Florida/Georgia Personal Injury & Workers Compensation

...After receiving the team's assessment and recommendation, the state attorney is authorized to file a petition with the circuit court "alleging that the person is a sexually violent predator and stating facts sufficient to support such allegation." § 394.914, Fla....

..." determination of probable cause: Upon the expiration of the incarcerative sentence and before the release from custody of a person whom the multidisciplinary team recommends for civil commitment, but after the state attorney files a petition under s. 394.914, the court may conduct an adversarial probable cause hearing if it determines such hearing is necessary....

...ent and recommendation with the state attorney. See § 394.913(3), Fla Stat. (1999). The state attorney may then file a petition with the circuit court alleging that the person is a sexually violent predator and seeking commitment under the Act. See § 394.914, Fla....

...hich cannot be allowed without proof in the form of some reliable individual's personal knowledge." Id. We agree with both the Second and the Fourth Districts' determinations that due process requires that a probable cause petition filed pursuant to section 394.914 be supported by sworn proof....

...o has examined and evaluated the individual to be so held." Kephart, 826 So.2d at 519. The Fourth District's conclusion fails to acknowledge that the Act delegates the responsibility of filing the probable cause petition to the *1091 state attorney. Section 394.914 specifically provides: "Following receipt of the written assessment and recommendation from the multidisciplinary team, the state attorney, in accordance with s. 394.913, may file a petition with the circuit court alleging that the person is a sexually violent predator and stating facts sufficient to support such allegation." § 394.914, Fla....

...s to what the legislature intended." Zuckerman v. Alter, 615 So.2d 661, 663 (Fla.1993); see also Forsythe v. Longboat Key Beach Erosion Control Dist., 604 So.2d 452, 454 (Fla.1992); St. Petersburg Bank & Trust Co. v. Hamm, 414 So.2d 1071 (Fla.1982). Section 394.914 clearly states that the state attorney should file the probable cause petition....

...the officer if sufficient facts are alleged to demonstrate probable cause. Id. at 654-55. Just as the arrest warrant is the State's authority to compel a defendant to answer to criminal charges lodged against him or her, the petition provided for in section 394.914 and the trial court's determination of probable cause based on that petition give the State the authority to hold a soon-to-be-released prisoner beyond the expiration of his or her sentence and to require him or her to answer to the allegations of being a sexual predator....

...Section 394.915(2)-(3) provides: (2) Upon the expiration of the incarcerative sentence and before the release from custody of a person whom the multidisciplinary team recommends for civil commitment, but after the state attorney files a petition under s. 394.914, the court may conduct an adversarial probable cause hearing if it determines such hearing is necessary....

...lease date has not been accelerated, [10] no less than 365 days of the offender's sentence should remain. After receiving the team's written report and recommendation, the state attorney may file a probable cause petition in the *1096 circuit court. § 394.914, Fla....

...the federal or Florida constitutions. The majority concludes that sworn proof is required, but does not pinpoint the source of this requirement. [11] The majority does state that "due process requires that a probable cause petition filed pursuant to section 394.914 be supported by sworn proof." Majority op....

...robable cause petitions to be sworn. The relevant provision states that the state attorney "may file a petition with the circuit court alleging that the person is a sexually violent predator and stating facts sufficient to support such allegations." § 394.914, Fla....

...procedure" in such cases. Goode, 830 So.2d at 827; see § 394.915(2), Fla. Stat. (2002) ("Upon the expiration of the incarcerative sentence and before the release from custody ..., but after the state attorney files a [probable cause] petition under s. 394.914, the court may conduct an adversarial probable cause hearing if it determines such hearing is necessary.")....

...Nothing in the Ryce Act itself requires probable cause petitions to be sworn. Therefore, any such requirement must derive from due process principles. I read the majority opinion as reaching this same conclusion. See majority op. at 1090 ("[D]ue process requires that a probable cause petition filed pursuant to section 394.914 be supported by sworn proof.")....

...For example, the majority states without exception that "the Act requires the probable cause petition to be supported by sworn proof." Majority op. at 1094. Elsewhere, the majority broadly states that "due process requires that a probable cause petition filed pursuant to section 394.914 be supported by sworn proof." Majority op....

...conviction. Moreover, even if commitment is recommended, this does not automatically result in either the filing of a petition or actual commitment. Once a person has been evaluated, the state attorney has discretion whether to seek commitment. See § 394.914....

...of Children and Family Services. Following the receipt of the written assessment and recommendation from the multidisciplinary team, the state attorney may file a petition in the circuit court alleging that the person is a sexually violent predator. § 394.914, Fla....

..."Following receipt of the written assessment and recommendation ..., the state attorney ... may file a petition with the circuit court alleging that the person is a sexually violent predator and stating facts sufficient to support such allegation." Id. § 394.914....

...ent for an adversarial probable cause hearing within a reasonable time after their detention; and (3) that they are indigent and that there are no state funds available to fund their representation and expert witnesses as is provided for in sections 394.914-916....

...eason. We next address the lack of a probable cause hearing. Section 394 .913(3) provides that a team of psychiatrists or psychologists shall assess and recommend to the state attorney if a person about to be released is a sexually violent predator. Section 394.914 authorizes the state attorney, after receiving that assessment, to file a petition with the circuit court stating facts sufficient to support the allegation that the person is a sexually violent predator....

...ection 394.915(2), which provides: Upon the expiration of the incarcerative sentence and before the release from custody of a person whom the multidisciplinary team recommends for civil commitment, but after the state attorney files a petition under s. 394.914, the court may conduct an adversarial probable cause hearing if it determines such hearing is necessary....

...The report is to include the written assessment of the multidisciplinary team. Following receipt of the written assessment and recommendation, the state attorney may file a petition with the circuit court alleging that the person is a sexually violent predator. § 394.914....

...nse is to be assessed by a multidisciplinary team of mental health professionals. § 394.913. After receiving the team's written assessment and recommendation, the state attorney may petition to have the person involuntarily committed under the Act. § 394.914....

...Before making its recommendations, the team must offer the person an interview, which may be refused. § 394.913(3)(c). From the multidisciplinary team's written report and recommendation, the state attorney decides whether a commitment petition should be filed. § 394.914....

ability to file a petition under the statute. § 394.914, Fla. Stat. Finally, Taylor’s suggested right

...Regardless of how the Kansas statute is interpreted, the Florida statute makes a prior criminal offense more than mere evidence; it is an element of proof. Indeed, it is a condition precedent to bringing the proceedings. The petition must allege "that the person is a sexually violent predator." Section 394.914, Florida Statutes....

...However, the provisions *357 of section 394.913 are not jurisdictional, and the failure to comply with them does not prevent the state attorney from proceeding pursuant to the Act by filing a commitment petition in circuit court. § 394.913(3), Fla. Stat. (1999). See also § 394.914, Fla....

...729 (1932), we note that the legislature's later passage of the Ryce Act did not render the state's future compliance with the agreement impossible. The state attorney was given the discretion whether to file a civil commitment action against Harris. Section 394.914, Florida Statutes (1999), provides: "Following receipt of the written assessment and recommendation from the multidisciplinary team, the state attorney, in accordance with s....

...n end. After this mandatory assessment, however, the decision whether to file a petition alleging that somebody is a "sexually violent predator" subject to indefinite internment thereafter lies wholly within the discretion of the state attorney. See § 394.914, Fla....

...false imprisonment, and lewd and lascivious assault on a minor. He was due to be released on October 3, 2000; however, on October 2, 2000, the State filed a petition seeking to have Ennis civilly committed as a sexually violent predator pursuant to section 394.914, Florida Statutes (2000)....

...If the DCF assessment concludes that the person meets the definition and the State then files a petition, the trial court conducts a trial within thirty days to determine whether probable cause exists to believe the person is a sexually violent predator. §§ 394.914, 394.915(1), 394.916(1)....

...Jackson was assessed to determine whether he met the definition of a sexually violent predator subject to civil commitment. See § 394.913, Fla. Stat. (2008). DCF recommended commitment. See § 394.913(3)(e). Consequently, the State petitioned the court to civilly commit Mr. Jackson as a sexually violent predator. See § 394.914....

...State Attorney's Office. See § 394.913(3)(e), Fla. Stat. (2000). The State Attorney's Office may then institute a proceeding before a circuit judge for the purpose of determining whether a person should be declared a sexually violent predator. See § 394.914, Fla....

...After receiving the written assessment and recommendation from the multidisciplinary team, the state attorney has the discretion to file a petition for civil commitment with the circuit court alleging that the person is a sexually violent predator. 2 § 394.914, Fla....

...to be considered a sexually violent predator is not a condition precedent to the filing of the petition for involuntary commitment. Additionally, the State asserts that, although a written assessment and recommendation from the MDT is required under section 394.914, Florida Statutes (2004), the term “recommendation” implies a non-binding advisory opinion....

...However, just forty-one (41) days later, Attorney General Opinion 98-64 was changed and a new opinion was issued. Op. Att’y Gen. 98-73 (Dec. 1,1998). In Opinion 98-73, the Attorney General recognized that, under section 916.34, Florida Statutes (1998), which is currently section 394.914: A state attorney may not, under the Jimmy Ryce Involuntary Civil Commitment for Sexually Violent Predators Treatment and Care Act, file a petition for the involuntary commitment of persons scheduled to be released on or after January 1, 1999, independent of a recommendation from the multidisciplinary team....

...Dep’t of Children & Family Servs., 747 So.2d 402, 403 (Fla. 4th DCA 1999)). In the instant ease, since the defendant remains in custody after serving his sentence, we must determine whether “scrupulous compliance” with the Jimmy Ryce Act has been observed. When evaluating section 394.914 in conjunction with section 394.913, it becomes clear that Har *1157 den’s detention contravenes the plain meaning of those statutes....

...history. State v. Sousa, 903 So.2d 923, 928 (Fla.2005). Furthermore, the plain and ordinary meaning of a word can be gleaned from a dictionary. Green, 604 So.2d at 471 . Under numerous dictionary definitions, the word “recommendation” as used in section 394.914, is synonymous with advocacy, endorsement, blessing, and approval. Its antonyms include words such as rejection, disapproval, and veto. In giving section 394.914 its plain and ordinary meaning and construing it in conjunction with other sections of the Jimmy Ryce Act, we conclude that a written report recommending that a person is a sexually violent predator is required before the State can exercise its discretion to file a petition for civil commitment....

...Therefore, we find that a positive recommendation from the multidisciplinary team that a person meets the criteria to be considered a sexually violent predator is a condition precedent to the filing of the petition for commitment by the state attorney. Our interpretation of section 394.914 is consistent with the analyses in Tanguay v....

...This section provides, in pertinent part, as follows: Upon the expiration of the incarcerative sentence and before the release from custody of a person whom the multidisciplinary team recommends for civil commitment, but after the state attorney files a petition under s. 394.914, the court may conduct an adversarial probable cause hearing if it determines such hearing is necessary....

...[[Image here]] (e) Within 180 days after receiving notice, there shall be a written assessment as to whether the person meets the definition of a sexually violent predator and a written recommendation, which shall be provided to the state attorney. § 394.913(3), Fla. Stat. (2004). . Section 394.914 states, in pertinent part: Following receipt of the written assessment and recommendation from the multidisciplinary team, the state attorney, in accordance with s. 394.913, may file a petition with the circuit court alleging that the person is a sexually violent predator and stating facts sufficient to support such allegation. § 394.914, Fla....

the individual is a sexually violent predator. § 394.914, Fla. Stat. The judge must then determine whether

...rred in 1993. He was sentenced to a total of twenty-two years in prison for these various offenses. On June 18, 2008, in anticipation of Jackson's impending release from prison, the State filed a petition for involuntary civil commitment pursuant to section 394.914, Florida Statutes (2007)....

...We agree that the court abused its discretion in allowing the State to use these incidents, as they were unreliable. Their use was not harmless. We therefore reverse. The State filed a petition for involuntary commitment of appellant as a sexually violent predator pursuant to the Jimmy Ryce Act, section 394.914, Florida Statutes (2016)....