S.G., A CHILD, PETITIONER,
v.
VINCENT VURRO, AS SUPERINTENDENT OF THE SOUTHWEST FLORIDA JUVENILE DETENTION CENTER, DEPARTMENT OF JUVENILE JUSTICE, RESPONDENT
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S.G., a juvenile, was sentenced to five days in secure detention for indirect criminal contempt of a truancy order. The Florida appellate court held that this detention was illegal because children who violate truancy orders are classified as "children in need of services" rather than delinquent children, and therefore cannot be placed in secure detention facilities.
The circuit court was not authorized to place S.G. in secure detention for violating its truancy order, and the detention was illegal. A child found to have violated a truancy order is a "child in need of services" under Florida law and may only be placed in a staff-secure shelter, staff-secure residential facility for such children, or an appropriate mental health or substance abuse facility for assessment, not in secure detention.
[1] A juvenile's contempt of a truancy order does not constitute a delinquent act, as a child found habitually truant is classified as a child in need of services.
[2] A child in need of services who commits contempt of court may be placed in a staff-secure shelter or residential facility, or an appropriate mental health or substance ab…
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“A child who violates a truancy order, however, is not a delinquent child. Rather, a child who is found by the circuit court to have been habitually truant from school is deemed to be a "[c]hild in need of services."”
Establishes the critical statutory classification that determines what type of facility the child may be placed in.
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Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligenceS.G. was found in indirect criminal contempt of a truancy order and sentenced to five days in secure detention at the Southwest Florida Juvenile Deten…
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S.G., a child, was found to be in indirect criminal contempt of a truancy order and sentenced to five days of secure detention in the Southwest Florida Juvenile Detention Center. He filed a petition for writ of habeas corpus, asserting that a sentence to secure detention in a case such as his is illegal. S.G. has since been released. However, we decline to dismiss the petition as moot because the issue presented is capable of repetition yet evading review. See K.E. v. Dep’t of Juvenile Justice, 963 So.2d 864, 866 (Fla. 1st DCA 2007).
A delinquent child who has been held in indirect criminal contempt may be placed in a secure detention facility for five days for a first offense or for fifteen days for a second or subsequent offense. § 984.09(2)(a), Fla. Stat. (2011). A child who violates a truancy order, however, is not a delinquent child. Rather, a child who is found by the circuit court to have been habitually truant from school is deemed to be a “[cjhild in need of services.” § 984.03(9)(b), Fla. Stat. (2011). As such, his subsequent violation of the truancy order is expressly excluded from the delinquency definition set forth in section 985.03(8), Florida Statutes (2011), which provides:
“Child who has been found to have committed a delinquent act” means a child who, under this chapter, is found by a court to have committed a violation of law or to be in direct or indirect contempt of court, except that this definition does not include an act constituting contempt of court arising out of a dependency proceeding or a proceeding concerning a child or family in need of services.
(Emphasis added.)
To be sure, truancy orders are enforceable by contempt. § 984.151(9). But whereas a delinquent contemnor may be punished by placement in secure detention, a child in need of services who commits a contempt of court may be placed in “a staff-secure shelter or a staff-secure residential facility solely for children in need of services,” or if no such placement is available, in “an appropriate mental health facility or substance abuse facility for assessment.” § 984.09(2)(b).
The circuit court was not authorized to place S.G. in secure detention for violating its truancy order, and the detention was illegal. Accordingly, we grant the petition for writ of habeas corpus.
LaROSE and MORRIS, JJ„ Concur.
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Cited By
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Sockwell v. State, 123 So. 3d 585 (Fla. 2d DCA 2012)…mpt entered in the daughter’s truancy court proceeding. Reversed and remanded. KELLY and BLACK, JJ., Concur. . This court has already reversed two orders of indirect criminal contempt from the truancy court in Charlotte County. See S.G. v. Vurro, 77 So. 3d 897 (Fla. 2d DCA 2012); Ensign v. State, 67 So. 3d 353 (Fla. 2d DCA 2011). We have granted a petition for habeas corpus from a truancy court in Hendry County. See J.F. v. Whidden, 86 So. 3d 1125 (Fla. 2d DCA 2011) (table decision). We would suggest it m…
Authorities Cited
- K.E. v. Dep't OF Juv. Just., 963 So. 2d 864 (Fla. 1st DCA 2007)