Florida Statute 397.681 - Full Text and Legal Analysis

The 2025 Florida Statutes

Title XXIX
PUBLIC HEALTH

Chapter 397
SUBSTANCE ABUSE SERVICES

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397.681 Involuntary petitions; general provisions; court jurisdiction and right to counsel.—

(1) JURISDICTION.—The courts have jurisdiction of involuntary treatment petitions for substance abuse impaired persons, and such petitions must be filed with the clerk of the court in the county where the person is located. The clerk of the court may not charge a fee for the filing of a petition under this section. The chief judge may appoint a general or special magistrate to preside over all or part of the proceedings. The alleged impaired person is named as the respondent.

(2) RIGHT TO COUNSEL.—A respondent has the right to counsel at every stage of a judicial proceeding relating to a petition for his or her involuntary treatment for substance abuse impairment; however, the respondent may waive that right if the respondent is present and the court finds that such waiver is made knowingly, intelligently, and voluntarily. A respondent who desires counsel and is unable to afford private counsel has the right to court-appointed counsel and to the benefits of s. 57.081. If the court believes that the respondent needs or desires the assistance of counsel, the court shall appoint such counsel for the respondent without regard to the respondent’s wishes. If the respondent is a minor not otherwise represented in the proceeding, the court shall immediately appoint a guardian ad litem to act on the minor’s behalf.

History.—s. 6, ch. 93-39; s. 745, ch. 95-148; s. 79, ch. 2004-11; s. 30, ch. 2016-241; s. 28, ch. 2024-245.

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Amendments to 397.681

Annotations, Discussions, Cases:

Cases Citing Statute 397.681

Total Results: 5

Cole v. State

714 So. 2d 479, 1998 WL 282807

District Court of Appeal of Florida | Filed: Jun 1, 1998 | Docket: 461495

Cited 11 times | Published

stabilization, and one for treatment. As to both, section 397.681, Florida Statutes (1997), grants the circuit

TMRMC v. Petersen

920 So. 2d 75

District Court of Appeal of Florida | Filed: Jan 17, 2006 | Docket: 1730609

Cited 3 times | Published

without parental notification. Pursuant to section 397.681(2), Florida Statutes (2004), the court must

IN RE: D. H. v. K. J. R.

District Court of Appeal of Florida | Filed: Feb 7, 2024 | Docket: 68230267

Published

order under review on an ex parte basis. See § 397.681(2) ("A respondent has the right to counsel

J.P. v. J.N.

225 So. 3d 410, 2017 WL 3785764, 2017 Fla. App. LEXIS 12571

District Court of Appeal of Florida | Filed: Sep 1, 2017 | Docket: 60272496

Published

petition for lack of jurisdiction. He argued that section 397.681, Florida Statutes, requires a petition for

J.P. v. J.N.

District Court of Appeal of Florida | Filed: Aug 28, 2017 | Docket: 6148689

Published

petition for lack of jurisdiction. He argued that section 397.681, Florida Statutes, requires a petition for

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