MICHAEL D. ROGERS, PETITIONER,
v.
STATE OF FLORIDA, RESPONDENT
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Michael Rogers sought habeas corpus relief challenging a $500,000 bail amount in a capital sexual battery case, arguing it was excessive and effectively no bail. The court denied the petition, holding that without competent evidence of Rogers' financial circumstances presented at the bail hearing, the petition could not succeed.
The habeas corpus petition must be denied because Rogers failed to present competent evidence regarding his financial circumstances or ties to the community at the bail hearing. Counsel's statements about the client's finances were not competent evidence, and absent a record demonstrating the bail amount was beyond the defendant's ability to meet, the petition cannot succeed.
[1] A defendant seeking pretrial release must present competent evidence of their financial circumstances and ties to the community to challenge the reasonableness of bail.
[2] Representations made by counsel regarding a defendant's finances do not constitute competent evidence for purposes of a bail hearing.
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Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligence“In the absence of a record which demonstrated that the amount of bail was beyond the ability of this defendant to meet, we concluded the habeas corpus petition must be denied”
Establishes that the core holding requires competent evidence of financial inability to meet bail
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Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligenceRogers was arrested and charged with capital sexual battery. After arrest, he was ordered held without bail. A consolidated hearing was held on the st…
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PER CURIAM.
The petition for writ of habeas corpus was previously denied by unpublished order without prejudice to further proceedings in the trial court. We now provide the following opinion to set forth our reasoning for this ruling.
Michael Rogers is charged with capital sexual battery pursuant to section 794.011(2)(a), Florida Statutes, in the Circuit Court for Wakulla County. After his arrest he was ordered held without bail. The state sought to show that the proof of guilt was evident or the presumption great, thus precluding release under Article I, section 14 of the Florida Constitution. The defense moved for pretrial release on reasonable conditions and the court and the parties agreed to a consolidated hearing on the motions. The defense presented the expert testimony of mental health professionals who opined that Rogers’ risk of re-offending was low to moderate. The state’s witnesses were investigators who described the evidence against the defendant. The trial court concluded that the state had not met its burden and that the defendant was entitled to pretrial release. Bail was set at $500,000.
Rogers petitions for a writ of habeas corpus, arguing that the amount of bail is far in excess of his ability to pay and therefore tantamount to no bail. However, no evidence was presented at the hearing regarding the defendant’s financial circumstances or ties to the community. Counsel made certain representations to the court regarding his client’s finances but these statements were not competent evidence. Neal v. State, 697 So. 2d 908 (Fla. 2d DCA 1997). In the absence of a record which demonstrated that the amount of bail was beyond the ability of this defendant to meet, we concluded the habeas corpus petition must be denied and so ordered.
We acknowledge cases such as Camara v. State, 916 So. 2d 946 (Fla. 3d DCA 2005) where the court granted habeas corpus and remanded for an additional hearing in similar circumstances. We find this to be an inappropriate use of the writ and decline to employ it or to follow Camara to the extent it suggests granting of the petition is the proper procedure when the case is in this posture.
PETITION DENIED WITHOUT PREJUDICE.
WOLF, BENTON and HAWKES, JJ„ concur.
Cases With Similar Vibessemantic neighbors from the corpus
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Mehaffie v. John Rutherford as Sheriff of Duval Cnty., 143 So. 3d 432 (Fla. 1st DCA 2014)…evidence at the hearing regarding his financial circumstances. “In the absence of a record which demonstrated that the amount of bail was beyond the ability of this defendant to meet,” the petition for habeas corpus must be denied. Rogers v. State, 966 So. 2d 490, 491 (Fla. 1st DCA 2007). OSTERHAUS, J., concurs; CLARK, J., dissents with opinion.…
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Bayless v. State, 20 So. 3d 1016 (Fla. 1st DCA 2009)…PER CURIAM. DENIED. Rogers v. State, 966 So. 2d 490 (Fla. 1st DCA 2007). HAWKES, C.J., BARFIELD and CLARK, JJ., concur.…
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R.L. v. Behavioral, 987 So. 2d 140 (Fla. 5th DCA 2008)…e (such as affidavits or verified pleadings) was submitted to support the claim. Since R.L. failed to present the trial court with any evidence to support her claim, the trial court did not err in denying her petition. See generally Rogers v. State, 966 So. 2d 490 (Fla. 1st DCA 2007)(holding that bail set at $500,000 on charge of capital sexual battery did not entitle pre-trial detainee to a writ of habeas corpus without evidence of detainee’s financial circumstances or ties to the community; counsel’s repres…
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Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligenceAuthorities Cited
- Camara v. State, 916 So. 2d 946 (Fla. 3d DCA 2005)