MICHAEL P. MATOS, APPELLANT,
v.
STATE OF FLORIDA, APPELLEE
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.
Michael Matos appealed the denial of his petition to remove sexual offender registration requirements under Florida's "Romeo and Juliet" statute. The appellate court affirmed the denial, finding that although Matos met the statutory criteria for relief, the trial court did not abuse its discretion in denying the petition based on Matos's life sentence and history of violent offenses.
The trial court did not abuse its discretion in denying the petition. Although Matos met the first prong of the statutory test (satisfying all criteria including the consensual nature of the conduct), the trial court properly exercised its discretionary authority under the second prong to deny relief based on Matos's life sentence and violent criminal history.
[1] A trial court may deny a petition for removal from sexual offender registration requirements, even if the petitioner meets the statutory criteria, based on the court's di…
[2] A trial court abuses its discretion by relying on uncorroborated presentence investigation report evidence to rebut a petitioner's testimony regarding consent in a sexual…
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“the court "may grant the motion." (emphasis added). The statute gives no guidance as to the factors that should be considered by the trial court in exercising that discretion.”
Establishes that the trial court has discretionary authority under the second prong of the statute with no specific statutory factors to guide that discretion.
Previewing 1 of 3 key quotes on this case — the court’s exact language, pinpointed for members.
Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligenceMatos was convicted of a sexual offense involving a victim between thirteen and eighteen years old. Matos was less than four years older than the vict…
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 Competent Substantial Evidence cases and more on FLexlaw
Michael Matos appeals the denial of his petition under section 943.04354, Florida Statutes (2011), the so-called “Romeo and Juliet” statute, for removal of the requirement that he register as a sexual offender. The statute allows a defendant to avoid the requirement to register if the victim of certain sexual offenses was between thirteen and eighteen years of age, the defendant was less than four years older than the victim, and the sexual conduct was consensual.1
This is the second time. Matos has .appealed the denial of his petition. In Matos v. State (Matos I), 111 So.3d 964, 966-67 (Fla. 5th DCA 2013), we reversed the summary denial of Matos’s petition, ordering the court to conduct an evidentiary hearing. We wrote in that opinion: “Appellant argues that the court’s finding that his sexual conduct with the victim was not consensual is not supported by competent, substantial evidence because the PSI constituted hearsay and lacked corroborating evidence. We agree.” Id. at 966. On remand, the trial court conducted a series of evidentiary hearings. At the end of the last hearing, the State requested additional time to produce evidence or testimony disputing Matos’s testimony that the sexual conduct for which he was convicted and sentenced was consensual. The trial court effectively denied the State’s request by entering another order denying Matos’s petition. Matos now appeals this order.
The Romeo and Juliet statute creates a two-prong procedure for removing the registration requirement. First, the trial court must find that the offender meets all of the criteria in the statute and that removal would not conflict with federal law. Second, notwithstanding the result under the first prong, the statute gives the trial court discretion to approve or deny the petition. The trial court’s order concedes that, in light of Matos’s testimony — unre-butted by the State as of the last hearing — Matos meets the criteria for relief under the first prong. While this finding is correct, we nevertheless disapprove of the trial judge reintroducing the evidence from the PSI suggesting the acts were not consensual. , Setting out the uncorroborated PSI evidence to rebut Matos’s testimony served no proper purpose, and was the same error this Court addressed in Matos I.
In this current order, though, unlike in Matos I, the trial court also analyzed Ma-tos’s petition under the second, discretionary prong. Section 943.04354(2) specifies that if an offender meets all the criteria for removal,' the court “may grant the motion.” (emphasis added). The statute gives no guidance as to the factors that should be considered by the trial court in exercising ' that discretion. Matos is currently serving a life sentence and has been convicted of several previous violent offenses. We find no abuse of discretion in the trial *1196court’s determination that Matos is not an appropriate candidate for relief under section 943.04354. Therefore, we affirm.
AFFIRMED.
SAWAYA, COHEN and WALLIS, JJ., concur.
Cases With Similar Vibessemantic neighbors from the corpus
Citator
Cited By
-
Wromas v. State, 208 So. 3d 218 (Fla. 3d DCA 2016)…nying relief also prevents affirmance based on Wromas’ subsequent criminal record. A trial court may, within its discretion, deny a petition for removal of a sexual offender designation because of the defendant’s criminal record. See Matos v. State, 184 So. 3d 1194 (Fla. 5th DCA 2015). However, the record must show that the trial court exercised its discretion in so ruling. Id. at 1195-96 (“In this current order, though, unlike in Matos I, the trial court also analyzed Matos’s petition under the second, discre…
-
Wromas Jr. v. State, 239 So. 3d 748 (Fla. 3d DCA 2018)…ender registry filed by an offender who meets the criteria under the statute is discretionary, see § 943.04354(2) (providing that if a defendant meets the criteria for removal, “[the court] may grant the motion”) (emphasis added); Matos v. State, 184 So. 3d 1194, 1195 (Fla. 5th DCA 2015), and because the record supports the trial court’s findings, we find no abuse of discretion. Accordingly, we affirm the order on review. Affirmed.…
Authorities Cited
- Miller v. State, 17 So. 3d 778 (Fla. 5th DCA 2009)
- Matos v. State, 111 So. 3d 964 (Fla. 5th DCA 2013)