and contemptuous attitude and a lack of appreciation for the “break” the trial court offered regarding placement. It appears from the colloquy between appellant’s counsel and the court, that appellant’s “body language” at the placement hearing was particularly offensive to the court.
We are not unsympathetic with a court that has before it a juvenile who is sullen and boorish, but we cannot distinguish the type of conduct found offensive by the court here from conduct which shows a lack of contrition or remorse. • It has been held that such conduct is not sufficient to overcome the burden placed upon a trial court when it disregards placement recommendations by the Department of Juvenile Justice. K.Y.L. v. State, 685 So. 2d 1380 (Fla. 1st DCA, 1997); see A.S. v. State, 667 So. 2d 994 (Fla. 3d DCA 1996). In order to disregard such a recommendation, the court’s reasons must be supported by a preponderance of the evidence. See J.M. v. State, 677 So. 2d 890 (Fla. 3d DCA 1996).
Otherwise stated, we find that the reasons ascribed by the trial court for disregarding DJJ’s placement recommendation are the functional equivalent of basing a placement decision on lack of contrition and remorse. Accordingly, we are obliged to reverse and remand for further proceedings consistent with this opinion.
MINER, ALLEN and MICKLE, JJ., concur.
Cases With Similar Vibessemantic neighbors from the corpus
Citator
Cited By
-
In the Interest of A.C.N. v. State, 727 So. 2d 368 (Fla. 1st DCA 1999)…n of the Department must not only be stated on the record, the reasons also must be supported by a preponderance of the evidence; section 985.23, Florida Statutes (1997); see also Q.L.J. v. State, 714 So. 2d 628 (Fla. 1st DCA 1998); R.D.S. v. State, 696 So. 2d 1188 (Fla. 1st DCA 1997); J.M. v. State, 677 So. 2d 890 (Fla. 3d DCA 1996); and, as Judge Griffin has observed, “the reason[s] must have reference to the characteristics of the restrictiveness level vis-a-vis the needs of the child.” J.L.O v. State, 721…
-
A.H. v. State, 724 So. 2d 1268 (Fla. 1st DCA 1999)…ficient evidence. We reverse the order, because the reasons given for the deviation arising from the judge’s finding that appellant was a member of a criminal street gang are not substantiated by a preponderance of the evidence. See R.D.S. v. State, 696 So. 2d 1188, 1189 (Fla. 1st DCA 1997) (“In order to disregard such a recommendation, the court’s reasons must be supported by a preponderance of the evidence.”). Although the trial judge provided numerous valid reasons for disregarding the department’s low ris…
-
State v. W. H., 704 So. 2d 701 (Fla. 3d DCA 1997)…not need such restriction in order to be rehabilitated. Under these circumstances, the departure from the Department’s recommendation constitutes reversible error. See J.M. v. State, 677 So. 2d 890, 893 (Fla. 3d DCA 1996); see also R.D.S. v. State, 696 So. 2d 1188 (Fla. 1st DCA 1997); A.S. v. State, 667 So. 2d 994 (Fla. 3d DCA 1996). [*702] We further find that under the circumstances, the state’s motion to disqualify the presiding judge was facially sufficient to show a well-founded belief that it could not…
Authorities Cited
- A.S. v. State, 667 So. 2d 994 (Fla. 3d DCA 1996)
- K.Y.L. and N.L. v. State, 685 So. 2d 1380 (Fla. 1st DCA 1997)
- J.M. v. State, 677 So. 2d 890 (Fla. 3d DCA 1996)