The Florida Senate

Testify or inform falsely; or

Withhold any testimony, information, document, or thing.

To explain, in language understandable to the minor, all legal proceedings in which the minor shall be involved;

To act, as a friend of the court, to advise the judge, whenever appropriate, of the minor’s ability to understand and cooperate with any court proceeding; and

To assist the minor and the minor’s family in coping with the emotional effects of the crime and subsequent criminal proceedings in which the minor is involved.

To explain, in language understandable to the person with mental retardation, all legal proceedings in which the person shall be involved;

To act, as a friend of the court, to advise the judge, whenever appropriate, of the person with mental retardation’s ability to understand and cooperate with any court proceedings; and

To assist the person with mental retardation and the person’s family in coping with the emotional effects of the crime and subsequent criminal proceedings in which the person with mental retardation is involved.

A cut, abrasion, bruise, burn, or disfigurement;

Physical pain;

Illness;

Impairment of the function of a bodily member, organ, or mental faculty; or

Any other injury to the body, no matter how temporary.

Knowingly making a false statement;

Intentionally omitting information from a statement and thereby causing a portion of such statement to be misleading, or intentionally concealing a material fact and thereby creating a false impression by such statement;

With intent to mislead, knowingly submitting or inviting reliance on a writing or recording that is false, forged, altered, or otherwise lacking in authenticity;

With intent to mislead, knowingly submitting or inviting reliance on a sample, specimen, map, photograph, boundary mark, or other object that is misleading in a material respect; or

Knowingly using a trick, scheme, or device with intent to mislead.

A proceeding before a judge or court or a grand jury;

A proceeding before the Legislature;

A proceeding before a federal agency that is authorized by law; or

A proceeding before the Commission on Ethics.

Withhold testimony, or withhold a record, document, or other object, from an official investigation or official proceeding;

Alter, destroy, mutilate, or conceal an object with intent to impair the integrity or availability of the object for use in an official investigation or official proceeding;

Evade legal process summoning that person to appear as a witness, or to produce a record, document, or other object, in an official investigation or an official proceeding;

Be absent from an official proceeding to which such person has been summoned by legal process;

Hinder, delay, or prevent the communication to a law enforcement officer or judge of information relating to the commission or possible commission of an offense or a violation of a condition of probation, parole, or release pending a judicial proceeding; or

Testify untruthfully in an official investigation or an official proceeding,

Felony of the third degree, punishable as provided in s. 775.082, s. 775.083, or s. 775.084, where the official investigation or official proceeding affected involves the investigation or prosecution of a misdemeanor.

Felony of the second degree, punishable as provided in s. 775.082, s. 775.083, or s. 775.084, where the official investigation or official proceeding affected involves the investigation or prosecution of a third degree felony.

Felony of the first degree, punishable as provided in s. 775.082, s. 775.083, or s. 775.084, where the official investigation or official proceeding affected involves the investigation or prosecution of a second degree felony.

Felony of the first degree, punishable by a term of years not exceeding life or as provided in s. 775.082, s. 775.083, or s. 775.084, where the official investigation or official proceeding affected involves the investigation or prosecution of a first degree felony or a first degree felony punishable by a term of years not exceeding life.

Life felony, punishable as provided in s. 775.082, s. 775.083, or s. 775.084, where the official investigation or official proceeding affected involves the investigation or prosecution of a life or capital felony.

Felony of the third degree, punishable as provided in s. 775.082, s. 775.083, or s. 775.084, where the offense level of the affected official investigation or official proceeding is indeterminable or where the affected official investigation or official proceeding involves a noncriminal investigation or proceeding.

Attending or testifying in an official proceeding or cooperating in an official investigation;

Reporting to a law enforcement officer or judge the commission or possible commission of an offense or a violation of a condition of probation, parole, or release pending a judicial proceeding;

Arresting or seeking the arrest of another person in connection with an offense; or

Causing a criminal prosecution, or a parole or probation revocation proceeding, to be sought or instituted, or from assisting in such prosecution or proceeding;

Misdemeanor of the first degree, punishable as provided in s. 775.082 or s. 775.083, where the official investigation or official proceeding affected involves the investigation or prosecution of a misdemeanor.

Felony of the third degree, punishable as provided in s. 775.082, s. 775.083, or s. 775.084, where the official investigation or official proceeding affected involves the investigation or prosecution of a third degree felony.

Felony of the second degree, punishable as provided in s. 775.082, s. 775.083, or s. 775.084, where the official investigation or official proceeding affected involves the investigation or prosecution of a second degree felony.

Felony of the first degree, punishable as provided in s. 775.082, s. 775.083, or s. 775.084, where the official investigation or official proceeding affected involves the investigation or prosecution of a first degree felony.

Felony of the first degree, punishable by a term of years not exceeding life or as provided in s. 775.082, s. 775.083, or s. 775.084, where the official investigation or official proceeding affected involves the investigation or prosecution of a felony of the first degree punishable by a term of years not exceeding life or a prosecution of a life or capital felony.

Felony of the third degree, punishable as provided in s. 775.082, s. 775.083, or s. 775.084, where the offense level of the affected official investigation or official proceeding is indeterminable or where the affected official investigation or official proceeding involves a noncriminal investigation or proceeding.

An official proceeding need not be pending or about to be instituted at the time of the offense; and

The testimony or the record, document, or other object need not be admissible in evidence or free of a claim of privilege.

That the official proceeding before a judge, court, grand jury, or government agency is before a judge or court of the state, a state or local grand jury, or a state agency; or

That the judge is a judge of the state or that the law enforcement officer is an officer or employee of the state or a person authorized to act for or on behalf of the state or serving the state as an adviser or consultant.

A circuit court, upon application of the state attorney, shall issue a temporary restraining order prohibiting the harassment of a victim or witness in a criminal case if the court finds, from specific facts shown by affidavit or by verified complaint, that there are reasonable grounds to believe that harassment of an identified victim or witness in a criminal case exists or that such order is necessary to prevent and restrain an offense under s. 914.22, other than an offense consisting of misleading conduct, or to prevent and restrain an offense under s. 914.23.

A circuit court, upon motion of the state attorney, shall issue a protective order prohibiting the harassment of a victim or witness in a criminal case if the court, after a hearing, finds by a preponderance of the evidence that harassment of an identified victim or witness in a criminal case exists or that such order is necessary to prevent and restrain an offense under s. 914.22, other than an offense consisting of misleading conduct, or to prevent and restrain an offense under s. 914.23.

At the hearing referred to in paragraph (a), any adverse party named in the complaint has the right to present evidence and cross-examine witnesses.

A protective order shall set forth the reasons for the issuance of such order, be specific in terms, and describe in reasonable detail, and not by reference to the complaint or other document, the act or acts being restrained.

The court shall set the duration of the protective order for such period as it determines is necessary to prevent the harassment of the victim or witness but in no case shall the duration be set for a period in excess of 3 years from the date of the issuance of the order. The state attorney may, at any time within 90 days before the expiration of such order, apply for a new protective order under this section.

“Harassment” means a course of conduct directed at a specific person that:

“Course of conduct” means a series of acts over a period of time, however short, indicating a continuity of purpose.

“Victim or witness at risk of harm” means a victim or witness who, as a result of cooperating in an investigation or prosecution of a serious felony offense, has been subjected to violence or other forms of intimidation, or who is the subject of a substantial threat to commit violence. The term also includes a member of the victim’s or witness’s immediate family.

“Serious felony offense” means one of the following offenses, including an attempt, solicitation, or conspiracy to commit one of the following offenses: murder, manslaughter, sexual battery, aggravated stalking, aggravated battery, carjacking, home invasion robbery, burglary, arson, robbery, kidnapping, racketeering, or trafficking in a controlled substance.

The statewide prosecutor, any state attorney, or any law enforcement officer may identify a victim or witness as a victim or witness at risk of harm. Upon such identification, the statewide prosecutor, the state attorney, or the law enforcement officer must notify either the statewide prosecutor or the state attorney who has jurisdiction over the criminal investigation or prosecution, if necessary.

The statewide prosecutor or the state attorney, as appropriate, may determine whether an identified victim or witness at risk of harm is critical to a criminal investigation or prosecution. If the victim or witness at risk of harm is deemed critical, the statewide prosecutor or the state attorney may:

When a victim or witness is certified as provided in subsection (3), a law enforcement agency, in consultation with the certifying state attorney or the statewide prosecutor, may provide appropriate protective services. If a victim or witness needs to be temporarily relocated, the statewide prosecutor or the state attorney must notify the Department of Law Enforcement. The Department of Law Enforcement, in consultation with the statewide prosecutor or the state attorney, and any other law enforcement agency involved in the criminal investigation or prosecution, shall coordinate the temporary relocation of the victim or witness.

Protective services, including temporary relocation services, may initially be provided for up to 1 year or until the risk giving rise to the certification has diminished, whichever occurs sooner. The statewide prosecutor or the state attorney may, at the end of the certification year, recertify a victim or witness at risk of harm for an additional period of up to 1 year or until the risk giving rise to the certification has diminished, whichever occurs first. A victim or witness at risk of harm may be certified and recertified annually as provided in this section to provide a maximum of 4 years of eligibility for protective services.

The identity or location of a victim or witness who has been identified or certified for protective or relocation services pursuant to s. 914.25;

The identity or location of an immediate family member of a victim or witness who has been identified or certified pursuant to s. 914.25;

Relocation sites, techniques, or procedures utilized or developed as a result of the victim and witness protective services afforded by s. 914.25; or

The identity or relocation site of any victim, witness, or immediate family member of a victim or witness who has made a relocation of permanent residence by reason of the victim’s or witness’s involvement in the investigation or prosecution giving rise to certification for protective or relocation services pursuant to s. 914.25;

“Confidential informant” means a person who cooperates with a law enforcement agency confidentially in order to protect the person or the agency’s intelligence gathering or investigative efforts and:

“Controlled buy” means the purchase of contraband, controlled substances, or other items that are material to a criminal investigation from a target offender which is initiated, managed, overseen, or participated in by law enforcement personnel with the knowledge of a confidential informant.

“Controlled sale” means the sale of contraband, controlled substances, or other items that are material to a criminal investigation to a target offender which is initiated, managed, overseen, or participated in by law enforcement personnel with the knowledge of a confidential informant.

“Law enforcement agency” means an agency having a primary mission of preventing and detecting crime and the enforcement of the penal, criminal, traffic, or highway laws of the state and that in furtherance of that primary mission employs law enforcement officers as defined in s. 943.10.

“Target offender” means the person suspected by law enforcement personnel to be implicated in criminal acts by the activities of a confidential informant.

Inform each person who is requested to serve as a confidential informant that the agency cannot promise inducements such as a grant of immunity, dropped or reduced charges, or reduced sentences or placement on probation in exchange for serving as a confidential informant.

Inform each person who is requested to serve as a confidential informant that the value of his or her assistance as a confidential informant and any effect that assistance may have on pending criminal matters can be determined only by the appropriate legal authority.

Provide a person who is requested to serve as a confidential informant with an opportunity to consult with legal counsel upon request before the person agrees to perform any activities as a confidential informant. However, this section does not create a right to publicly funded legal counsel.

Ensure that all personnel who are involved in the use or recruitment of confidential informants are trained in the law enforcement agency’s policies and procedures. The agency shall keep documentation demonstrating the date of such training.

Adopt policies and procedures that assign the highest priority in operational decisions and actions to the preservation of the safety of confidential informants, law enforcement personnel, target offenders, and the public.

Information that the law enforcement agency shall maintain concerning each confidential informant;

General guidelines for handling confidential informants;

Process to advise a confidential informant of conditions, restrictions, and procedures associated with participating in the agency’s investigative or intelligence gathering activities;

Designated supervisory or command-level review and oversight in the use of a confidential informant;

Limits or restrictions on off-duty association or social relationships by agency personnel involved in investigative or intelligence gathering with confidential informants;

Guidelines to deactivate confidential informants, including guidelines for deactivating communications with confidential informants; and

Level of supervisory approval required before a juvenile is used as a confidential informant.

The person’s age and maturity;

The risk the person poses to adversely affect a present or potential investigation or prosecution;

The effect upon agency efforts that the disclosure of the person’s cooperation in the community may have;

Whether the person is a substance abuser or has a history of substance abuse or is in a court-supervised drug treatment program;

The risk of physical harm to the person, his or her immediate family, or close associates as a result of providing information or assistance, or upon the disclosure of the person’s assistance to the community;

Whether the person has shown any indication of emotional instability, unreliability, or of furnishing false information;

The person’s criminal history or prior criminal record; and

Whether the use of the person is important to or vital to the success of an investigation.

Provide for the secured retention of any records related to the law enforcement agency’s confidential sources, including access to files identifying the identity of confidential sources;

Limit availability to records relating to confidential informants to those within the law enforcement agency or law enforcement community having a need to know or review those records, or to those whose access has been required by court process or order;

Require notation of each person who accesses such records and the date that the records are accessed;

Provide for review and oversight by the law enforcement agency to ensure that the security procedures are followed; and

Define the process by which records concerning a confidential informant may be lawfully destroyed.