| 1 | A bill to be entitled |
| 2 | An act relating to adjudication of guilt; creating s. |
| 3 | 775.08435, F.S.; prohibiting the withholding of |
| 4 | adjudication of guilt upon defendants in felony cases in |
| 5 | certain circumstances; providing exceptions; repealing |
| 6 | Rule 3.670, Florida Rules of Criminal Procedure, relating |
| 7 | to rendition of judgment, to the extent of inconsistency |
| 8 | with the act; providing for applicability; providing an |
| 9 | effective date. |
| 10 |
|
| 11 | Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida: |
| 12 |
|
| 13 | Section 1. Section 775.08435, Florida Statutes, is created |
| 14 | to read: |
| 15 | 775.08435 Prohibition on withholding adjudication in |
| 16 | felony cases.-- |
| 17 | (1) The court may not withhold adjudication of guilt upon |
| 18 | the defendant for any felony offense if the defendant has a |
| 19 | prior withhold of adjudication for a felony that did not arise |
| 20 | from the same transaction as the current felony offense unless |
| 21 | the date of the prior withhold of adjudication was more than 5 |
| 22 | years prior to the date of the commission of the current felony |
| 23 | offense, the defendant has not been adjudicated guilty of any |
| 24 | felony since the prior withhold of adjudication, and: |
| 25 | (a) The state attorney requests that adjudication be |
| 26 | withheld; or |
| 27 | (b) The court gives the state attorney and defense counsel |
| 28 | adequate notice of its intention to withhold adjudication of |
| 29 | guilt and makes written findings setting forth specific facts |
| 30 | supporting its conclusion that failure to withhold adjudication |
| 31 | would cause manifest injustice. |
| 32 | (2) The court may not withhold adjudication of guilt for |
| 33 | any felony if the defendant has two or more prior withholds of |
| 34 | adjudication for felony offenses that did not arise from the |
| 35 | same transaction as the current felony offense. |
| 36 | Section 2. Rule 3.670, Florida Rules of Criminal |
| 37 | Procedure, is repealed to the extent that it is inconsistent |
| 38 | with the provisions of this act. |
| 39 | Section 3. This act shall take effect July 1, 2004, except |
| 40 | that the repeal of Rule 3.670, Florida Rules of Criminal |
| 41 | Procedure, shall take effect only if this act is passed by an |
| 42 | affirmative vote of two-thirds of each house of the Legislature. |