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2024 Florida Statutes

Title X PUBLIC OFFICERS, EMPLOYEES, AND RECORDS
Chapter 112 PUBLIC OFFICERS AND EMPLOYEES: GENERAL PROVISIONS Entire Chapter
SECTION 536
Requirements for maintaining a Brady identification system.
F.S. 112.536
112.536 Requirements for maintaining a Brady identification system.—
(1)(a) A prosecuting agency is not required to maintain a Brady identification system and may determine, in its discretion, that its obligations under the decision in Brady v. Maryland, 373 U.S. 83 (1963), are better fulfilled through any such procedure the prosecuting agency otherwise chooses to utilize.
(b) The employing agency of a law enforcement officer or correctional officer shall forward all sustained and finalized internal affairs complaints relevant to s. 90.608, s. 90.609, or s. 90.610 to the prosecuting agency in the circuit in which the employing agency is located to assist the prosecuting agency in complying with its obligations under the Brady decision. The employing agency of a law enforcement officer or correctional officer must notify the law enforcement officer or correctional officer of any sustained and finalized internal affairs complaints that are sent to a prosecuting agency as required under this section. If the law enforcement officer or correctional officer is no longer employed by the employing agency, the employing agency must mail through United States mail such notification to the officer’s last known address on file with the employing agency.
(2) A prosecuting agency that maintains a Brady identification system must adopt written policies that, at a minimum, require all of the following:
(a) The right of a law enforcement officer or correctional officer to receive written notice by United States mail or e-mail, which must be sent to the officer’s current or last known employing agency before or contemporaneously with the prosecuting agency including the name and information of the officer in the Brady identification system, unless a pending criminal case requires immediate disclosure or providing such notice to the officer would jeopardize a pending investigation.
(b) The right of a law enforcement officer or correctional officer to request reconsideration of the prosecuting agency’s decision to include the name and information of the officer in a Brady identification system and his or her right to submit documents and evidence in support of the request for reconsideration.
(3) If, after a request for reconsideration is made under paragraph (2)(b), the prosecuting agency subsequently determines that the law enforcement officer or correctional officer should not be included in a Brady identification system, the prosecuting agency must do all of the following:
(a) Remove such officer from the Brady identification system.
(b) Send written notice by United States mail or e-mail to the law enforcement officer or correctional officer at the officer’s current or last known employing agency confirming that the officer’s name has been removed from the Brady identification system.
(c) If the name of a law enforcement officer or correctional officer was previously included in a Brady identification system and his or her name was disclosed in a pending criminal case, notify all parties to the pending criminal case of the officer’s removal from the Brady identification system.
(4) If a prosecuting agency fails to comply with this section, a law enforcement officer or correctional officer may petition a court for a writ of mandamus to compel the prosecuting agency to comply with the requirements of this section. The court’s scope of review in such matter is limited to whether the prosecuting agency acted in accordance with the procedural requirements of this section and may not include a judicial review of the evidence or merits that were the basis for the inclusion of the officer’s name in a Brady identification system. This section does not preclude a law enforcement officer or correctional officer from pursuing any other available administrative or judicial remedies.
(5) This section does not:
(a) Require a prosecuting agency to give notice to or provide an opportunity for review and input from a law enforcement officer or correctional officer if the information in a Brady identification system is:
1. A criminal conviction that may be used for impeachment under s. 90.610; or
2. A sustained and finalized internal affairs complaint that may be used for impeachment under s. 90.608, s. 90.609, or s. 90.610;
(b) Limit the duty of a prosecuting agency to produce Brady evidence in all cases as required by the United States Constitution, the State Constitution, and the Florida Rules of Criminal Procedure and relevant case law;
(c) Limit or restrict a prosecuting agency’s ability to remove the name and information of a law enforcement officer or correctional officer from a Brady identification system if, at any time, the prosecuting agency determines that the name and information of the officer are no longer proper for identification; or
(d) Create a private cause of action against a prosecuting agency or any employee of a prosecuting agency, other than the writ of mandamus authorized in subsection (4).
History.—s. 3, ch. 2023-230.