Florida Senate - 2022 SB 7040
By the Committee on Appropriations
576-02924-22 20227040__
1 A bill to be entitled
2 An act relating to time limitations for
3 preadjudicatory juvenile detention care; amending s.
4 985.24, F.S.; authorizing a court to order a child
5 placed on supervised release detention care to comply
6 with specified conditions under certain circumstances;
7 amending s. 985.26, F.S.; authorizing a court to order
8 that a child be placed on supervised release detention
9 care for any time period until the adjudicatory
10 hearing is completed; requiring a court to conduct a
11 hearing within a specified timeframe if a child has
12 served longer than a specified number of days on
13 supervised release detention care; prohibiting a child
14 from being held in secure detention care for longer
15 than a certain time period under certain
16 circumstances; authorizing a court to extend the
17 length of secure detention care for an increased
18 amount of days under specified circumstances;
19 authorizing a court to continue to extend the time
20 period for secure detention care under specified
21 circumstances; requiring a court to make specified
22 findings; requiring a court to conduct a hearing to
23 determine the continued need for secure detention care
24 under specified circumstances; revising provisions
25 relating to supervised release detention care and its
26 exclusion from specified time limitations; authorizing
27 certain electronic monitoring ordered by a court to be
28 supervised by the Department of Juvenile Justice or a
29 law enforcement agency, or both; providing
30 construction; providing an effective date.
31
32 Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
33
34 Section 1. Present subsections (2), (3), and (4) of section
35 985.24, Florida Statutes, are redesignated as subsections (3),
36 (4), and (5), respectively, and a new subsection (2) is added to
37 that section, to read:
38 985.24 Use of detention; prohibitions.—
39 (2) The court may order a child placed on supervised
40 release detention care to comply with any condition established
41 by the department or ordered by the court, including electronic
42 monitoring, when the court finds such condition necessary to
43 preserve public safety or to ensure the child’s safety or
44 appearance in court.
45 Section 2. Section 985.26, Florida Statutes, is amended to
46 read:
47 985.26 Length of detention.—
48 (1) A child may not be placed into or held in detention
49 care for longer than 24 hours unless the court orders such
50 detention care, and the order includes specific instructions
51 that direct the release of the child from such detention care,
52 in accordance with s. 985.255. The order shall be a final order,
53 reviewable by appeal under s. 985.534 and the Florida Rules of
54 Appellate Procedure. Appeals of such orders shall take
55 precedence over other appeals and other pending matters.
56 (2)(a)1. A court may order that a child be placed on
57 supervised release detention care for any time period until the
58 adjudicatory hearing is completed. However, if a child has
59 served 75 days on supervised release detention care, the court
60 must conduct a hearing within 15 days, excluding Saturdays,
61 Sundays, and legal holidays, to determine the need for continued
62 supervised release detention care. At the hearing, upon good
63 cause being shown that the nature of the charge requires
64 additional time for the prosecution or defense of the case or
65 upon consideration of the totality of the circumstances,
66 including the preservation of public safety, which may warrant
67 an extension, the court may order the child to remain on
68 supervised release detention care until the adjudicatory hearing
69 is completed.
70 2. Except as provided in paragraph (b) or paragraph (c), a
71 child may not be held in secure detention care under a special
72 detention order for more than 21 days unless an adjudicatory
73 hearing for the case has been commenced in good faith by the
74 court.
75 3. This section does not prohibit a court from
76 transitioning a child between secure detention care and
77 supervised release detention care, including electronic
78 monitoring, if the court finds that such placement is necessary
79 to preserve public safety or to ensure the child’s safety,
80 appearance in court, or compliance with any condition of
81 supervised release detention care. Each period of secure
82 detention care counts toward the time limitation in this
83 paragraph, whether served consecutively or nonconsecutively.
84 (b) Upon good cause being shown that the nature of the
85 charge requires additional time for the prosecution or defense
86 of the case or upon the totality of the circumstances, including
87 the preservation of public safety, warranting an extension, the
88 court may extend the length of secure detention care for up to
89 21 an additional 9 days if the child is charged with an offense
90 that would be, if committed by an adult, would be a capital
91 felony, a life felony, a felony of the first or second degree,
92 or a felony of the third second degree involving violence
93 against any individual. The court may continue to extend the
94 period of secure detention care in increments of up to 21 days
95 by conducting a hearing before the expiration of the current
96 period, excluding Saturdays, Sundays, and legal holidays, to
97 determine the need for continuing the secure detention care of
98 the child. At the hearing, the court must make the required
99 findings in writing to extend the period of secure detention
100 care. If the court extends the time period for secure detention
101 care, it must ensure that an adjudicatory hearing for the case
102 commences as soon as reasonably possible considering the
103 totality of the circumstances, and it must prioritize the
104 efficient disposition of those cases in which the child has
105 served 60 or more days in secure detention care.
106 (c) A prolific juvenile offender under s. 985.255(1)(f)
107 shall be placed on supervised release detention care with
108 electronic monitoring or in secure detention care under a
109 special detention order until disposition. If secure detention
110 care is ordered by the court, it must be authorized under this
111 part and may not exceed:
112 1. Twenty-one days unless an adjudicatory hearing for the
113 case has been commenced in good faith by the court or the period
114 is extended by the court pursuant to paragraph (b); or
115 2. Fifteen days after the entry of an order of
116 adjudication.
117
118 As used in this paragraph, the term “disposition” means a
119 declination to file under s. 985.15(1)(h), the entry of nolle
120 prosequi for the charges, the filing of an indictment under s.
121 985.56 or an information under s. 985.557, a dismissal of the
122 case, or an order of final disposition by the court.
123 (d) A prolific juvenile offender under s. 985.255(1)(f) who
124 is taken into custody for a violation of the conditions of his
125 or her supervised release detention must be held in secure
126 detention until a detention hearing is held.
127 (3) Except as provided in subsection (2), a child may not
128 be held in detention care for more than 15 days following the
129 entry of an order of adjudication.
130 (4)(a) The time limits in subsections (2) and (3) do not
131 include periods of delay resulting from a continuance granted by
132 the court for cause on motion of the child or his or her counsel
133 or of the state. Upon the issuance of an order granting a
134 continuance for cause on a motion by either the child, the
135 child’s counsel, or the state, the court shall conduct a hearing
136 at the end of each 72-hour period, excluding Saturdays, Sundays,
137 and legal holidays, to determine the need for continued secure
138 detention of the child and the need for further continuance of
139 proceedings for the child or the state.
140 (b) Any The period of for supervised release detention care
141 under this section is tolled on the date that the department or
142 a law enforcement officer alleges that the child has violated a
143 condition of the child’s supervised release detention care until
144 the court enters a ruling on the violation. Notwithstanding the
145 tolling of supervised release detention care, the court retains
146 jurisdiction over the child for a violation of a condition of
147 supervised release detention care during the tolling period. If
148 the court finds that a child has violated his or her supervised
149 release detention care, the number of days that the child served
150 in any type of detention care before commission of the violation
151 shall be excluded from the time limits under subsections (2) and
152 (3).
153 (5) A child who was not in secure detention at the time of
154 the adjudicatory hearing, but for whom residential commitment is
155 anticipated or recommended, may be placed under a special
156 detention order for a period not to exceed 72 hours, excluding
157 weekends and legal holidays, for the purpose of conducting a
158 comprehensive evaluation as provided in s. 985.185. Motions for
159 the issuance of such special detention order may be made
160 subsequent to a finding of delinquency. Upon said motion, the
161 court shall conduct a hearing to determine the appropriateness
162 of such special detention order and shall order the least
163 restrictive level of detention necessary to complete the
164 comprehensive evaluation process that is consistent with public
165 safety. Such special detention order may be extended for an
166 additional 72 hours upon further order of the court.
167 (6) If a child is detained and a petition for delinquency
168 is filed, the child must shall be arraigned in accordance with
169 the Florida Rules of Juvenile Procedure within 48 hours after
170 the filing of the petition for delinquency.
171 (7) Any electronic monitoring ordered by a court as a
172 condition of supervised release detention care pursuant to this
173 section may be supervised by the department, a law enforcement
174 agency, or the department and a law enforcement agency working
175 in partnership. However, this subsection does not require a law
176 enforcement agency to supervise a child placed on electronic
177 monitoring.
178 Section 3. This act shall take effect July 1, 2022.