HB 0225 2003
1	A bill to be entitled
2	An act relating to actions against law enforcement
3	officers; amending s. 111.065, F.S.; providing a popular
4	name; redefining the term “law enforcement officer” for
5	purposes of the payment of attorney’s fees and costs in
6	certain actions commenced against a law enforcement
7	officer; revising language to provide for consistency;
8	requiring that an officer’s employing agency provide for
9	legal representation and costs under certain circumstances
10	involving an emergency, imminent death or bodily harm, or
11	the pursuit or apprehension of an offender; providing
12	methods by which an employing agency can provide for
13	reasonable legal representation and costs; providing an
14	effective date.
15
16	Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
17
18	Section 1.This act shall be known by the popular name
19	“Law Enforcement Fair Defense Act.”
20	Section 2. Section 111.065, Florida Statutes, is amended
21	to read:
22	111.065 Law enforcement officers, civil or criminal action
23	against; employer payment of costs and attorney's fees.--
24	(1)Forpurposesthe purposeof thissectionact, "law
25	enforcement officer"or “officer”means anylaw enforcement
26	officer, correctional officer, or correctional probation officer
27	as defined in s. 943.10(1), (2), and (3) who ispersonemployed
28	full time by any municipality,orthe state,or any political
29	subdivision thereofor any deputy sheriff whose primary
30	responsibility is the prevention and detection of crime or the
31	enforcement of the penal, traffic, or highway laws of this
32	state.
33	(1)(2)The employing agency of any law enforcement officer
34	hasshall havethe option to paythe legal costs andreasonable
35	attorney's feesand costsfor any law enforcement officer in any
36	civil or criminal action commenced against such law enforcement
37	officer in any court when the action aroseinout ofthe
38	performance of the officer's official duties and:
39	(a) The plaintiff requests dismissal of the suit; or
40	(b)TheSuchlaw enforcement officer is found to be not
41	liable or not guilty.
42	(2)(a) The employing agency shall provide for reasonable
43	legal representation and costs for any law enforcement officer
44	in any criminal action commenced against a law enforcement
45	officer in any court provided that the officer's actions that
46	gave rise to the charges:
47	1. Occurred in response to what the officer reasonably
48	believed was an emergency;
49	2. Occurred when the officer reasonably believed his or
50	her action was necessary to protect the officer or others from
51	imminent death or bodily harm; or
52	3. Occurred in the course of the officer's fresh pursuit,
53	apprehension, or attempted apprehension of a suspect whom the
54	officer reasonably believes has perpetrated, or attempted to
55	perpetrate, a forcible felony or the offense of escape.
56	(b) This subsection shall not apply unless the officer's
57	actions that gave rise to the charges arose in the course and
58	scope of the officer's duties and:
59	1. The charges are dismissed; or
60	2. The law enforcement officer is found not guilty of the
61	charged offense and any other lesser or included offense that is
62	substantially related to the charged offense.
63	(c) This subsection shall not apply if the officer's
64	actions that gave rise to the charges were acts of omission or
65	commission which constituted a material departure from the
66	employing agency's written policies and procedures, or generally
67	recognized criminal justice standards should no written policies
68	or procedures exist.
69	(d) This subsection shall not apply where a plea of guilty
70	or nolo contendre is entered or upon a finding of guilt by a
71	court or jury to any charge for which adjudication was imposed
72	or withheld.
73	(3) For the purposes of subsection (2), the employing
74	agency shall provide legal representation for the law
75	enforcement officer. If the employing agency is unable to
76	provide legal representation, then the employing agency shall
77	have met the requirements under subsection (2) either by:
78	(a) Providing a list of attorneys from which the law
79	enforcement officer may select and who the employing agency
80	agrees to retain; or
81	(b) By the payment of reasonable attorney's fees and costs
82	for the law enforcement officer as provided in subsection (4).
83	(4) In the event legal representation is provided by the
84	employing agency pursuant to paragraph (3)(b), the amount of
85	reasonable attorney's fees shall be determined as follows:
86	(a) The law enforcement officer requesting payment of
87	attorney's fees and costs shall submit an application to the
88	court having jurisdiction over the prosecution within 30 days
89	after conclusion of the prosecution against the law enforcement
90	officer, and that court shall retain jurisdiction of the matter
91	in order to determine entitlement to payment of reasonable
92	attorney's fees and costs and the amount of recoverable
93	attorney's fees and costs.
94	(b) The application shall include an itemization statement
95	from an attorney or expert witness representing or appearing on
96	behalf of the law enforcement officer, stating the actual time
97	expended and the rate at which fees and other expenses were
98	computed.
99	(c) The employing agency shall have the right to respond
100	to the application for attorney's fees and costs, after which
101	the court shall make its determination as to reasonable
102	attorney's fees and costs based on:
103	1. Prevailing market rates in the appropriate market area
104	for defense of similar actions, as well as other relevant
105	factors; and
106	2. Whether the officer's actions that gave rise to the
107	charges constituted a material departure from the employing
108	agency's written policies and procedures, or generally
109	recognized criminal justice standards should no written policies
110	or procedures exist.
111	(d) No lodestar or fee mulitiplier provision may be used
112	in any criminal prosecution defended pursuant to this section,
113	and in no event shall the attorney's fees and costs awarded
114	exceed the sum of $100,000.
115	Section 3. This act shall take effect upon becoming a law.
116