J. I., A MINOR, APPELLANT,
v.
THE STATE OF FLORIDA, APPELLEE
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A minor was adjudicated delinquent for assault with a dangerous weapon and committed to the Department of Youth Services on a suspended basis with counselor supervision. The juvenile appealed, claiming his inculpatory statement to a counselor was obtained in violation of his right against self-incrimination and under a promise of confidentiality, but the court affirmed, finding the petition was based on the original complaint and the statement was not used in the court's determination.
The court affirmed the delinquency adjudication, holding that the petition was not dependent on the juvenile's statement to the counselor but was properly based on the original complaint, and that the statement was not used against the juvenile at the hearings or considered in the court's determination.
[1] A petition for delinquency may be filed based on a victim's complaint, independent of any statement made by the juvenile to a counselor.
[2] A juvenile's statement made to a counselor in the presence of a parent and attorney, even if made with a promise of confidentiality, is not necessarily inadmissible if it…
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Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligence“The petition filed against the juvenile was not dependent on his statement to the counselor. The filing thereof was justified by and upon the complaint made against the juvenile.”
Establishes that the delinquency petition was based on the original complaint, not the counselor statement, defeating the appellant's argument that the petition was improperly based on the inculpatory statement.
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Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligenceA youth counselor filed a delinquency petition against the appellant based on a complaint that the juvenile had assaulted someone with a dangerous wea…
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Following an investigation predicated upon a complaint by one that he had been the victim of an assault by the plaintiff with a dangerous weapon, a petition for delinquency was filed in the juvenile and domestic relations court of Dade County against the appellant juvenile, by a youth counselor as provided for in § 39.05 Fla. Stat., F.S.A.
A motion filed on behalf of the juvenile to dismiss the petition was denied, as was a later motion for reconsideration thereof. After a hearing before the court an order was entered finding that the act charged was committed by the juvenile, and deferring action thereon pending social investigation by the Florida Division of Youth Services, with the juvenile released to custody of his mother pending further hearing. Thereafter an order of delinquency was entered, wherein the juvenile was committed to the legal custody of the Dade County Department of Youth Services “for care and control at the Dade County Detention Home and for further planning and placement for a period not to exceed six months.”
The commitment provided for in that order was suspended by a subsequent order which placed the juvenile under the supervision of a Youth Counselor of the Florida Division of Youth Services, for a period of six months, with requirement for compliance of certain listed conditions during that period.1
On this appeal therefrom by the juvenile, reversal is sought upon the contention that the inculpatory statement made by him at a preliminary conference with a counselor in the presence of his parent and his attorney, was in violation of his right against self-incrimination, and was made upon a promise by the counselor that his statement would be received in confidence and not used against him. On that premise the appellant argues the court should have granted his motion to dismiss the petition on the ground that the petition necessarily was based on his inculpatory statement, in violation of the promise of the counselor to the contrary.
The appellee takes the position that the foregoing contention of the appellant is without merit, and we agree. The petition filed against the juvenile was not dependent on his statement to the counselor. The filing thereof was justified by and upon the complaint made against the juvenile. § 39.04(2), Fla.Stat., F.S.A. Moreover, the record discloses that the statement made by the juvenile to the counselor was not used against him at the hearings before the court, and that the court expressly ruled *187that the same was not before the court or considered in the court’s determination of the matter.
No reversible error having been made to appear, the judgment is affirmed.