Florida/Georgia Personal Injury & Workers Compensation

...A detention hearing was held the next day before Judge Richard Hood, a senior judge covering the juvenile delinquency docket. The child had a total score of two points on the Risk Assessment Instrument and therefore did not meet the general criteria for detention under section 985.245, Florida Statutes (2007)....

...An order detaining a child in the custody of the state pending a juvenile delinquency hearing must comply with the statutes authorizing juvenile detention. See R.W. v. Soud, 639 So.2d 25 (Fla.1994); S.W. v. Woolsey, 673 So.2d 152 (Fla. 1st DCA 1996). Section 985.24 provides that a child may be detained only for the specific reasons given in the statute. Additionally, section 985.245 states that, in the absence of a specific statutory exception, an order placing a child in detention "shall be based on a risk assessment of the child." The risk assessment is done uniformly throughout the state on a standardized document known as a Risk Assessment Instrument....

...not appropriate." Other parts of *867 Chapter 985 also reveal a legislative intent to minimize the use of detention. For example, section 985.115(1) states, "A child taken into custody shall be released from custody as soon as reasonably possible." Section 985.24(2) prohibits the use of detention to allow a parent to avoid responsibility, to facilitate the interrogation of a child, to permit more convenient access to a child, or because an appropriate housing facility is not available. And section 985.24(4) directs that the Department of Juvenile Justice shall "continue to identify alternatives to secure detention." If a trial judge were to treat the power to detain a child as a purely discretionary power, the purpose of the detention statute would be subverted....

...is "[p]ursuant to an order of the circuit court issued under this chapter." § 985.101, Fla. Stat. (2007); see also A.K., 951 So.2d at 991 ("In Florida, the detention of juveniles is governed completely by statute."); accord R.G., 817 So.2d at 1020. Section 985.24 of the Florida Statutes, entitled "Use of detention; prohibitions," clearly and unambiguously sets forth the grounds on which a child may be detained. See § 985.24(1)(a)-(e), Fla. Stat. (2007). Absent a statutory exception, see § 985.255(2), Fla. Stat. (2007), an order placing a child in detention must be based "primarily" upon at least one of those grounds and supported by a proper "risk assessment of the child." § 985.245(1), Fla. Stat. (2007); R.W. v. Soud, 639 So.2d 25, 26-27 (Fla.1994) ("[A]bsent the findings required by subsection (1) [of section 985.24] and the risk assessment required by [section 985.245(1)], detention of a juvenile is not permitted either before or after adjudication.")....

...dministration, or for violating any provision *311 of this chapter or order of the court relative thereto." § 985.037(1), Fla. Stat. (2007) (emphasis added); see also R.G., 817 So.2d at 1019 (holding that "[s]ection 985.213(2)(a) [now renumbered as section 985.245(1)] is clear in its requirement that all determinations and court orders regarding detention be based on a risk assessment of the child[,]" but noting that the trial court also may base an order of detention on the contempt statute)....

...3d DCA 1983). Petition granted. NOTES [1] In 1994, when R.W. issued, the statutory language supporting this conclusion of the Florida Supreme Court appeared in sections 39.042(1) and (3) of the Florida Statutes (1993). Compare § 39.042, Fla. Stat. (1993) with § 985.24(1), Fla. Stat. (2007); § 985.245(1), Fla. Stat. (2007). [2] A Risk Assessment Instrument (RAI) is a standardized document developed cooperatively by interested state agencies and utilized statewide in determinations regarding placement of a child in detention care. § 985.245(1), (2)(a)....

...would appear for trial if he was released; and 3) A.K.'s DCF case manager did not appear at the hearing on the motion for custody release. There is no support under Florida law for continuing to detain a child in secure detention for the reasons the trial judge gave. Section 985.24(1)(a), Florida Statutes, does provide that a finding that a child presents "a substantial risk of not appearing at a subsequent hearing" is a legitimate basis for determining that secure detention should be ordered....

...Because the parties contend that the situation herein has arisen before and may reoccur, we write briefly to explain why *296 J.J.'s detention was improper. As this Court stated in B.M. v. Dobuler, 979 So.2d 308 (Fla. 3d DCA 2008), a child's secure detention must follow strict statutory criteria. Section 985.24(2)(b), Florida Statutes (2009), prohibits detaining a child to permit administrative access to the child....

...strue related statutory provisions in harmony with one another.” Larimore v. State, 2 So.3d 101, 106 (Fla.2008) (alterations in original) (quoting Heart of Adoptions, Inc. v. J.A., 963 So.2d 189, 199 (Fla.2007)) (internal quotation marks omitted). Section 985.24 provides that all detention care determinations must be based on certain findings enumerated in the statute and may not be based on other expressly prohibited findings. The enumerated legitimate finding applicable to B.R.’s case is that the juvenile “[pjresents a substantial risk of not appearing at a subsequent hearing.” § 985.24(l)(a)....

...The petitioner’s argument is well taken, and the State concedes as much. The circuit judge’s view was that adding points for the type of prior commitment — high risk — was not tantamount to scoring extra points for criminal history. However, there is nothing in the statute governing juvenile pretrial detention, section 985.24, Florida Statutes (2011), nor in the case law that would justify such a fine distinction....

...Because the parties contend that the situation herein has arisen before and may reoccur, we write briefly to explain why *296 J.J.’s detention was improper. As this Court stated in B.M. v. Dobuler, 979 So.2d 308 (Fla. 3d DCA 2008), a child’s secure detention must follow strict statutory criteria. Section 985.24(2)(b), Florida Statutes (2009), prohibits detaining a child to permit administrative access to the child....

...Dep't of Health & Rehabilitative Servs. v. Nourse, 437 So.2d 221 (Fla. 4th DCA 1983). With respect to B.N.'s emergency habeas petition, we granted relief because petitioner had already completed 21 days of juvenile detention for his offenses, and his hold thus expired. Section 985.24(2)(d), Florida Statutes, provides that a juvenile alleged to have committed a delinquent act or violation of the law may not be placed into secure, nonsecure or home detention "[d]ue to a lack of more appropriate facilities." It follow...

...pre-adjudication detention period of section 985.26(2) to secure detention whenever a juvenile is alleged to have violated a condition of home detention. This is inconsistent with the statutory scheme. At the hearing, the State correctly noted that section 985.24(l)(d) permits the use of secure detention in some circumstances to punish contempt of court....

...The child was later detained and placed in secure detention to await the adjudication hearing. An order detaining a child in the custody of the state pending a juvenile delinquency hearing must comply with the statutes authorizing *62 juvenile detention. See R.W. v. Soud, 639 So.2d 25 (Fla.1994). Section 985.24, Florida Statutes, provides that a child may be detained only for the specific reasons given in the statute. Additionally, section 985.245 states that, in the absence of a specific statutory exception, an order placing a child in detention "shall be based on a risk assessment of the child." The risk assessment is done uniformly throughout the state on a standardized document known as a Risk Assessment Instrument ("RAI")....

...Subtracting those fourteen points improperly included in the RAI, petitioner correctly scored eight points, which did not qualify her for secure detention. The circuit court is strictly prohibited from ordering detention because of a lack of a better alternative. § 985.24(2)(d)....

...Petitioner has filed a Petition for Writ of Habeas Corpus, correctly contending that once she was committed, the trial court lost the authority to direct when and where the child should be placed by DCF and that it was error to order her to be held in secure detention pending placement. See § 985.24(2)(d), Fla....

...y provisions in harmony with one another." Larimore v. State, 2 So. 3d 101, 106 (Fla. 2008) (alterations in original) (quoting Heart of Adoptions, Inc. v. J.A., 963 So. 2d 189, 199 (Fla. 2007)) (internal quotation marks omitted). Section 985.24 provides that all detention care determinations must be based on certain findings enumerated in the statute and may not be based on other expressly prohibited findings. The enumerated legitimate finding applicable to B.R.'s case is that the juvenile "[p]resents a substantial risk of not appearing at a subsequent hearing." § 985.24(1)(a)....