Florida/Georgia Personal Injury & Workers Compensation

...[13] For example, the law now requires that a person arrested for domestic violence must be held until first appearance, and the court must consider the safety of the victim in determining whether the defendant should be released and in setting the defendant's bail. See § 741.2901(3), Fla....

...Although the legislative scheme favors criminal prosecution over contempt proceedings where a person violates a domestic violence injunction, the fact remains that section 741.30 creates a private "cause of action" resting with the victim. Compare §§ 741.2901(2) & 741.30(1), Fla....

...issuance of domestic violence injunctions in the first place. When a criminal charge is initiated as a result of domestic violence, the battered person can refuse to testify; however, the decision of whether to prosecute remains with the state. See § 741.2901(2), Fla....

...violation of an injunction for protection which is not a criminal violation under s. 741.31. The court may enforce the respondent's compliance with the injunction by imposing a monetary assessment. (Emphasis added.) The legislature also provided, in section 741.2901(2), that domestic violence was to "be treated as an illegal act rather than a private matter, and for that reason, indirect criminal contempt may no longer be used to enforce compliance with injunctions for protection against domesti...

...best address one of the most serious problems confronting our society—violence within the domestic context ..." Walker, 660 So.2d at 321. In reaching our conclusion, however, we also find it necessary to address the legislative intent set forth in section 741.2901(2), wherein the legislature stated: It is the intent of the Legislature that domestic violence be treated as an illegal act rather than a private matter, and for that reason, indirect criminal contempt may no longer be used to enforce compliance with injunctions for protection against domestic violence. Given our conclusion that the legislature cannot eliminate the court's indirect criminal contempt power, we find the underlined portion of section 741.2901(2) to be unconstitutional. This provides the consistency necessary to allow section 741.2901 to be read in conjunction with section 741.30(8)(a)....

...[1] In making these revisions, the legislature specifically determined that domestic violence was to "be treated as an illegal act rather than a private matter, and for that reason, indirect criminal contempt may no longer be used to enforce compliance with injunctions for protection against domestic violence." § 741.2901(2), Fla....

...ot one of public policy. *322 I am sure that the legislature did not intend to create a separation of powers question when it amended the statutes relating to domestic violence during the 1994 session. The declaration of intent language set forth in section 741.2901(2), Florida Statutes (Supp....

...e guidance and was not at issue between the litigants. However, the Drost holding is noteworthy in that it was rendered in accord with Mauney v. State , the very opinion from which the Fifth District receded in this case. [7] The correct citation is section 741.2901(1)....

...irect criminal contempt because a power the legislature cannot confer in the first instance cannot be taken away. [14] Interestingly, the very statute that expresses the legislature's intent in criminalizing domestic violence draws this distinction. Section 741.2901(2), Florida Statutes (1997), establishes, in pertinent part, that: It is the intent of the Legislature that domestic violence be treated as a criminal act rather than a private matter....

to subject the defendant to a stay-away order. § 741.2901, Fla. Stat. (domestic violence); § 825.1035(11)(b)

...The trial court also determined that it had discretionary authority to revisit bond and increase the amounts of bond to total $76,000 on the three counts. The state argues that the trial court was authorized to increase bond because this was a domestic violence case and that section 741.2901(3), Florida Statutes (1997), provides the factors to be considered for bond in such cases....

...2d DCA 1995) and deny the petition. Walker involved an alleged violation of a domestic violence injunction filed pursuant to section 741.30, Florida Statutes (Supp. 1994), which is a statute enacted specifically for domestic violence cases. Pursuant to section 741.2901(2), Florida Statutes (Supp....

...Turning to the statute in this case, section 784.046(9)(a), Florida Statutes (Supp. 1994) provides for filing and hearing procedures for victims of repeat violence. This statute provides that the trial court shall enforce a violation of an injunction under this statute through a civil contempt proceeding. Unlike section 741.2901(2), there is no legislative prohibition against a trial court exercising its indirect criminal contempt powers to enforce an injunction for protection against repeat violence under section 784.046(9)(a). Because of Walker, a trial court in this district retains its constitutional inherent powers of indirect criminal contempt under section 741.30, even when section 741.2901(2) specifically denies those powers to the trial court....

to subject the defendant to a stay-away order. § 741.2901, Fla. Stat. (domestic violence); § 825.1035(11)(b)

pro-prosecution policy for acts of domestic violence. See § 741.2901, Fla. Stat. (2006). This commendable policy,

the specific legislative intent expressed in section 741.2901(2), Florida Statutes (1999), which states

...shall consider the safety of the victim, the victim’s children, and any other person who may be in danger if the defendant is released, and exercise caution in releasing defendants. (Emphasis added.) The legislative intent is farther manifested in section 741.2901(3), Florida Statutes (2000) (emphasis added), providing: When a defendant is arrested for an act of domestic violence, the defendant shall be held in custody until brought before the court for admittance to bail in accordance with chapter 903....

...In 1994, the legislature eliminated indirect criminal contempt as a measure to enforce compliance with injunctions for protection against domestic violence, because "[i]t is the intent of the Legislature that domestic violence be treated as an illegal act rather than a private matter.” § 741.2901(2), Florida Statutes (Supp.1994).

...s clearly criminal, seeking to punish Sando with incarceration for her alleged transgressions. The State did not file criminal charges for Sando’s alleged violation of the domestic violence injunction. See § 741.31(2), Fla. Stat. (2007); see also § 741.2901(2), Fla....