GERRARD L. SIMMONS, PETITIONER,
v.
STATE OF FLORIDA, RESPONDENT
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.
Trial court lacked authority to sua sponte revoke pretrial release and increase bond without State application or notice; habeas corpus petition granted and original bond reinstated.
A trial court lacks authority to sua sponte increase a defendant's bond absent an application by the State with proper notice.
[1] A trial court lacks inherent authority to sua sponte increase a defendant's bond absent an application by the State with proper notice and good cause under Florida Rule o…
Previewing 1 of 1 headnotes on this case. FLexlaw’s editorially structured points of law — every proposition, pinpointed — are reserved for members.
Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligenceSimmons was charged with burglary, grand theft, resisting arrest without violence, and possession of marijuana. The State sought modification of his p…
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 Sua Sponte Judicial Action cases and more on FLexlaw
PER CURIAM.
Gerrard L. Simmons seeks a writ of habeas corpus challenging the trial court’s sua sponte order revoking his pretrial release and incarcerating him on a $100,000 bond for charges of burglary, grand theft, resisting arrest without violence, and possession of marijuana. In a previous order of this court, we granted the petition for writ of habeas corpus, struck the trial court’s sua sponte imposition of a $100,000 bond, and reinstated Simmons’ previously ordered total bond of $10,000. This opinion now follows.
Florida Rule of Criminal Procedure 3.131(d)(2) permits the State to apply for modification of bail by showing good cause and with at least three hours’ notice to the attorney for defendant. Here, the State sought modification of Simmons’ pretrial release conditions, but the trial court denied its request. Subsequently, with no prior notice to Simmons, the trial court sua sponte increased the bond on grounds not raised by the State. The trial court was without authority to increase Simmons’ bond on its own motion. See Bowers v. Jenne, 710 So. 2d 681, 682 (Fla. 4th DCA 1998). Thus, the trial court erred by taking Simmons into custody and increasing his bond to $100,000. We therefore granted the petition, struck the order increasing the bond, and reinstated the previously ordered total bond of $10,000.
WHATLEY, CASANUEVA, and WALLACE, JJ., Concur.
Cases With Similar Vibessemantic neighbors from the corpus
Citator
Cited By
-
Tagliamonte v. State, 126 So. 3d 352 (Fla. 3d DCA 2013)…se bond. See Cameron v. State, 127 So. 3d 549, 550, 2012 WL 5349405, *1 (Fla. 4th DCA 2012) (granting a writ of habeas corpus where trial court sua sponte “added significant and substantial conditions” to defendant’s release bond); Simmons v. State, 915 So. 2d 732 (Fla. 2d DCA 2005) (holding trial court may not increase bond on grounds not raised by the State without prior notice to defendant); Griffin v. McRay, 890 So. 2d 341 (Fla. 3d DCA 2004) (granting habeas corpus, stating State did not move to modify pr…
-
Knight v. GEE, 161 So. 3d 473 (Fla. 2d DCA 2014)…al detention if the court finds probable cause to believe that the defendant committed a new crime while on pretrial release,” § 903.0471, Fla. Stat. (2013), it has no authority to increase a defendant’s bond on its own motion. See Simmons v. State, 915 So. 2d 732, 733 (Fla. 2d DCA 2005). At the conclusion of the April 9 hearing, the court ordered the State to produce the law enforcement officer to testify about the failed cooperation agreement at an eviden-tiary hearing to be held on April 14. Mr. Knight th…
Authorities Cited
- Bowers v. Jenne, 710 So. 2d 681 (Fla. 4th DCA 1998)