J.E.A., 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.
J.E.A. was charged with third-degree felony battery based on prior battery cases, including some with withheld delinquency adjudications. The court reversed, holding that Florida's juvenile delinquency statute does not expressly authorize using withheld adjudications to enhance offense levels.
No. The court held that section 985.228(6) does not expressly authorize the use of withheld delinquency adjudications as convictions for the purpose of enhancing offense levels, and therefore the battery should not have been enhanced to a third-degree felony.
[1] A prior withheld delinquency adjudication cannot be used to enhance a subsequent offense to a felony absent express statutory authorization.
[2] Florida statutes do not expressly authorize the use of prior withheld delinquency adjudications to enhance the level of criminal offenses.
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“Because Florida's juvenile delinquency statute does not expressly authorize the use of prior withheld delinquency adjudications to enhance the level of criminal offenses, we reverse and remand for a final disposition hearing on misdemeanor battery.”
States the core holding that withheld adjudications cannot be used to enhance offense levels without express statutory authorization.
Previewing 1 of 3 key quotes on this case — the court’s exact language, pinpointed for members.
Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligenceJ.E.A. had a history of four prior batteries. He was adjudicated delinquent in only one of these four prior battery cases; the other three resulted in…
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 Felony Battery cases and more on FLexlaw
STRINGER, Judge.
J.E.A. challenges a final disposition order entered for a felony battery charge. Because Florida’s juvenile delinquency statute does not expressly authorize the use of prior withheld delinquency adjudications to enhance the level of criminal offenses, we reverse and remand for a final disposition hearing on misdemeanor battery.
Section 784.03(2), Florida Statutes (2000), provides that “[a] person who has two prior convictions for battery who commits a third or subsequent battery commits a felony of the third degree.”1 (Emphasis supplied). Based on his history of four prior batteries, J.E.A. was charged with third-degree felony battery in violation of section 784.03(2). On appeal he argues that the lower court erred in enhancing the offense to a felony based on prior battery cases in which delinquency adjudications were withheld. We agree.
Section 985.228(6), Florida Statutes (2000), provides that except as used in chapter 322 (drivers’ licenses) and except for use in a subsequent juvenile proceeding, an adjudication of delinquency shall not be deemed a “conviction.” While this section expressly provides that a delinquency adjudication may be used as a “conviction” in subsequent juvenile proceedings, it is silent concerning the use of a disposition resulting in a withheld adjudication for this purpose. State v. T.T., 773 So. 2d 586 (Fla. 1st DCA 2000) (affirming the dismissal of a delinquency petition which charged a child with felony petit theft based on two prior withheld adjudications and finding no statutory authority for enhancing the offense). J.E.A. was adjudicated delinquent in only one of the four prior battery cases. In the absence of express language indicating that a withheld adjudication may be used as a conviction, this battery should not have been enhanced to a third-degree felony.
Reversed and remanded for further proceedings.
BLUE, C.J., and FULMER, J., Concur. . Section 784.03(2), Florida Statutes (2000), was amended effective July 1, 2001, to require only one prior battery conviction in order to enhance the offense to felony battery. Ch. 01-50, § 4, at 320, Laws of Fla. The battery in this case was committed on March 17, 2001, four months prior to the effective date of the amendment.
Cases With Similar Vibessemantic neighbors from the corpus
Citator
Cited By
-
W.J.H. v. State, 922 So. 2d 458 (Fla. 4th DCA 2006)…hheld in his prior delinquency ease, it could not provide the predicate “conviction” necessary to elevate the present crime to felony battery. In support of this position, W.J.H. relied upon section 985.228(6), Florida Statutes, and J.E.A. v. State, 842 So. 2d 851 (Fla. 2d DCA 2002). Section 985.228 authorizes an adjudication of delinquency to be treated as a “conviction” for purposes of delinquency proceedings brought under chapter 985. See § 985.228(6), Fla. Stat. (“Except as the term ‘conviction’ is used i…
-
J.R.H. v. State, 932 So. 2d 430 (Fla. 4th DCA 2006)…ppellant guilty of felony battery, over his objection that the state could not establish the felony because it had not proved that he had “one prior conviction for battery” within the meaning of section 784.03(2). Appellant relied on J.E.A v. State, 842 So. 2d 851 (Fla. 2d DCA 2002), to argue that the state was required to establish that he had been previously adjudicated delinquent of battery in order to obtain a felony battery conviction. Recently this court aligned itself with J.E.A in holding that the s…
-
T.E.B. v. State (Fla. 4th DCA 2022)…Statutes, in subsequent delinquency proceedings.” We held that “a withheld adjudication for simple battery in juvenile court may not be used as a predicate offense to elevate misdemeanor battery to felony battery.” Id. (citing J.E.A. v. State, 842 So. 2d 851 (Fla. 2d DCA 2002)). Accordingly, this court reversed the felony battery disposition and remanded with instructions that the trial court enter a new disposition order for simple battery. Id. at 459-60. The court in Anderson v. State, 323 S…
Previewing 3 of 4 citing cases — full citator treatment, depth of discussion, and citing context are member features.
Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligenceAuthorities Cited
- State v. T.T., 773 So. 2d 586 (Fla. 1st DCA 2000)