House Bill 3285

    Florida House of Representatives - 1998                HB 3285

        By Representatives Clemons, Heyman, Crow, Burroughs, Wiles
    and Crist





  1                      A bill to be entitled

  2         An act relating to adjudication of guilt;

  3         creating s. 775.0844, F.S.; prohibiting the

  4         withholding of adjudication for certain

  5         defendants accused of committing a felony

  6         offense; providing exceptions; providing

  7         definitions; repealing Rule 3.670, Florida

  8         Rules of Criminal Procedure, relating to

  9         rendition of judgment, to the extent of

10         inconsistency with the act; providing an

11         effective date.

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13  Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:

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15         Section 1.  Section 775.0844, Florida Statutes, is

16  created to read:

17         775.0844  Prohibition on withholding adjudication.--

18         (1)  Adjudication of guilt for a person accused of a

19  felony shall not be withheld if the defendant has previously

20  been convicted of, or entered a plea of nolo contendere or

21  guilty to, a felony or a qualified offense that was sentenced

22  separately from the current offense, unless the conviction of

23  each prior felony or qualified offense has been set aside or

24  the defendant has received a pardon for each felony or

25  qualified offense for which the conviction has not been set

26  aside.

27         (2)  For the purpose of this section, the term:

28         (a)  "Convicted" means that the defendant was

29  determined to be guilty as the result of a plea or trial,

30  regardless of whether adjudication was withheld.

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CODING: Words stricken are deletions; words underlined are additions.






    Florida House of Representatives - 1998                HB 3285

    279-154A-98






  1         (b)  "Qualified offense" means any offense,

  2  substantially similar in elements and penalties to an offense

  3  in this state, which is in violation of a law of any other

  4  jurisdiction, whether that of another state, the District of

  5  Columbia, the United States or any possession or territory

  6  thereof, or any foreign jurisdiction, that was punishable

  7  under the law of such jurisdiction at the time of the

  8  commission by the defendant by death or imprisonment exceeding

  9  1 year.

10         Section 2.  Rule 3.670, Florida Rules of Criminal

11  Procedure, is hereby repealed to the extent that it is

12  inconsistent with the provisions of this act.

13         Section 3.  This act shall take effect July 1 of the

14  year in which enacted, except that section 2 shall take effect

15  only if this act is passed by an affirmative vote of

16  two-thirds of the membership of each house of the Legislature.

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18            *****************************************

19                          HOUSE SUMMARY

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      Provides that a person who has previously been convicted
21    of a felony in this state or a similar offense in another
      jurisdiction may not have adjudication of guilt withheld
22    for any subsequent offense not sentenced at the same time
      as the first offense.  Repeals Rule 3.670, Florida Rules
23    of Criminal Procedure, relating to rendition of judgment,
      to the extent of inconsistency with the act.
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