CopyCited 3 times | Published | Florida 5th District Court of Appeal | 2012 WL 3870519, 2012 Fla. App. LEXIS 14996
...as a sexual offender. Therefore, the petition for certio- *1127 rari is granted and the April 23, 2012, order is quashed. PETITION GRANTED, ORDER QUASHED. ORFINGER, C.J., TORPY and JACOBUS, JJ., concur. . This action was not filed pursuant to either section
943.04354, Florida Statutes (2012), or section
943.0435(11), Florida Statutes (2012).
CopyCited 3 times | Published | Florida 2nd District Court of Appeal | 2012 WL 2613556, 2012 Fla. App. LEXIS 10889
...Welch entered a guilty plea, and on March 6, 2001, the trial court placed Welch on ten years’ probation and declared him a sexual offender. On April 14, 2011, Welch filed a petition for removal of the requirement to register as a sexual offender pursuant to section 943.04354, Florida Statutes (2010)....
...Welch requested that the court exercise its discretion and remove him from the sex offender registry. The State acknowledged that the offense dealt with “consensual” conduct. However, the State argued that Welch did not meet one of the requirements of the statute to allow the circuit court to exercise its discretion. Section 943.04354 provides as follows: (1) For purposes of this section, a person shall be considered for removal of the requirement to register as a sexual offender or sexual predator only if the person: [[Image here]] (c) Is not more than 4 years o...
...Co. v. Kaklamanos,
843 So.2d 885 (Fla.2003)). The statute at issue here plainly states that the defendant shall be considered for removal from the registry only if the offender “[i]s not more than 4 years older than the victim of this violation.” §
943.04354(l)(c)....
...Welch is more than four years older than the victim because he is four years, two months, and twenty days older than the victim. See State v. Marcel,
67 So.3d 1223, 1225 (Fla. 3d DCA 2011) (determining that the defendant did not meet the requirement of section
943.04354(l)(c) when he was four years, three months, and eight days older than the victim); State v. Samuels,
76 So.3d 1109, 1110 (Fla. 5th DCA 2011) (determining that the defendant did not meet the requirement of section
943.04354(l)(c) when he was four years, one month, and twenty-one days older than the victim)....
CopyCited 2 times | Published | Florida 5th District Court of Appeal | 2009 Fla. App. LEXIS 10972, 2009 WL 2407656
...Miller was sentenced as a youthful offender to six years probation. [2] Miller filed a motion for early termination of probation, which the court granted on June 8, 2007. Miller subsequently filed a motion requesting that he be removed from the sex offender registry as permitted in section 943.04354, Florida Statutes (2007)....
...emoval from the registry under Florida law. Three separate hearings on Miller's motion were conducted. Miller made three arguments: that the offense to which he entered his plea did not require proof that the act in question was not consensual; that section 943.04354, Florida Statutes (2007), does not expressly require that the offense in question involve consensual conduct; and, in any event, that the sex act between Miller and the victim was, in fact, consensual. Evidence was offered on the consent issue. Subsequently, the trial court entered a written order denying Millers motion. The trial court acknowledged that section 943.04354, Florida Statutes, makes no direct reference to a consent requirement, but concluded that the statute must be read in conjunction with federal law because section 943.04354 requires that removal from the Florida registry must not conflict with federal law....
...Upon conviction for a violation of section
800.04, Florida Statutes, as well as other enumerated sections, a defendant is automatically designated a sexual offender and *780 subject to registration requirements contained in section
943.0435, Florida Statutes. However, under section
943.04354, a new law, effective July 1, 2007, a defendant designated as a sexual offender for such a conviction may petition the sentencing court for removal from the sex offender registry if he meets certain criteria. Specifically, section
943.04354, provides: (1) For purposes of this section, a person shall be considered for removal of the requirement to register as a sexual offender or sexual predator only if the person: (a) Was or will be convicted or adjudicated delinquent of a violation of s....
...y had done so. [7] Because a consensual act is a prerequisite for removal from the sex offender registry and Miller was unable to persuade the trial court that the offense of which he was convicted was consensual, he is not entitled to removal under section 943.04354, Florida Statutes....
CopyCited 1 times | Published | Florida 5th District Court of Appeal | 2013 WL 4764639, 2013 Fla. App. LEXIS 14319
...n of section
800.04(4)(a), Florida Statutes (2001). This conviction necessitated his registration as a sexual offender for life. §
943.0435, Fla. Stat. (2001). Ten years later, he petitioned to have that registration requirement removed pursuant to section
943.04354(3)(b), Florida Statutes (2012), which requires, among other things, that Caragol be no more than four years older than the victim, who must have been fourteen years of age but not older than seventeen years of age at the time of the offense. §§
943.04354(l)(c), (3)(b), Fla....
...years of sexual offender probation. As an aside, Caragol subsequently violated his probation when he committed a new law violation and was sentenced to four years in prison followed by five years of administrative probation. The Legislature enacted section 943.04354, Florida Statutes (in 2007, which makes it a relatively new enactment), in apparent recognition of the rather harsh *643 consequences that often result from compliance with the sexual offender registration requirements....
...t. Therefore, to avail himself of the statute’s removal provisions, Caragol was required to allege (in a properly filed petition) and establish enumerated statutory criteria that includes the age requirements concerning himself and the victim. See § 943.04354(l)(c), Fla....
...(2012) (requiring the defendant to allege and establish that he “[i]s not more than 4 years older than the victim of this violation who was 14 years of age or older but not more than 17 years of age at the time the person committed this violation.”); § 943.04354(3)(b), Fla....
...(2012) (requiring a petition be filed alleging that all of the requirements of subsection one of the statute are met). We specifically address the age criterion to the exclusion of the others because it constitutes the contested issue between the parties. An evidentiary hearing was held pursuant to section 943.04354(3)(b), and the order granting Caragol’s petition was rendered....
...ice. 1 See State v. Welch,
94 So.3d 631 (Fla. 2d DCA 2012). The age criterion is one of several statutory requirements that must be established in order to bestow on the trial court the discretion to remove the offender registration requirement. See §
943.04354(3)(b), Fla....
...uirement.” (emphasis added)); Vann v. State,
99 So.3d 633, 633 (Fla. 1st DCA 2012) (“In order to qualify for removal of the registration requirement, appellant had to establish he was ‘not more than 4 years older than the victim’ pursuant to section
943.04354(l)(c), Florida Statutes.”); State v. Samuels,
76 So.3d 1109, 1110-11 (Fla. 5th DCA 2011) (determining that the defendant was not entitled to removal because he was four years, one month, and twenty-one days older than the victim and therefore did not meet the requirement of section
943.04354(1)(c)); State v. Marcel,
67 So.3d 1223, 1225 (Fla. 3d DCA 2011) (“If a defendant is one day past the four-year eligibility limit prescribed by section
943.04354 of the Florida Statutes, he is ineligible to petition for relief.”)....
...the factual circumstances presented before it are not the “circumstances that the statute was intended to protect society from.” The trial court did not have the discretion to remove this designation absent a finding that Caragol qualified under section 943.04354 (and that necessarily included a finding that the age criterion was established)....
...The Petition for *645 Writ of Certiorari is granted and the order under review is quashed. PETITION GRANTED and ORDER QUASHED. EVANDER and BERGER, JJ., concur. . We note an anomaly of sorts that permits a dissatisfied defendant to appeal an order denying a motion under section 943.04354, while the State is required to seek certiorari review of an order granting such a motion....
CopyCited 1 times | Published | Florida 3rd District Court of Appeal | 2011 Fla. App. LEXIS 13744, 2011 WL 3820700
...As a consequence of plea, Marcel automatically was designated a sexual offender, subject to lifetime registration and reporting requirements contained in section
943.0435, Florida Statutes (2001). . Seven years after the offense, the Florida Legislature added section
943.04354 to the Florida Statutes, providing an exception to the stigma of sex offender registration for consensual conduct by young people who satisfy certain specific conditions — -so-called “Romeo and Juliet offenders.” See §
943.04354, Fla....
...One of the criteria for relief is that the defendant be “not more than [four] years older than the victim of th[e] violation who was [fourteen] years of age or older but not more than [seventeen] years of age at the time the person committed th[e] violation.” § 943.04354(l)(c), Fla....
...The State seeks reversal on the ground the trial court erred in its finding that this criteria was satisfied. For the reasons stated below, we agree with the State. The disagreement in this case revolves around the application of the phrase “not more than” in section 943.04354(l)(c) of the Florida Statutes....
...age for legislative intent or resort to rules of statutory construction to ascertain intent” (quoting Daniels v. Fla. Dep’t of Health,
898 So.2d 61, 64-65 (Fla.2005))). If a defendant is one day past the four-year eligibility limit prescribed by section
943.04354 of the Florida Statutes, he is ineligible to petition for relief....
CopyPublished | Florida 1st District Court of Appeal | 2012 Fla. App. LEXIS 18955, 2012 WL 5350152
...Appellant seeks review of the trial court’s denial of his motion for removal of the sexual offender registration requirement. In order to qualify for removal of the registration requirement, appellant had to establish he was “not more than 4 years older than the victim” pursuant to section 943.04354(l)(c), Florida Statutes....
CopyPublished | Florida 3rd District Court of Appeal | 2016 Fla. App. LEXIS 16670
... Keith Wromas appeals the denial of his motion to correct illegal sentence
under Florida Rule of Criminal Procedure 3.800, which in essence was a petition
for removal of the requirement to register as a sexual offender under the “Romeo
and Juliet Law,” section 943.04354 of the Florida Statutes (2016)....
...offender designation.
Although the statute provides for only one petition, the summary denial of
Wromas’ 2009 request for removal of designation also does not preclude
3
considering his most recent request. § 943.04354(2)(b) (“If the court denies the
motion, the person is not authorized under this section to file another motion for
removal of the registration requirement.”)....
CopyPublished | Florida 2nd District Court of Appeal | 2013 WL 6223408, 2013 Fla. App. LEXIS 18909
MORRIS, Judge. Eugene K. Horton, III, appeals the dismissal of his petition for removal of the requirement to register as a sexual offender under the “Romeo and Juliet Law.” See § 943.04354, Fla. Stat. (2013). We affirm the trial court’s dismissal of Mr. Horton’s petition as facially insufficient because Mr. Horton failed to allege that removal of the registration requirement would not conflict with federal law. See § 943.04354(3)(b)....
CopyPublished | Florida 5th District Court of Appeal | 2013 WL 6122128, 2013 Fla. App. LEXIS 18574
PER CURIAM. Affirmed. This affirmance is without prejudice to Calhoun’s right to file a petition under section 943.04354, Florida Stat *611 utes, should he conclude that he has grounds to do so....
CopyPublished | Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit
Argued: Nov 9, 2023
...05(1) unconstitutional as ap-
plied to a 16-year-old who had consensual sexual activity with another 16-year-
old. See B.B. v. State,
659 So. 2d 256, 260 (Fla. 1995) (plurality opinion).
A separate Florida statute, Fla. Stat. §
943.04354, allows a person convicted of
violating Fla....
...gation to register as a sex offender or sexual predator if he or she meets certain
criteria. One of the requirements is that the person was not more than four
years older than the victim—who was 13 to 17 years old—at the time of the
violation. See § 943.04354(1)(c).
USCA11 Case: 22-10971 Document: 43-1 Date Filed: 05/20/2024 Page: 12 of 30
12 Opinion of the Court 22-10971
L.L.N....
CopyPublished | Florida 2nd District Court of Appeal | 2013 Fla. App. LEXIS 3659, 2013 WL 845590
...ndividuals with a 4-year gap in age and the defendant or offender required to be under the age of 18.” As a result of this interpretation of the statute, Mr. Martinez’s attorney advised the trial court that his client did not qualify for relief. Section 943.04354 was enacted in 2007; 3 the subsection describing the persons eligible for consideration states: (1) For purposes of this section, a person shall be considered for removal of the requirement to register as a sexual offender or sexual...
...The record in this appeal contains the transcript from the hearing on that motion, but not the motion itself. The attorney was not certain why the court had determined at the original sentencing hearing that Mr. Martinez was not eligible for consideration under section 943.04354....
...We conclude that counsel was ineffective in failing to read the statute with sufficient care to determine that it applied. To the extent that Mr. Martinez wishes to withdraw his plea, this error does not justify such relief. We conclude, however, that he is entitled to have one hearing pursuant to section 943.04354 where the trial court knows that the statute applies and, thus, can exercise its discretion to either grant or deny relief....
...It is doubtful that the legislature intends this statute to be addressed by a motion under rule 3.800(c). That rule provides for discretionary relief from the trial court to reduce or modify a sentence for sixty days following the sentencing hearing. Subsections 943.04354(2) and (3) state that a person who is denied removal of this requirement cannot further petition under the rule for such removal. A motion under rule 3.800(c) would seem to be such a further petition. . Section 943.04354(2), Florida Statutes (2008) provides: (2) If a person meets the criteria in subsection (1) and the violation of s....
...not conflict with federal law, it may grant the motion and order the removal of the registration requirement. If the court denies the motion, the person is not authorized under this section to petition for removal of the registration requirement. . Section 943.04354(3), Florida Statutes (2008) provides: (3)(a) This subsection applies to a person who: 1....
CopyPublished | Florida 2nd District Court of Appeal
...See Givens v.
State,
851 So. 2d 813, 814-15 (Fla. 2d DCA 2003), review denied,
917
So. 2d 193 (Fla. 2005); cf. Hurtado v. State,
332 So. 3d 15, 17 (Fla. 2d
DCA 2021) ("Finally, we are not troubled by the application of the current
version of the ["Romeo and Juliet"] statute [section
943.04354] to
Hurtado....
CopyPublished | Florida 4th District Court of Appeal | 2010 Fla. App. LEXIS 8647, 2010 WL 2382605
...Upon his petition, a Washington court agreed to lift the requirement that Adams register as a sexual offender. Adams subsequently moved to Florida where he petitioned the Circuit Court of Broward County to remove the requirement that he register as a sexual offender in Florida pursuant to section 943.04354(1), Florida Statutes (2007), which provides: (1) For purposes of this section, a person shall be considered for removal of the requirement to register as a sexual offender or sexual predator only if the person: (a) Was or will be convicted or adjudicated delinquent of a violation of s....
...847.0135(5); (b) Is required to register as a sexual offender or sexual predator solely on the basis of this violation; and (c) Is not more than 4 years older than the victim of this violation who was 14 years of age or older but not more than 17 years of age at the time the person committed this violation. § 943.04354(1), Fla. Stat. (2007). The trial court denied Adams' petition based on its determination that section 943.04354 was limited to convictions under Florida statutes and did not reference convictions for analogous offenses in other states....
...The court also noted that if the FDLE refused to lift Adams' registration requirement, Adams could file a petition for writ of mandamus in the appropriate circuit court. Instead of proceeding on the trial court's advice, Adams appealed to this court. We hold that litigating under section 943.04354(1) was premature....
...file a petition for writ of mandamus. Thus, we need not reach the constitutional/full faith and credit issues Adams has raised on appeal. Also, we note that neither the trial court's dismissal nor our decision is a determination on the merits under section 943.04354(1) and thus should not be construed to potentially bar Adams from bringing another claim under section 943.04354(1) if necessary in the future....
...ute at issue is within Title XLVII Criminal Corrections and Procedure. Affirmed in part, reversed in part, and remanded. GERBER and LEVINE, JJ., concur. NOTES [1] Section
943.0435(11)(b), Florida Statutes (2007), provides: (11) Except as provided in s.
943.04354, a sexual offender must maintain registration with the department for the duration of his or her life, unless the sexual offender has received a full pardon or has had a conviction set aside in a postconviction proceeding for any offense...
CopyPublished | Florida 3rd District Court of Appeal
...lascivious battery on a child between the age of twelve and sixteen years under
section
800.04(4), be registered as sexual offenders. The defendant’s sentence is
therefore not illegal. We also conclude that, although the defendant met the
requirements specified under section
943.04354, Florida Statutes (2015), which
permits persons convicted of one of the enumerated sexual offenses to petition for
removal from the sex offender registry, the trial court did not abuse its discretion
by determining that the defendant was not an appropriate candidate for relief under
section
943.04354.
In 2000, the defendant was convicted of lewd and lascivious battery on a
child between twelve and sixteen years of age, in violation of section
800.04(4),
which required that the defendant be registered as a sexual offender....
...ntence
based on the sexual offender recordation in the instant case. Noting that the
defendant’s sentence was clearly not illegal, the trial court treated the defendant’s
motion as a petition for removal from the sex offender registry.
Section 943.04354 specifies the criteria necessary to be eligible for
consideration for removal from the sex offender registry....
... defendant is currently serving an eighteen-year prison sentence for violent
offenses. Because the decision whether to grant a petition for removal from the
sex offender registry filed by an offender who meets the criteria under the statute is
discretionary, see § 943.04354(2) (providing that if a defendant meets the criteria
for removal, “[the court] may grant the motion”) (emphasis added); Matos v....
CopyPublished | Florida 5th District Court of Appeal | 2015 Fla. App. LEXIS 19541, 2015 WL 9491858
PER CURIAM. Michael Matos appeals the denial of his petition under section 943.04354, Florida Statutes (2011), the so-called “Romeo and Juliet” statute, for removal of the requirement that he register as a sexual offender....
..., Setting out the uncorroborated PSI evidence to rebut Matos’s testimony served no proper purpose, and was the same error this Court addressed in Matos I. In this current order, though, unlike in Matos I, the trial court also analyzed Ma-tos’s petition under the second, discretionary prong. Section 943.04354(2) specifies that if an offender meets all the criteria for removal,' the court “may grant the motion.” (emphasis added)....
...discretion. Matos is currently serving a life sentence and has been convicted of several previous violent offenses. We find no abuse of discretion in the trial *1196 court’s determination that Matos is not an appropriate candidate for relief under section 943.04354. Therefore, we affirm. AFFIRMED. SAWAYA, COHEN and WALLIS, JJ., concur. . Section 943.04354(2) specifies that removal from the registry must not conflict with federal law....
CopyPublished | Florida 1st District Court of Appeal | 2009 Fla. App. LEXIS 20510, 2009 WL 5151525
...Bill McCollum, Attorney General, Jennifer J. Moore, Assistant Attorney General, Tallahassee, for Appellee. THOMAS, J. Appellant seeks review of his sexual offender designation and argues that he qualifies for exemption from the registration requirements under section 943.04354, Florida Statutes (2008), known as the "Romeo and Juliet Law." Because Appellant was convicted of sex crimes in two separate cases, however, he is ineligible for exemption....
...Appellant entered pleas of guilty to the lesser included offense of lewd or lascivious conduct in both cases. He entered his pleas with the understanding that if the trial judge denied his motion for exemption from the requirement that he register as a sexual offender under section 943.04354, he would be allowed to withdraw his guilty pleas....
...The trial court denied Appellant's motion for exemption, and he was sentenced to three years of incarceration, followed by five years of probation, and designated a sexual offender. On appeal, Appellant argues that he qualifies for exemption from the registration requirement under section 943.04354 because, although he was charged and convicted in two separate cases, requiring him to register as a sexual offender will lead to an absurd result where the Legislature intended to "keep ordinary individuals involved in young love from forever being branded `sexual offenders.'" The State argues that, because Appellant has convictions in two separate cases, section 943.04354 prohibits exemption from registration based on the plain meaning of the statute. Both parties agree that Appellant qualifies for exemption in all other respects. *1251 Section 943.04354, Florida Statutes, provides for removal of the requirement for registration as a sexual offender or sexual predator under certain circumstances where registration would otherwise be mandated. Section 943.04354 provides: (1) For purposes of this section, a person shall be considered for removal of the requirement to register as a sexual offender or sexual predator only if the person: (a) Was or will be convicted or adjudicated delinquent of a violation of s....
...847.0135(5); (b) Is required to register as a sexual offender or sexual predator solely on the basis of this violation; and (c) Is not more than 4 years older than the victim of this violation who was 14 years of age or older but not more than 17 years of age at the time the person committed this violation. § 943.04354, Fla.Stat....
...olling. Jackson County Hosp. Corp. v. Aldrich,
835 So.2d 318, 329 (Fla. 1st DCA 2002). If the language is clear and unambiguous, there is no need to engage in statutory construction, and the statute should be given its plain and obvious meaning. Id. Section
943.04354 includes a requirement that "the person does not have any other conviction, adjudication of delinquency, or withhold of adjudication of guilt for a violation of s....
CopyPublished | Florida 1st District Court of Appeal | 2009 Fla. App. LEXIS 20523, 2009 WL 5151752
...Bill McCollum, Attorney General, and Jennifer J. Moore, Assistant Attorney General, Tallahassee, for Appellee. PER CURIAM. Christopher Simmons appeals an order denying his petition to remove the requirement that he register as a sexual offender which was filed pursuant to section
943.04354, Florida Statutes (2008). The trial court erroneously denied the petition based upon a finding that, because Simmons had been adjudicated guilty of violating section
800.04, Florida Statutes (2000), he was ineligible for relief. See §
943.04354(1)(a) (permitting a defendant to seek relief if he was convicted of violating section
800.04 or if adjudication of guilt is withheld)....
...Section
943.0435, Florida Statutes (2000), provides that a defendant convicted of violating section
800.04, as well as other enumerated offenses, is automatically designated a sexual offender and required to comply with the registration requirements of the statute. However, section
943.04354 permits the defendant to petition the sentencing court for removal from the sex offender registry if he satisfies the criteria of that statute....
CopyPublished | Florida 5th District Court of Appeal | 2011 Fla. App. LEXIS 20892, 2011 WL 6843011
...a sex offender pursuant to section
943.0435 of the Florida Statutes (2009). Samuels filed a motion pursuant to rule 3.180(a) of the Florida Rules of Criminal Procedure arguing that he is exempt from the sexual offender registration requirement under section
943.04354 of the Florida Statutes (2009), commonly referred to as Florida’s Romeo and Juliet law. The statute provides:
943.04354 Removal of the requirement to register as a sexual offender or sexual predator in special circumstances.— (1) For purposes of this section, a person shall be considered for removal of the requirement to register as a sexual offender or se...
...than the victim of this violation who was H years of age or older but not more than 17 years of age at the time the person committed this violation. (Emphasis added). The trial court granted the motion, concluding that Samuels had demonstrated that section 943.04354 was applicable to his case since the victim was 14 years old and Samuels was 18 years old at the time of the offense....
...We disagree. The information in this case shows that the actual difference in age between Samuel and the victim at the time of the offense was four years, one month, and 21 days. “If a defendant is one day past the four-year eligibility limit prescribed by section 943.04354 of the Florida Statutes, he is 00ineligible to petition for relief.” State v....
CopyPublished | Florida 2nd District Court of Appeal | 2012 WL 3629286, 2012 Fla. App. LEXIS 14227
...onal family in their home. But the conditions of Mr. Dukharan’s probation treat the woman as a victim and require that he have no contact with her or the child. In case number 2D10-5602, Mr. Dukharan appeals an order denying his motion filed under section
943.04354, Florida Statutes (2010), for removal of the requirement that he register as a sexual offender. He was entitled to seek removal at this time because his offense occurred prior to July 1, 2007. See §
943.04354(3)(a)(l); cf. Clark v. State,
95 So.3d 986 (Fla. 2d DCA 2012). Nevertheless, he is considerably more than four years older than the young woman and, thus, is statutorily ineligible for this relief. See §
943.04354(1)(c); State v....
CopyPublished | Florida 2nd District Court of Appeal | 2012 WL 3588174, 2012 Fla. App. LEXIS 13894
...Although from this record we cannot determine why the trial court denied this petition, we affirm because the petition was untimely. Mr. Clark’s offense occurred after July 1, 2007. As a result, he needed to raise this issue in a motion filed before his sentencing hearing. See § 943.04354(2). He is not eligible to file a petition after sentencing. See § 943.04354(3)....
...Given that the right to seek removal of the requirement to register as a sexual offender or predator is provided by statute and the defendant is provided only one opportunity to exercise this right, we see no reason not to treat this order as an appealable order. See §
943.04354(2); see also Miller v. State,
17 So.3d 778 (Fla. 5th DCA 2009) (reviewing a similar order without discussion of the jurisdictional basis). Unfortunately for Mr. Clark, section
943.04354 is complex, and he has filed his petition under subsection (3) when it should have been filed under subsection (2). The relevant sections of the statute state:
943.04354 Removal of the requirement to register as a sexual offender or sexual predator in special circumstances.— (1) For purposes of this section, a person shall be considered for removal of the requirement to register as a sexual offender or sexual predator only if the person: (a) ......
...ed before or after midnight of July 1, 2007. For a defendant like Mr. Clark, who committed his offense on or after July 1, 2007, relief must be sought by a motion filed before sentencing and the trial court must rule on the motion at sentencing. See § 943.04354(2). For a defendant who committed an offense before July 1, 2007, there is no requirement that the motion be filed before sentencing. See § 943.04354(3)....
...fficient or unauthorized. The trial court was required to deny this petition as a matter of law, not as an issue of discretion. If we were actually required to review this order for an abuse of discretion, we might have been obligated to reverse it. Section 943.04354 contains no explanation of the facts a trial court must consider in ruling on a motion filed under it....
...whether there is any logic or justification for the result. In the future, almost all of these issues will be resolved at sentencing with an attorney representing the defendant. We are optimistic that records of discretionary decisions made under subsection 943.04354(2) will be more transparent and easier to review for an abuse of discretion than is the order in this case....
CopyPublished | Florida 5th District Court of Appeal | 2013 WL 1775547, 2013 Fla. App. LEXIS 6734
...Appellant entered a no contest plea to the reduced charge and the court sentenced him to sixty-four months in prison. Fourteen years later, Appellant filed a petition with the trial court seeking removal of the requirement to register as a sexual offender. As required by section 943.04354, Florida Statutes (commonly referred to as the Romeo and Juliet statute), Appellant alleged that removal of the registration requirement would not conflict with federal law. See § 943.04354(3)(b), Fla....
...Under section
943.0435, a defendant convicted of violating section
800.04 is automatically designated a sexual offender and required to comply with the registration requirements of the statute. Simmons v. State,
25 So.3d 638, 638 (Fla. 1st DCA 2009); Miller v. State,
17 So.3d 778, 779-80 (Fla. 5th DCA 2009). However, section
943.04354 permits a defendant to petition for removal of the registration requirement if the defendant satisfies the statutory criteria....
...Appellant argues that the court’s finding that his sexual conduct with the victim was not consensual is not supported by competent, substantial evidence because the PSI constituted hearsay and lacked corroborating evidence. We agree. The language of section 943.04354(3)(b), Florida Statutes (2011), suggests that a hearing should be held: (b) A person may petition the court in which the sentence or disposition for the violation of ......
...Nor did Appellant have an opportunity to dispute its contents. The State alternatively argues that the trial court’s ruling should be affirmed because the court has discretion to deny a request for removal even where a defendant demonstrates that he meets all of the statutory criteria. § 943.04354(3)(b), Fla....
