Florida/Georgia Personal Injury & Workers Compensation

...[2] In this case, a jury convicted the petitioner of battery by a jail detainee on a jail detainee. The crime constituted a third-degree felony, for which the maximum sentence under section 775.082 is 60 months' imprisonment. 826 So.2d at 1071-72; see § 784.082, Fla....

...Nevertheless, the maximum sentence for conviction for the crime Hughes was convicted of, a third-degree felony of battery by a detainee, is five years in prison, § 775.082(3)(d), Fla. Stat. (1997). However, if Hughes was indeed convicted only of simple "battery" by a detainee described in section 784.082(3), Florida Statutes (1997), but there were severe victim injuries, it raises the question of why he was not convicted of the more serious first-degree felony of "aggravated battery" by a detainee described in section 784.082(1)....

...See § 784.011, Fla. Stat. (2005) (assault); § 784.021, Fla. Stat. (2005) (aggravated assault); § 784.03, Fla. Stat. (2005) (battery); § 784.041, Fla. Stat. (2005) (felony battery). Several are inconsistent with the concept of domestic violence, see § 784.082, Fla....

...n of the First District Court of Appeal in T.C. v. State, 852 So.2d 276 (Fla. 1st DCA 2003), on a question of law. We have jurisdiction. See art. V, § 3(b)(3), Fla. Const. The question before us is whether the battery by detainee charge pursuant to section 784.082, Florida Statutes (2007), applies to juvenile detention centers. We answer that question in the affirmative, and find that a juvenile detention center qualifies as a “detention facility” for purposes of section 784.082....

...Therefore, we approve the Fourth District’s decision in Hopkins and disapprove the First District’s decision in T.C. FACTUAL AND PROCEDURAL HISTORY The State charged Hopkins with one count of battery by detainee in violation of sections 784.03 and 784.082, Florida Statutes (2007). At the time of the alleged offense, Hopkins was detained at the St. Lucie Regional Juvenile Detention Center. By invoking section 784.082, the battery offense was reclassified from a first-degree misdemeanor, see § 784.03(l)(b), Fla....

...lly charged with battery by detainee while detained in a juvenile detention facility. A hearing was held on the motion to dismiss. While Hopkins relied on the First District’s decision in T.C., which held that the battery by detainee offense under section 784.082 was inapplicable to juveniles held in juvenile facilities, the State did not rely on any case law in support of the charge. Finding section 784.082 “clear and unambiguous,” the trial court maintained that a “juvenile detention facility” was an “other detention facility” under the statute. The trial court reached this same conclusion when it read section 784.082 in pari materia with “detention center or facility,” as defined in chapters 984 and 985, to mean: “a facility used pending court adjudication or disposition or execution of court order for the temporary care of a child alleged or found to have committed a violation of law.” §§ 984.03(19), 985.03(19), Fla. Stat. (2007). In addition, the trial court found significant the language used in the preamble to chapter 96-293, which enacted section 784.082: “Whereas, with the rising incidence of crime, especially juvenile crime.......

...In its written order, the trial court noted the Fourth District’s decision in J.A. v. State, 743 So.2d 601 (Fla. 4th DCA 1999), which affirmed the trial court’s order adjudicating a juvenile guilty of battery upon a fellow detainee in violation of sections 784.03 and 784.082, and the Fifth District’s decision in J.A.D. v. State, 855 So.2d 1199 (Fla. 5th DCA 2003), which affirmed the trial court’s adjudication of delinquency of battery by detainee pursuant to section 784.082....

...as the Fifth District in J.A.D, had “affirmed a trial court order adjudicating a juvenile guilty of battery upon a fellow detainee.” Id. at 975 . ANALYSIS The question before this Court is whether the language “detention facility” as used in section 784.082 includes juvenile detention centers....

...grounded on the rule of lenity. See § 775.021(1), Fla. Stat. (2007). On the other hand, the State contends that a juvenile who commits a battery while detained in a juvenile detention facility may be properly charged with battery by detainee under section 784.082....

...Stat. (2007) (defining “[sjecure detention center or facility” as a “physically restricting facility for the temporary care of children, pending adjudication, disposition, or placement”). On October 1, 1996, the Florida Legislature enacted section 784.082, which provides as follows: Whenever a person who is being detained in a prison, jail, or other detention facility is charged with committing an assault or aggravated assault or a battery or aggravated battery upon any visitor to the...

...(2) In the case of aggravated assault, from a felony of the third degree to a felony of the second degree. (8) In the case of battery, from a misdemeanor of the first degree to a felony of the third degree. (4) In the case of assault, from a misdemeanor of the second degree to a misdemeanor of the first degree. § 784.082, Fla....

...By its own terms, the “detention center or facility” definition appearing in both chapters 984 and 985 is limited to each respective chapter. See § 984.03, Fla. Stat. (2007) (<cWhen used in this chapter... .”); § 985.03, Fla. Stat. (2007) (“As used in this chapter.... ”). 5 In construing section 784.082, we begin with the actual language in the statute because “legislative intent is determined primarily from the statute’s text.” See Heart of Adoptions, Inc., 963 So.2d at 198 ....

...s or its reasonable and obvious implications. To do so would be an abrogation of legislative power.” Holly v. Auld, 450 So.2d 217, 219 (Fla.1984) (quoting Am. Bankers Life Assurance Co. of Fla. v. Williams, 212 So.2d 777, 778 (Fla. 1st DCA 1968)). Section 784.082 applies to a “person,” i.e., adults as well as juveniles. § 784.082, Fla. Stat. (2007). Further, the detainee *474 must be detained in a “prison, jail, or other detention facility.” § 784.082, Fla....

...committed in jails, prisons, or other detention facilities. Conversely, construing the statute as to exclude juvenile detention centers would clearly limit its “reasonable and obvious implications.” See Holly, 450 So.2d at 219 . By not limiting section 784.082 to only jails and prisons, the Legislature intended to expand the facilities subject to the statute. Had the Legislature intended to exclude juvenile detention centers from the scope of section 784.082, it would have said so....

...Bankers Life Assurance Co., 212 So.2d at 778 (“Had the legislature intended the statute to import a more specific and definite meaning, it could easily have chosen words to express any limitation it wished to impose.”). Furthermore, the trial judge recognized that chapter 96-293, which created section 784.082, included “juvenile crime” in the preamble....

...ily reveal[s] the legislature’s intent and its policy reasons.”). Related Statutory Provisions Even assuming arguendo that we were required to resort to rules of statutory construction to ascertain the legislative intent, our conclusion — that section 784.082 applies to juvenile detention centers — remains the same....

...s health services commits a felony of the third degree. ...” § 784.076, Fla. Stat. (2007) (emphasis added). 6 Exactly one year after the enactment of section 784.076 — which was expressly restricted to juveniles — the Legislature, in enacting section 784.082, decided against being so restrictive by using the word “person.” See ch....

...944.710 or under chapter 957; a county, municipal, or regional jail or other detention facility of local government under chapter 950 or chapter 951; or a secure facility operated and maintained by the Department of Corrections or the Department of Juvenile Justice. § 784.078(1), Fla. Stat. In section 784.082, the Legislature did not find it necessary to define “other detention facility.” Unlike the statutes referred to above, the Legislature did not indicate in section 784.082 that it should have limited application. Our conclusion that the Legislature intended for section 784.082 to apply to juvenile detention centers is confirmed when reading section 784.082 in pan materia with other battery statutes found in chapter 784. Rule of Lenity Hopkins relies on the rule of lenity in support of his position that section 784.082 does not include juvenile detention centers....

...rovisions of this code and offenses defined by other statutes shall be strictly construed; when the language is susceptible of differing constructions, it shall be construed most favorably to the accused.” § 775.021(1), Fla. Stat. (2007). Because section 784.082 is unambiguous and not subject to differing reasonable constructions, we conclude that the rule of lenity is inapplicable....

...State, 850 So.2d 487, 494 (Fla.2003). CONCLUSION We therefore approve the Fourth District’s decision in Hopkins , and disapprove the First District’s decision in T.C. It is so ordered. POLSTON, C.J., and PARIENTE, LEWIS, CANADY, LABARGA, and PERRY, JJ., concur. . Section 784.082 provides: "Whenever a person who is being detained in a prison, jail, or other detention facility is charged with committing ... a battery ... upon any visitor to the detention facility or upon any other detainee in the detention facility,” such offense shall be reclassified as a third-degree felony. § 784.082, Fla....

...855 So.2d at 1199 . .In T.C., the First District reversed a juvenile’s adjudication of delinquency for battery by detainee which occurred while the juvenile was detained in a juvenile detention center. 852 So.2d at 276 . The First District found that "[njothing in section 784.082 indicate[d] that the statute applie[d] to juveniles held in juvenile facilities.” Id. . Unlike in section 784.082, the Legislature opted to include the specific references to sections 984.03 and 985.03 in section 784.075: A person who commits a battery on a juvenile probation officer, as defined in s....

...oyed at facilities operated under a contract with the Department of Juvenile Justice. § 784.075, Fla. Stat. (2007) (emphasis added). Notably, section 784.075 went into effect on May 15, 1993, and therefore, prior to the Legislature’s enactment of section 784.082....

...the thirteen month sentence he offered to induce a plea. Indeed, Dasher’s attorney knew that he at least had some prior misdemeanor convictions, and that he intended to enter a plea of guilty to two counts of battery in a detention facility, a felony under Florida law, Fla. Stat. § 784.082 (2008)....

...We accept the state's concession of error on this claim and reverse, because the trial court failed to attach record evidence to refute the facially sufficient claim that the ten-year sentence for battery while in a detention facility exceeded the five-year statutory maximum for a third-degree felony. See § 784.082(3), Fla....

WILLIAM PRYOR, Circuit Judge: This appeal requires us to decide whether Clifford Gandy Jr.'s prior conviction for battery of a jail detainee, Fla. Stat. §§ 784.03 , 784.082, qualifies as a "crime of violence" under the Sentencing Guidelines....

...The district court then scheduled a sentencing hearing, and the probation officer prepared Gandy's presentence investigation report. The probation officer classified Gandy as a career offender based on three prior felony convictions: a 2010 nolo contendere plea for battery upon a detainee, Fla. Stat. §§ 784.03 , 784.082 ; a 2012 nolo contendere plea for felony battery; and a 2013 nolo contendere plea for the sale, manufacture, delivery, or possession of a controlled substance with intent to sell....

...mitted a battery upon a jail detainee "by actually and intentionally touching or striking [the victim] ... or by intentionally causing bodily harm to [the victim,] by hitting the victim in the face and head," in violation of Fla. Stat. §§ 784.03 , 784.082....

...sses "intentionally causing bodily harm." *1338 Fourth, the government submitted the state-court judgment. The judgment states that Gandy pleaded nolo contendere to "battery upon a jail visitor or other detainee," in violation of sections 784.03 and 784.082....

...onviction for a controlled-substance offense is a predicate offense and that his 2012 battery conviction is not, only the status of Gandy's 2010 battery conviction is at issue. Gandy was convicted in 2010 under two statutes, Fla. Stat. §§ 784.03 , 784.082....

...Actually and intentionally touches or strikes another person against the will of the other; or 2. Intentionally causes bodily harm to another person. Fla. Stat. § 784.03 (1)(a). Although simple battery is ordinarily a misdemeanor, battery of a jail detainee is classified as felony under another statute. Fla. Stat. § 784.082 (3)....

...battery on a jail detainee, Shawn Arnold, which occurred while the two were in jail after their arrests. Battery by a jail detainee on another jail detainee is a third- degree felony.9 Hernandez contends that because penalty phase counsel did not 9. Section 784.082(3), Florida Statutes (2007), provides in pertinent part that whenever a person who is being detained in a prison, jail, or other detention facility is charged with a battery upon any visitor to the facility or upon another detainee in the facility, the offense of battery is reclassified to a felony of the third degree. § 784.082(3), Fla....

...Brandan Keith Gatlin appeals the summary denial of his postconviction motion filed pursuant to Florida Rule of Criminal Procedure 3.850, in which he raised twenty-three enumerated grounds. The motion challenged a judgment for "aggravated battery by a jail detainee," § 784.082, Fla....

...When a trial court sentences a criminal defendant to a term of imprisonment followed by a term of probation, the aggregate of the two cannot exceed the statutory maximum. See Gonzales v. State, 816 So.2d 720, 721 (Fla. 5th DCA 2002). The maximum sentence for a third-degree felony is five years imprisonment. See § 784.082(3)(d), Fla....

...On March 19, 2012, the Court severed proposed instruction 6.4 from the instant case for consideration with proposed instruction 6.6 in Case No. SC12-462. Proposed jury instruction 8.21 arose because there did not exist an instruction for the offense defined under section 784.082, Florida Statutes (2011) — “Assault or battery by a person who is being detained in a prison, jail, or other detention facility upon visitor or other detainee; reclassification of offenses.” In Hopkins v....

inconsistent with the concept of domestic violence, see § 784.082, Fla. Stat. (2005) (assault or battery by person

...Appellant challenges his convictions, after jury verdicts, for both aggravated battery with a deadly weapon, pursuant to section 784.045, Florida Statutes, and aggravated battery with a deadly weapon upon another detainee in a detention facility, pursuant to section 784.082, Florida Statutes....

...tatutes because count I did not require proof of an element in addition to the elements required to prove count II. We reject Appellee’s argument that the multiple stab wounds to the victim constitute separate offenses for each wound. In addition, section 784.082, Florida Statutes, provides for the “reclassification” of “the offense for which the person is charged” when the defendant committed the offense upon another detainee while both were detained in a detention facility. “Reclassification” does not create a new and separate offense, but changes the degree of the felony already charged. Under the clear language of section 784.082, aggravated battery with a deadly weapon and aggravated battery with a deadly weapon by one detainee upon another are degree variants of the same offense, not separate offenses....

PER CURIAM. The defendant pled nolo contendere to, and was adjudicated delinquent on, the charge of battery by a detained person in violation of section 784.082, Florida Statutes....

...orida Bar News. No comments were received. The Committee proposes new instruction 8.21 because an instruction for the offense of assault or battery, or aggravated assault or aggravated battery, by a detainee upon another detainee or a visitor, under section 784.082, Florida Statutes (2012), does not currently exist....

...The instruction as set forth in the appendix shall be effective when this opinion becomes final. It is so ordered. POLSTON, C.J., and PARIENTE, LEWIS, QUINCE, CANADY, LABARGA, and PERRY, JJ., concur. APPENDIX 8.21 [ASSAULT] [AGGRAVATED ASSAULT] [BATTERY] [AGGRAVATED BATTERY] BY A DETAINEE UPON [ANOTHER DETAINEE] [A VISITOR] § 784.082, Fla....

...An aggravated battery is legally defined as (insert applicable portions of instruction 8.4 and/or 84(a) )• Lesser Included Offenses See relevant instructions on offenses in element 2 for appropriate lesser-included offenses. Comment This instruction was adopted in 2013. . In Hopkins , the Court held that section 784.082 of the Florida Statutes (2007) applied to juveniles detained in juvenile facilities....

PER CURIAM. Clarence Williams appeals his habitual offender sentence for battery on a detainee, a third degree felony. See § 784.082(3), Fla....

...Appellant, a juvenile, was charged with battery by an inmate in a juvenile facility. Because Appellant was held in a juvenile facility, Appellant argued that the crime of simple battery could not be enhanced from first degree misdemeanor to a third degree felony because section 784.082(3), Florida Statutes (2002), does not apply to a child detained in a juvenile facility. The trial court found that this enhancement statute applied to a juvenile detention center and denied the motion to dismiss. 1 We disagree, and remand with directions. Nothing in section 784.082 indicates that the statute applies to juveniles held in juvenile facilities....

...same offense, in violation of his constitutional protection from double jeopardy. We agree. While incarcerated at the county jail, Richardson punched another inmate in the face and fractured his jaw. He was charged with one count of detainee battery under section 784.082(3), Florida Statutes, and one count of felony battery either by causing great bodily harm under section 784.041(1)(b), Florida Statutes, or, alternatively, based on a prior battery conviction under section 784.03(2), Florida Statutes....

...and criminalize similar conduct.” Velazco v. State, 342 So. 3d 614, 617 (Fla. 2022) (citing decisions exemplifying the application of these factors). The underlying “offense” in question here is “battery.” The two statutes of conviction—sections 784.082 and 784.03—are located in the chapter titled, “ASSAULT; BATTERY; CULPABLE NEGLIGENCE.” The former statute refers in its label to “Assault or battery” on a jail or prison detainee and to “reclassification of offenses.” The latter...

...3d at 619 (engaging in a similar analysis regarding a DUI statute). Each statute, in turn, increases the punishment for that offense based on the seriousness of the resulting harm or the aggravated nature of the conduct involved in the offense. Cf. id. Section 784.082(3), in effect, reclassifies battery from a misdemeanor of the first degree to a felony of the third degree when the defendant and the victim are both detainees in a prison, jail, or other detention facility....

...Simply put, the majority fails to give proper legal effect to the separate elements of Appellant’s two crimes and the Florida Legislature’s intent in codifying them in two separate statutes. The Legislature did not make them degree variants, reclassifications, or enhancements. To the contrary, detainee battery under section 784.082(3) addresses detainee safety and institutional order, while section 784.03(2) addresses a specific separate problem: repeat offending by batterers....

...Stat. Had the Legislature intended to require unavailability of specialized treatment in the DOC as an element of subsection 921.0026(2)(d), it could have said so. See Hopkins v. State, 105 So. 3d 470, 474 (Fla. 2012) (“Had the Legislature intended to exclude juvenile detention centers from the scope of section 784.082, it would have said so.”); Am....

...Ervin J. Lewis, appellant, asserts that the trial court committed per se reversible error when it refused to instruct the jury on the necessarily lesser-included offense of simple battery when the underlying charge was battery within a detention facility. § 784.082(3), Fla....

...ser-included offense may constitute harmless error where no reasonable jury could have returned a verdict for the lesser-included offense. I. Facts In this case, appellant was charged with battery upon a jail visitor or other detainee under sections 784.082 and 784.03, Florida Statutes (2014). Section 784.082(3) results in reclassification of the battery from a misdemeanor to a third-degree felony because of its occurrence within a jail or detention facility....

...that a technical meaning applies." (citing State v. Brown, 412 So. 2d 426, 428 (Fla. 4th DCA 1982))). Here, related statutory provisions define the relevant terms. See, e.g., Hopkins v. State, 105 So. 3d 470, 472-73 (Fla. 2012) (applying definitions from chapter 985 when interpreting section 784.082, Florida Statutes (2007), to determine whether a "detention facility" as used in section 784.082 included juvenile detention centers). The Act requires that a defendant previously have been "released from a state correctional facility operated by the [DOC]." § 775.082(9)(a)(1)....