STATE OF FLORIDA, PETITIONER,
v.
FREDERICK LAMAR BENTON, RESPONDENT

Fla. | 1976-09-16
No. 46926
ROBERTS, ADKINS, BOYD, ENGLAND, SUNDBERG and HATCHETT, JJ., concur.
337 So. 2d 797 Florida Supreme Court (1976) Negative Treatment
Cited by 16 cases

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.

Synopsis

The Florida Supreme Court held that the 180-day speedy trial rule under Florida Rule of Criminal Procedure 3.191 applies from the time a juvenile is taken into custody, not from the date of certification to be tried as an adult. The court rejected the State's argument that the speedy trial clock should restart upon certification, reasoning that it is the same offense for the same defendant.


Holding

The speedy trial period commences from the time the person is taken into custody, not from certification to be tried as an adult. The State must be prepared to proceed to trial within 180 days from the time a certified juvenile is taken into custody, and the subsequent certification does not restart the procedural time clock.


Headnotes

[1] A juvenile certified to be tried as an adult must be brought to trial within 180 days from the time of initial custody.

[2] The speedy trial period for a juvenile certified to be tried as an adult commences upon the juvenile's initial taking into custody, not upon certification.

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Key Quotes

“the State must be prepared to proceed to try a juvenile who has been certified to be tried as an adult within 180 days from the time he is taken into custody”

The holding establishing that the speedy trial clock runs from custody, not certification

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Facts & Procedural History

Frederick Benton, age 16, committed a robbery on July 10, 1973, and was arrested and detained in a juvenile facility the same day. On September 19, 19…

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Opinion of the Court
OVERTON, Chief Justice.

OVERTON, Chief Justice.

This cause is a petition for certiorari to review a decision of the Second District Court of Appeal reported at 307 So. 2d 198 (Fla.App.2d 1975). We find conflict with State v. Bryant, 276 So. 2d 184 (Fla.App.1st 1973). We have jurisdiction.1

The respondent committed a robbery on July 10, 1973, at age 16. He was arrested the same day and was detained in a juvenile facility. On September 19, 1973, the court certified respondent for trial as an adult. On January 9, 1974, the respondent moved for discharge for failure to comply with the 180-day speedy trial rule. The trial court denied the motion. Respondent thereupon was tried and convicted in a jury trial which began and ended January 16, 1974. There was no showing that any of the pretrial period was attributable to defense delay.

The Second District reversed the trial court, holding that Rule of Criminal Procedure 3.191(a)(1) applied directly to the facts, and that respondent’s initial status as a juvenile was of no consequence since the State, having “elected to require appellant to be tried as an adult,” owed respondent adult procedural safeguards. The District Court further said the speedy trial period commenced as prescribed in the rule, specifically, when “the ‘person is taken into custody . . .and discharged the respondent.

The State contends that the procedural 180-day period should not commence to run until the juvenile has been certified to be tried as an adult. In State v. Bryant the First District Court reversed a 1972 trial court’s discharge of a juvenile defendant who had been certified to be tried as an adult. At the time of the trial court’s ruling on the speedy trial motion in Bryant there was no juvenile procedural speedy trial rule, and 180 days had not elapsed from the date of the defendant’s certification. The Bryant result was proper at the time,2 but now the subsequent adoption of a juvenile speedy trial procedural rule renders the result set forth therein obsolete.

In the instant case the State knew it had 90 days to bring the respondent to an adjudicatory hearing as a juvenile,3 or 180 days to try him as an adult. Florida Rule of Juvenile Procedure 8.120 and Florida Rule of Criminal Procedure 3.191. We recognize that the State may not proceed in the adult forum until certification, but the State must be prepared to proceed in the juvenile forum within 90 days in both misdemeanor and felony situations. In the event of certification of a juvenile to be tried as an adult it is the same offense for the same defendant, and no justification exists to restart the procedural time clock.

Our decision in State v. Boatman, supra, is related, but promulgation of the juvenile speedy trial procedural rule between the arrest and certification for trial as an adult distinguishes it. In addition, there was evidence in Boatman that portions of the delay were caused by counsel for the defendant juvenile.

In conclusion, we hold the State must be prepared to proceed to try a juvenile who has been certified to be tried as an adult within 180 days from the time he is taken into custody.

The decision of the Second District is approved, and the writ is discharged.

It is so ordered.

ROBERTS, ADKINS, BOYD, ENGLAND, SUNDBERG and HATCHETT, JJ., concur. . Art. V, § 3(b)(3), Fla.Const. . See State v. Boatman, 329 So. 2d 309 (Fla.1976), for comment on the propriety of the reason assigned in Bryant for its result.

. This period is applicable where the juvenile is not detained. Fla.Rule Juv.P. 8.120. Where the juvenile is detained during the proceedings, see Section 39.03(7), Fla.Stat., and State Dept. of Health and Rehabilitative Services v. Golden, Case No. 46,321 (Fla. Opinion filed February 26, 1976).


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Citator

Cited By

  • In the Interest of J. W. H. J. H. N. v. State, 345 So. 2d 871 (Fla. 1st DCA 1977)
    …indefinite period of time before filing a complaint with the Division of Youth Services intake officer. The trial court erred in not granting appellants’ motions for discharge. REVERSED. BOYER, C. J., and SMITH, J., concur. . In State v. Benton, 337 So. 2d 797 (Fla.1976), the Supreme Court held that when a juvenile is certified as an adult, the 180-day speedy trial rule (Fla.R.Crim.P. 3.191) runs from the date the juvenile is taken into custody.…
  • White v. State, 338 So. 2d 256 (Fla. 4th DCA 1976)
    …was taken into custody as a result of the conduct of the criminal episode giving rise to the crime charged. Boatman v. State, 306 So. 2d 592 (Fla.2d DCA 1975); Benton v. State, 307 So. 2d 198 (Fla.2d DCA 1975). See also State v. Benton, Fla.Sup.Ct., 337 So. 2d 797, opinion filed Sept. 16, 1976. Moreover, the speedy trial period had run before any discovery demands had been made so that the efficacy of such discovery need not have been considered in so far as any question of “waiver” is concerned. Rubiera v. D…
  • State v. Perez, 400 So. 2d 91 (Fla. 3d DCA 1981)
    …ends that this decision is controlled by the opinion of the Second District, rendered in State v. Robinson, 336 So. 2d 437 (Fla.2d DCA 1976). If Robinson is still valid law, in light of the opinion of the Supreme Court of Florida in State v. Benton, 337 So. 2d 797 (Fla.1976) we decline to follow it. Also compare State v. [*94] Boatman, 329 So. 2d 309 (Fla.1976). The trial court’s reasoning, as reflected in its order of discharge, appears to be the better procedure to be followed when juveniles are to be charg…

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