TARA LEIGH SCOTT, PETITIONER,
v.
STATE OF FLORIDA, RESPONDENT

Fla. 4th DCA | 2006-09-06
No. 4D06-2859
GUNTHER and STONE, JJ., concur.
937 So. 2d 746 Florida District Court of Appeal, Fourth District (2006) Caution
Cited by 11 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

Scott challenges a second probation violation charge filed after the first was dismissed when the state's key witness failed to appear. The court holds that Double Jeopardy protections do not apply to probation violation proceedings, and therefore the second charge is not barred.


Holding

The Double Jeopardy Clause does not bar a second probation violation proceeding for the same alleged violation when the earlier proceeding was dismissed without testimony or evidence being presented. Probation revocation hearings are sentencing functions, not criminal prosecutions, and therefore do not trigger double jeopardy protections.


Headnotes

[1] The Double Jeopardy Clause of the Fifth Amendment does not apply to probation violation hearings.

[2] A probation revocation hearing is a sentencing function, not a criminal trial, and therefore does not trigger double jeopardy protection.

Previewing 2 of 5 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

Key Quotes

“Probation revocation hearings are not a part of the criminal prosecution which results in imposition of the probationary period.”

Establishes the fundamental distinction that probation hearings are separate from criminal prosecution and therefore not subject to criminal protections like double jeopardy

Previewing 1 of 3 key quotes on this case — the court’s exact language, pinpointed for members.

Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligence

Facts & Procedural History

Scott was placed on 12 months probation in February 2006. In April 2006, a probation officer filed an affidavit alleging Scott violated probation by c…

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.


Opinion of the Court
GROSS, J.

GROSS, J.

The issue in this case is whether the Double Jeopardy Clause of the Fifth Amendment to the United States Constitution bars a probation violation charge, after an identical charge was dismissed when the main witness failed to appear. We hold that double jeopardy protection does not apply to a probation violation hearing and deny the petition for writ of prohibition.

Petitioner Tara Scott was placed on 12 months probation on February 22, 2006. On April 18, 2006, the probation officer filed an affidavit alleging that Scott violated her probation by committing a simple battery and resisting an officer without violence.

At the final violation of probation hearing on June 2, 2006, a police officer, who was the state’s main witness to the underlying offenses, failed to appear. The state presented no evidence. No testimony was taken from any witness. Scott’s attorney moved for dismissal. The court granted the motion and, pursuant to section 948.06(l)(g), Florida Statutes (2005), continued Scott on probation “as previously imposed.”

On June 5, 2006, the probation officer filed a second violation of probation affidavit founded on the identical conduct that formed the basis for the April 18 affidavit. The court set a final violation of probation hearing on July 28, 2006. Scott moved to dismiss the second violation of probation affidavit, arguing that the new affidavit violated the prohibition against double jeopardy. The circuit court denied the motion.

In her petition, Scott argues that the pending violation of probation charge is barred by the Double Jeopardy Clause of the Fifth Amendment to the United States Constitution. A writ of prohibition is the proper remedy to prevent a prosecution that is barred by double jeopardy principles. See Jackson v. State, 855 So. 2d 178 (Fla. 4th DCA 2003).

The Double Jeopardy Clause does not bar a second probation violation proceeding for the same alleged violation, wherein the subject of the earlier proceeding was dismissed by the court without any testimony being taken or evidence offered. As the United States Seventh Circuit has explained:

Probation revocation hearings are not a part of the criminal prosecution which results in imposition of the probationary period. Morrissey v. Brewer, 408 U.S. 471, 480, 92 S.Ct. 2593, 2600, 33 L.Ed.2d 484 (1972). A probationer or parolee facing revocation is not entitled therefore to the full panoply of constitutional and statutory rights due a defendant facing a criminal prosecution. Id. at 489, 92 S.Ct. at 2604. See also Gagnon v. Scarpelli, 411 U.S. 778, 781-82, 93 S.Ct. 1756, 1759, 36 L.Ed.2d 656 (1973) (extending due process rights recognized in Morrissey to probationers). In Morris-sey v. Brewer, the Court held that the conditional liberty of a parolee is a liberty interest protected by the Due Process Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment. 408 U.S. at 480, 92 S.Ct. at 2600. In Morrissey, the Court outlined the minimum due process rights to which parolees are entitled: the right to notice, limited discovery, opportunity to be present and to offer evidence, confrontation, a neutral and detached hearing body and a written statement of the reasons for the revocation. 408 U.S. at 489, 92 S.Ct. at 2604.

Thompson v. Reivitz, 746 F. 2d 397, 399 (7th Cir.1983), cert. den., 471 U.S. 1103, 105 S.Ct. 2332, 85 L.Ed.2d 849 (1985). Thompson declined to extend the due process protections of Morrissey to include “a double jeopardy bar” in a situation similar to the one presented in this case. Id. at 400; accord United States v. Whitney, 649 F. 2d 296, 298 (5th Cir.1981); see also Duke v. State, 2 S.W. 3d 512, 515-16 (Tex.Crim.App.1999) (holding that double jeopardy does not apply in a probation revocation hearing, which results in “neither a conviction nor an acquittal,” but in “a finding on which the trial court can then exercise its discretion by revoking or continuing probation”); People v. Tanner, 129 Cal.App.4th 223, 28 Cal.Rptr.3d 201, 212 (2005); Jonas v. Wainwright, 779 F. 2d 1576, 1577 (11th Cir.1986) (stating that “double jeopardy clause does not apply to parole revocation proceedings”).

The inapplicability of the Double Jeopardy Clause to a probation violation proceeding is demonstrated by the way the clause operates when insufficient evidence has been presented at a criminal trial, as opposed to a probation revocation hearing.

The general rule is that a defendant is not placed twice in jeopardy by being required to defend a second prosecution after successfully overturning a previous conviction because of trial error, or after a mistrial was properly declared. See, e.g., Burks v. United States, 437 U.S. 1, 15, 98 S.Ct. 2141, 57 L.Ed.2d 1 (1978) (“[RJeversal for trial error ... does not constitute a decision to the effect that the government has failed to prove its case. As such, it implies nothing with respect to the guilt or innocence of the defendant.”). One exception to this rule is when a conviction is overturned for insufficient evidence,1 which means “that the prosecution has failed to produce sufficient evidence to prove its case,” Tibbs v. Florida, 457 U.S. 31, 42, 102 S.Ct. 2211, 72 L.Ed.2d 652 (1982); in such a case, the reversal on appeal is deemed to be equivalent to an acquittal. See, e.g., Bullington v. Missouri, 451 U.S. 430, 437, 101 S.Ct. 1852, 68 L.Ed.2d 270 (1981). When a person is acquitted of a crime, the Double Jeopardy clause bars future prosecution based on the same offense; when an individual is convicted, he cannot be twice convicted and punished for the same crime. The Double Jeopardy Clause thus promotes finality, in cases where the defendant was either initially acquitted or convicted. See Breed v. Jones, 421 U.S. 519, 95 S.Ct. 1779, 44 L.Ed.2d 346 (1975); United States v. Jorn, 400 U.S. 470, 479, 91 S.Ct. 547, 27 L.Ed.2d 543 (1971).

Unlike the reversal of a criminal conviction for insufficient evidence, the reversal of a violation of probation conviction for insufficient evidence does not “bar a second revocation hearing based on the filing of a new affidavit alleging the same violations.” Reeves v. State, 366 So. 2d 1229, 1230 n. 2 (Fla. 2d DCA 1979); see also Robbins v. State, 318 So. 2d 472, 473 (Fla. 4th DCA 1975). Double jeopardy protection does not operate in violation of probation proceedings.

The state relies on State v. Jones, 425 So. 2d 178 (Fla. 1st DCA 1983), a case that supports the conclusion we reach in this case. Jones held that a court’s ruling that a defendant had not violated probation by committing an aggravated battery did not bar a prosecution of the defendant on the same aggravated battery charges. Id. That holding was based on the conclusion that the probation revocation hearing did not trigger double jeopardy protection; the defendant “was not placed in jeopardy in the probation revocation hearing.” Id. at 179. The first district reasoned:

A probation revocation hearing is a sentencing function, not a trial. Jeopardy occurs when a person is put upon trial under an indictment or information sufficient in form and substance to sustain, a conviction before a court of competent jurisdiction, and a jury has been sworn and charged or the court begins to hear the evidence. Since appellee’s probation • revocation hearing concerned only her sentence for a prior offense, she may not be said to have been put in jeopardy for the instant offense.

Id. at 179 n. 2 (internal citations omitted).

Our ruling in this case is based only on the grounds raised in the petition. We do not address any other theory that the defendant might raise to avoid prosecution under the second affidavit. We also note that this decision does not conflict with Gilliam v. State, 801 So. 2d 996 (Fla. 4th DCA 2001), where the reference to “the Double Jeopardy Clauses” was dicta. ’

The petition for writ of prohibition is denied.

GUNTHER and STONE, JJ., concur. . If a reversal is based on the weight of the evidence, as opposed to the sufficiency of the evidence, the Double Jeopardy Clause does not bar a retrial since "[a] reversal on this ground, unlike a reversal based on insufficient evidence, does not mean that acquittal was the only proper verdict.” Tibbs, 457 U.S. at 42, 102 S.Ct. 2211.


Cases With Similar Vibessemantic neighbors from the corpus


Citator

Cited By

  • Peters v. State, 984 So. 2d 1227 (Fla. 2008)
    …al before probation is revoked); Prellwitz v. Berg, 578 F. 2d 190, 192 (7th Cir.1978) (affirming revocation and recognizing that probation revocation hearings are not subject to the full constitutional standards of a criminal trial); Scott v. State, 937 So. 2d 746 (Fla. 4th DCA 2006) (holding that the Fifth Amendment prohibition against double jeopardy does not pertain to probation revocation hearings). But see State v. Scarlet, 800 So. 2d 220 (Fla.2001) (holding that in the absence of a controlling federal d…
  • Maurio Boyd v. State, 1 So. 3d 1186 (Fla. 2d DCA 2009)
    …the revocation order as well as the judgment and sentence entered pursuant to that order. We note that double jeopardy does not preclude a second revocation hearing based on the filing of a new affidavit alleging the same violation. Scott v. State, 937 So. 2d 746, 748 (Fla. 4th DCA 2006); Keith-Schrader v. State, 891 So. 2d 1217, 1218 (Fla. 2d DCA 2005). Reversed and remanded. FULMER and WALLACE, JJ., Concur. . We question whether the probation officer’s testimony provided even hearsay evidence that a bat…
  • Cerny v. State, 65 So. 3d 609 (Fla. 2d DCA 2011)
    …a second revocation proceeding on remand based on the filing of a new affidavit alleging the same violations, see Boyd v. State, 1 So. 3d 1186, 1188 (Fla. 2d DCA 2009); Reeves v. State, 366 So. 2d 1229, 1230 n. 2 (Fla. 2d DCA 1979); Scott v. State, 937 So. 2d 746, 748-49 (Fla. 4th DCA 2006), provided that Mr. Cerny’s probationary terms have not expired, see Hernandez v. State, 33 So. 3d 143, 145 (Fla. 2d DCA 2010); Humbert v. State, 933 So. 2d 726, 728 (Fla. 2d DCA 2006); Sharpston v. State, 895 So. 2d 1225,…

Previewing 3 of 6 citing cases — full citator treatment, depth of discussion, and citing context are member features.

Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligence

Authorities Cited (16 total)

View all 16 cited authorities →

Full citator, related cases, and AI research tools

Open in FLexlaw