Florida Juvenile Procedure Rule 8.035
RULE 8.035. PETITIONS FOR DELINQUENCY
(a) Contents of Petition.
(1) Each petition shall be entitled a petition for
delinquency and shall allege facts showing the child to have
committed a delinquent act. The petition must be a plain, concise,
and definite written statement of the essential facts constituting the
offense charged.
(2) The petition shall contain allegations as to the
identity and residence of the parents or custodians, if known.
(3) In petitions alleging delinquency, each count shall
recite the official or customary citations of the statute, ordinance,
rule, regulation, or other provision of the law which the child is
alleged to have violated, including the degree of each offense.
(4) Two or more allegations of the commission of
delinquent acts may appear in the same petition, in separate
counts.
(5) Two or more children may be the subject of the
same petition if they are alleged to have participated in the same act
or transaction or in the same series of acts or transactions
constituting an offense or offenses. The children may be named in
one or more counts together or separately and all of them need not
be named in each count.
(6) Allegations made in one count shall not be
incorporated by reference in another count.
(b) Verification. The petition shall be signed by the state
attorney or assistant state attorney, stating under oath the
petitioner’s good faith in filing the petition. No objection to a petition
on the grounds that it was not signed or verified, as herein
provided, shall be entertained after a plea to the merits.
(c) Child’s Right to Copy of Petition. Upon application to
the clerk, a child must be furnished a copy of the petition and the
endorsements on it at least 24 hours before being required to plead
to the petition.
(d) Amendments. At any time prior to the adjudicatory
hearing an amended petition may be filed or the petition may be
amended on motion. Amendments shall be freely permitted in the
interest of justice and the welfare of the child. A continuance may
be granted upon motion and a showing that the amendment
prejudices or materially affects any party.
(e) Statement of Particulars. The court, on motion, must
order the prosecuting attorney to furnish a statement of particulars
when the petition on which the child is to be tried fails to inform the
child of the particulars of the offense sufficiently to enable the child
to prepare a defense. The statement of particulars must specify as
definitely as possible the place, date, and all other material facts of
the crime charged that are specifically requested and are known to
the prosecuting attorney. Reasonable doubts concerning the
construction of this rule shall be resolved in favor of the child.
(f) Defects and Variances. No petition or any count thereof
shall be dismissed, or any judgment vacated, on account of any
defect in the form of the petition or of misjoinder of offenses or for
any cause whatsoever.
(a) Contents of Petition.
(1) Each petition shall be entitled a petition for
delinquency and shall allege facts showing the child to have
committed a delinquent act. The petition must be a plain, concise,
and definite written statement of the essential facts constituting the
offense charged.
(2) The petition shall contain allegations as to the
identity and residence of the parents or custodians, if known.
(3) In petitions alleging delinquency, each count shall
recite the official or customary citations of the statute, ordinance,
rule, regulation, or other provision of the law which the child is
alleged to have violated, including the degree of each offense.
(4) Two or more allegations of the commission of
delinquent acts may appear in the same petition, in separate
counts.
(5) Two or more children may be the subject of the
same petition if they are alleged to have participated in the same act
or transaction or in the same series of acts or transactions
constituting an offense or offenses. The children may be named in
one or more counts together or separately and all of them need not
be named in each count.
(6) Allegations made in one count shall not be
incorporated by reference in another count.
(b) Verification. The petition shall be signed by the state
attorney or assistant state attorney, stating under oath the
petitioner’s good faith in filing the petition. No objection to a petition
on the grounds that it was not signed or verified, as herein
provided, shall be entertained after a plea to the merits.
(c) Child’s Right to Copy of Petition. Upon application to
the clerk, a child must be furnished a copy of the petition and the
endorsements on it at least 24 hours before being required to plead
to the petition.
(d) Amendments. At any time prior to the adjudicatory
hearing an amended petition may be filed or the petition may be
amended on motion. Amendments shall be freely permitted in the
interest of justice and the welfare of the child. A continuance may
be granted upon motion and a showing that the amendment
prejudices or materially affects any party.
(e) Statement of Particulars. The court, on motion, must
order the prosecuting attorney to furnish a statement of particulars
when the petition on which the child is to be tried fails to inform the
child of the particulars of the offense sufficiently to enable the child
to prepare a defense. The statement of particulars must specify as
definitely as possible the place, date, and all other material facts of
the crime charged that are specifically requested and are known to
the prosecuting attorney. Reasonable doubts concerning the
construction of this rule shall be resolved in favor of the child.
(f) Defects and Variances. No petition or any count thereof
shall be dismissed, or any judgment vacated, on account of any
defect in the form of the petition or of misjoinder of offenses or for
any cause whatsoever.