M.F., A JUVENILE, PETITIONER,
v.
CORNELIUS FAULK, SUPERINTENDENT MIAMI-DADE REGIONAL JUVENILE DETENTION CENTER, AND THE STATE OF FLORIDA, RESPONDENTS
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Florida appellate court dismissed as moot a habeas corpus petition challenging a juvenile's secure detention beyond the seventy-two-hour statutory limit, but reminded trial judges that detention decisions must strictly comply with section 985.255 regardless of judicial discretion or perceived good motives.
A trial court lacks statutory authority to hold a juvenile in secure detention beyond seventy-two hours after quashing a pickup order, and judges must follow legislative mandates in detention decisions.
[1] Section 985.255(1)(i), Florida Statutes, limits to seventy-two hours the authority to hold a juvenile in secure detention after quashing a pickup order, and this statutor…
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Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligence“It is not for us, as judges, to question the wisdom of the legislation. Rather, our task is simply to carry it out.”
The court explaining the judicial duty to enforce statutory detention limits regardless of judicial discretion.
M.F., an uncooperative juvenile, was ordered into secure detention by a trial judge. The detention was challenged via emergency habeas corpus petition…
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We have before us an Emergency Petition for Writ of Habeas Corpus because the trial judge has ordered an uncooperative juvenile to secure detention contrary to law. The petition alleges that the facts surrounding M.F.’s detention are no different from our opinion in C.B. v. Dobuler, 997 So.2d 463 (Fla. 3d DCA 2008). The statutory authority for holding M.F. in secure detention emanates from section 985.255(l)(i), Florida Statutes (2009), which limits to seventy-two hours the power to hold a juvenile after quashing a pickup order. This statute has not been amended since our decision in C.B. Before we could issue our decision, the trial court released the petitioner, rendering this petition moot. We write, however, to remind the new judges in the juvenile division that while we recognize that they may be acting from the best of motives, we all must follow legislative mandates.
It is not for us, as judges, to question the wisdom of the legislation. Rather, our task is simply to carry it out. Section 985.255 establishes the criteria for detaining a child, pending the outcome of a juvenile delinquency case. A decision to detain a child must be made according to the statutory criteria.
K.E. v. Department of Juvenile Justice, 963 So.2d 864, 868 (Fla. 1st DCA 2007).
Petition dismissed as moot.
Cases With Similar Vibessemantic neighbors from the corpus
Citator
Authorities Cited
- K.E. v. Dep't OF Juv. Just., 963 So. 2d 864 (Fla. 1st DCA 2007)
- C.B. v. Dobuler, 997 So. 2d 463 (Fla. 3d DCA 2008)