For Florida Criminal Defense Attorneys
Resources and experts in the field of criminal defense can be invaluable in the effective representation of your client. Very often, successful arguments and supporting testimony considered routine by practitioners in one locale may be unheard of or untested in another. Borrowing strategy from your distant brethren may turn out to be the very break needed in your own case.
Our office is determined to stay ahead of the curve when it comes to new legislation and developing case law. We maintain an extensive criminal law resource library which is kept current through the use of legal treatises, periodicals, case reporters, legislative session updates and various literature from experts in the field. Our membership in the Florida Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers likewise provides us with the opportunity to confer and consult with our collegues in this specialized area of the law.
We often receive calls and e-mail from other attorneys asking for direction in resolving criminal defense related issues. In addition to handling such inquiries and in the further spirit of cooperation, we have provided our yearly review of new criminal laws passed by the Florida Legislature on this page.
Lawyers seeking assistance on DUI related matters should visit our extensive website page: For DUI Defense Attorneys Only.
Russo & Russo Criminal Law Legislative Update - 2010
Our office reviews and summarizes new legislation for easy reference. Each year, during the sixty-day legislative session, several hundred Session Laws are enacted. These Session Laws take effect on the date indicated in the Session Law (or if no date is indicated, on July 1st of the same year). The Florida Statutes are updated with the changes or additions made by the Session Laws and are completely reprinted with those updates every year. Unfortunately, this legislation is often lengthy, cubersome, and complex. In addition, criminal law legislation typically makes changes or additions to numerous stuatutes within a single bill or topic. Because Florida's method of preserving legislative history can be quite confusing, this concise guide to the 2010 legislative session is an invaluable tool for staying current and for researching modifications in already existing areas of the law.
Council Substitute for House Bill No.91 (Adult Protective Services) - Effective July 1, 2010
415.102 Concerning the Adult Protective Services Act defines "caregivers" as a persons who have been entrusted with or assumed the responsibility of frequent and regular care of or services to a vulnerable adult on a temporary or permanent basis. The caregiver must also have a commitment, agreement, or understanding with that person or the person's guardian that such a care giving role exists. A "caregiver" can include, but is not limited to, relatives, household members, guardians, neighbors, and employees and volunteers of designated care facilities.
Council Substitute for House Bill No. 1291 (Domestic Violence Fatality Review Teams) - Effective July 1, 2010
741.316 was amended to provide that information and records obtained by domestic fatality review teams are not subject to discovery or introduction into evidence in criminal, administrative, or disciplinary proceedings by any department or employing agency if the information or records arose out of matters that are the subject of evaluation and review by the domestic violence fatality review team. However, information, documents and records otherwise available from other sources are not immune from discovery or introduction into evidence solely because the information, documents, or records were presented to or reviewed by a domestic violence fatality review team. A person who has attended a meeting of a domestic violence fatality review team may not testify in any civil, criminal, administrative or disciplinary proceedings as to any records or information produced or presented to the team during meetings or other activities authorized by 741.316. This subsection does not preclude any person who testifies before a team or who is a member of a team from testifying as to matters otherwise within his or her knowledge.
House Bill No. 11 (Crimes Against the Homeless) - Effective October 1, 2010
775.085 was amended to reclassify offenses evidencing prejudice based on the homeless status of the victim, F.S. 775.085 (1)(a) reclassifies the penalty for any felony or misdemeanor if the felony or misdemeanor evidences prejudice based on the victim's homeless status, adding to other reclassifying factors including the victim's the race, color, ancestry, ethnicity, religion, sexual orientation, national origin, mental or physical disability, and advanced age. F.S. 775.085 3. Defines "homeless status" and requires that a victim lack a fixed, regular, and adequate nighttime residence; or having a primary nighttime residence that is a supervised publicly or privately operated shelter designed to provide temporary living accommodations; or a public or private place not designed for, or ordinarily used as, a regular sleeping accommodation for human beings.
Council Substitute for House Bill No. 33 (Selling, giving, or serving alcoholic beverages to persons under 21 years of age) - Effective July 1, 2010
This act amends F.S. 562.11 and increases the penalty imposed for a second or subsequent offense of selling, giving, or serving alcoholic beverages to persons under 21 years of age within a specified period following the prior offense. It also provides a defense to the charge. A person who commits this offense a second or subsequent time within one year after a prior conviction commits a misdemeanor of the first degree, punishable as provided by F.S. 775.085 or 775.083. However, any person charged with this offense has a complete defense if, at the time the alcoholic beverage was sold, given, served, or permitted to be served: the buyer or recipient falsely evidenced that he or she was twenty-one years of age or older; the appearance of the buyer or recipient was such that a prudent person would believe the buyer or recipient to be twenty-one years of age or older; and such person carefully checked a driver's license or an identification card issued by this state or another state of the United States, a passport, or a United States Uniformed Services identification card presented by the buyer or recipient and acted in good faith and in reliance upon the representation and appearance of the buyer or recipient in the belief that the buyer or recipient was twenty-one years of age or older.
Council Substitute for House Bill No. 317 (Acts communicating threats) - Effective October 1, 2010
The act amends F.S. 836.10 and revises provisions relating to the sending of or procuring the sending of letters or inscribe communications containing certain threats of death or bodily injury, including electronic communications. Under this section, any person who writes or composes and also sends or procures the sending of any letter, inscribed communication, or electronic communication, whether such letter or communication be signed or anonymous, to any person, containing a threat to kill or to do bodily injury to the person to whom the communication is sent, or a threat to kill or do bodily injury to any member of the family of the person to whom the communication is sent is guilty of a second degree felony, punishable as provided in s. 775.082, or s. 775.084.
House Bill No. 525 (Amending Statute of Limitations Regarding Sexual Battery) - Effective July 1, 2010
Florida Statutes Sections 95.11 and 775.15 concerning sexual battery were amended to eliminate statutes of limitations to the institution of criminal or civil actions relating to sexual battery of a child if the victim is under 16 years of age at the time of the offense. In sexual battery cases under s. 794.011 wherein the victim is under sixteen years of age, a civil action may be commenced at any time. This applies to any such action other than one which would have been time barred on or before July 1, 2010. If the offense was in violation of s. 794.011 and the victim was under 16 years of age at the time of the offense, a prosecution of the offense may be commenced at any time. This applies to any offense except such offense the prosecution of which would have been time barred on or before July 1, 2010.
House Bill No. 985 (Peddling at Camp Meetings) - Effective July 1, 2010
This act repeals Florida Statutes Section 871.03 relating to the peddling at or within a specified distance of any camp or field meeting held for religious purposes. Section 871.03 of the Florida Statutes is repealed.
Council Substitute for House Bill No. 1005 (Corrections and Sexually Transmitted Diseases) - Effective July 1, 2010
This act amends and repeals several sections of the Florida Statutes:
- FS 384.34 is amended to revise criminal penalties pertaining to sexually transmissible diseases.
- FS 775.0877 is amended, removing a provision authorizing a court to require an offender convicted of criminal transmission of HIV to serve a term of criminal quarantine community control.
- FS 796.08 is amended relating to criminal transmission of HIV and conforming a cross reference.
- FS 800.09 is created, defines terms and provides that a person who is detained in a state or private correctional institution may not commit lewd or lascivious exhibition in the presence of an employee who the detainee knows or should reasonably know is an employee, provides criminal penalties.
- FS 921.187 is amended, removing a reference to criminal quarantine community control to conform to changes made by the act.
- FS 940.061 is amended, requiring that the Department of Corrections send to the Parole Commission by electronic means a monthly list of the names of inmates released from incarceration and offenders terminated from supervision who may be eligible for restoration of civil rights.
- FS 944.293 is repealed, relating to initiation of the restoration of an inmate's civil rights.
- FS 944.35 is amended, including employees of private correctional facilities within a statute prohibiting employees from committing certain sexual misconduct with inmates, providing criminal penalties. Section 800.09 of the Florida Statutes "Lewd or lascivious exhibition in the presence of an employee" is created. As used in the statute, "employee" means any person employed by or performing contractual services for a public or private entity operating a facility or any person employed by or performing contractual services for the corporation operating the prison industry enhancement programs or the correctional work programs under part Ii of chapter 946. The term also includes a person who is a parole examiner within the Parole Commission. "Facility" means a state correctional institution as defined in FS 944.02 or a private correctional facility as defined in FS 944.710, A person who is detained in a facilitate may not intentionally masturbate, intentionally expose the genitals in a lewd or lascivious manner, or intentionally commit any other sexual act that does not involve actual or physical sexual contact with the victim, including, but not limited to, sadomasochistic abuse, sexual bestiality, or the simulation of any act involving sexual activity, in the presence of any person he or she knows or reasonably should know is an employee. A person who violates the above section commits lewd or lascivious exhibition in the presence of an employee, a third-degree felony punishable as provided in FS s. 775.082, s. 775.083, or s. 775.084.
- FS 940.061 "Informing persons about executive clemency and restoration of civil rights." is amended to state the following. The Department of Corrections shall inform and educate inmates and offenders on community supervision about the restoration of civil rights. Each month the Department of Corrections shall send to the Parole Commission by electronic means a list of the names of inmates who have been released from incarceration and offenders who have been terminated from supervision who may be eligible for restoration of civil rights. This amended removes the language requiring the Department of Corrections to assist eligible inmates and offenders with the completion of the appropriate application.
- Section 944.293 of the Florida Statutes is repealed.
- Section 946.42 of the Florida Statutes is created. "Use of inmates on private property." states that the department may allow inmates who meet the criteria provided in FS 946.40 to enter onto private property to perform public works or for the following purposes: to accept and collect donations for the use and benefit of the department; to assist federal, state, local, and private agencies before, during, and after emergencies or disasters. As used, the term "disaster" means any natural, technological, or civil emergency that causes damage of sufficient severity and magnitude to result in a declaration of a state of emergency by a county, the Governor, or the President of the United States. "Donations" means gifts of tangible personal property and includes equipment, fixtures, construction materials, food items, and other tangible personal property of a consumable and nonconsumable nature. "Emergency" means any occurrence or threat of an occurrence, whether natural, technological, or manmade, in war or in peace, that results or may result in substantial injury or harm to the population or substantial damage to or loss of property.
- FS 948.001(3) of the Florida Statutes is repealed.
- FS 948.03(1) of the Florida Statutes, concerning "Terms of and conditions of probation" is amended to read the following. Upon receiving probation or community control, the offender must now submit to the taking of a digitized photograph by the department as a part of the offender's records. The photograph may be displayed on the department's public website while the offender is under court-ordered supervision. However, the department may not display the photograph on the website if the offender is only on pretrial intervention supervision or if the offender's identity is exempt from disclosure due to an exemption from the requirements of section 119.07 of the Florida Statutes.
- Florida Statute 948.101 titled "Terms and conditions of community control" is amended to remove subsection (3), which allowed a court to place a defendant being sentenced for criminal transmission of HIV on criminal quarantine community control. Courts now do not have the ability to place such defendants on criminal quarantine community control.
Council Substitute for House Bill No. 1493 (Career Offenders) - Effective July 1, 2010
This act amends FS 775.261 and provides that it is a first degree misdemeanor for a person to perform specified acts with the intent to assist a career offender in eluding a law enforcement agency that is seeking to find the career offender to question the career offender about, or to arrest the career offender for, his or her noncompliance and provides criminal penalties. Under FS 775.261, the Florida Career Offender Registration Act, it is a first degree misdemeanor, punishable by FS 775.082 or FS 775.083, for a person who has reason to believe that a career offender is not complying, or has not complied, with the requirements of this section and who, with the intent to assist the career offender in eluding a law enforcement agency that is seeking to find the career offender to question them about, or to arrest them for, his or her noncompliance with the requirements of this section to: Withhold information from, or fail to notify, the law enforcement agency about the career offender's noncompliance with the requirements of this section and, if known, the whereabouts of the career offender; Harbor or attempt to harbor, or assist another in harboring or attempting to harbor, the career offender; Conceal or attempt to conceal, or assist another in concealing or attempting to conceal, the career offender; or Provide information to the law enforcement agency regarding the career offender which the person knows to be false.
Session Laws 2010-1 through 2010-75
Current through July 15, 2010.
