Florida Senate - 2015 SB 1170
By Senator Bradley
7-00661A-15 20151170__
1 A bill to be entitled
2 An act relating to problem-solving courts; amending s.
3 910.035, F.S.; defining the term “problem-solving
4 court”; authorizing a person eligible for
5 participation in a problem-solving court to transfer
6 his or her case to another county’s problem-solving
7 court under certain circumstances; making technical
8 changes; providing an effective date.
9
10 Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
11
12 Section 1. Section 910.035, Florida Statutes, is amended to
13 read:
14 910.035 Transfer from county for plea and sentence or
15 participation in a problem-solving court.—
16 (1) INDICTMENT OR INFORMATION PENDING.—A defendant arrested
17 or held in a county other than that in which an indictment or
18 information is pending against him or her may state in writing
19 that he or she wishes to plead guilty or nolo contendere, to
20 waive trial in the county in which the indictment or information
21 is pending, and to consent to disposition of the case in the
22 county in which the defendant was arrested or is held, subject
23 to the approval of the prosecuting attorney of the court in
24 which the indictment or information is pending. Upon receipt of
25 the defendant’s statement and the written approval of the
26 prosecuting attorney, the clerk of the court in which the
27 indictment or information is pending shall transmit the papers
28 in the proceeding, or certified copies thereof, to the clerk of
29 the court of competent jurisdiction for the county in which the
30 defendant is held, and the prosecution shall continue in that
31 county upon the information or indictment originally filed. In
32 the event a fine is imposed upon the defendant in that county,
33 two-thirds thereof shall be returned to the county in which the
34 indictment or information was originally filed.
35 (2) INDICTMENT OR INFORMATION NOT PENDING.—A defendant
36 arrested on a warrant issued upon a complaint in a county other
37 than the county of arrest may state in writing that he or she
38 wishes to plead guilty or nolo contendere, to waive trial in the
39 county in which the warrant was issued, and to consent to
40 disposition of the case in the county in which the defendant was
41 arrested, subject to the approval of the prosecuting attorney of
42 the court in which the indictment or information is pending.
43 Upon receipt of the defendant’s statement and the written
44 approval of the prosecuting attorney, and upon the filing of an
45 information or the return of an indictment, the clerk of the
46 court from which the warrant was issued shall transmit the
47 papers in the proceeding, or certified copies thereof, to the
48 clerk of the court of competent jurisdiction in the county in
49 which the defendant was arrested, and the prosecution shall
50 continue in that county upon the information or indictment
51 originally filed.
52 (3) EFFECT OF NOT GUILTY PLEA.—If, after the proceeding has
53 been transferred pursuant to subsection (1) or subsection (2),
54 the defendant pleads not guilty, the clerk shall return the
55 papers to the court in which the prosecution was commenced, and
56 the proceeding shall be restored to the docket of that court.
57 The defendant’s statement that he or she wishes to plead guilty
58 or nolo contendere shall not be used against the defendant.
59 (4) APPEARANCE IN RESPONSE TO A SUMMONS.—For the purpose of
60 initiating a transfer under this section, a person who appears
61 in response to a summons shall be treated as if he or she had
62 been arrested on a warrant in the county of such appearance.
63 (5) TRANSFERS FOR PARTICIPATION IN A PROBLEM-SOLVING
64 COURT.—For purposes of this subsection, the term “problem
65 solving court” means a drug court pursuant to s. 948.01, s.
66 948.06, s. 948.08, s. 948.16, or s. 948.20; a veterans’ court
67 pursuant to s. 394.47891, s. 948.08, s. 948.16, or s. 948.21; or
68 a mental health court. A Any person eligible for participation
69 in a problem-solving drug court treatment program pursuant to s.
70 948.08(6) may be eligible to have the case transferred to a
71 county other than that in which the charge arose if the problem
72 solving drug court program agrees and these procedures if the
73 following conditions are met:
74 (a) The authorized representative of the problem-solving
75 drug court program of the county requesting to transfer the case
76 shall consult with the authorized representative of the problem
77 solving drug court program in the county to which transfer is
78 desired.
79 (b) If approval for transfer is received from all parties,
80 the trial court must shall accept, in the case of a pretrial
81 problem-solving court, a plea of nolo contendere and enter a
82 transfer order directing the clerk to transfer the case to the
83 county that which has accepted the defendant into its problem
84 solving drug court program.
85 (c) The transfer order must shall include a copy of the
86 probable cause affidavit, in the case of a pre-trial problem
87 solving court; any charging or sentencing documents in the case;
88 all reports, witness statements, test results, evidence lists,
89 and other documents in the case; the defendant’s mailing address
90 and phone number; and the defendant’s written consent to abide
91 by the rules and procedures of the receiving county’s problem
92 solving drug court program.
93 (d) After the transfer takes place, the clerk shall set the
94 matter for a hearing before the problem-solving drug court
95 program judge, and the court shall ensure the defendant’s entry
96 into the problem-solving drug court program.
97 (e) Upon successful completion of the problem-solving drug
98 court program, the jurisdiction to which the case has been
99 transferred shall dispose of the case pursuant to s. 948.08(6).
100 If the defendant does not complete the problem-solving drug
101 court program successfully, the jurisdiction to which the case
102 has been transferred shall dispose of the case within the
103 guidelines of the Criminal Punishment Code.
104 Section 2. This act shall take effect July 1, 2015.