Barns v. StateBarns v. State
Petitioner Robert Barns was charged earlier this year with DUI manslaughter based on an automobile accident that resulted in the death of a nine-month-old child. He was released on a $100,000 bond. One of the conditions of his bond was that he consume no alcohol.
The state moved to revoke petitioner‘s bond. At a hearing on March 24, 2000, Officer David Kelley of the Palm Beach Shores Police Department testified that he encountered petitioner in a highly intoxicated state on March 22, 2000. Barns‘s wife testified that she and her husband were in the process of getting a divorce. She said Barns had come over to her home on the night of March 22 to work out a settlement; after dinner she and petitioner drank alcohol, two glasses of Grand Marnier each. As an alternative to detention, a third witness discussed an in-patient program in a non-securе facility where a patient is free to leave if he or she so chooses.
The state moved that the original bond be revoked, that a new bond of $250,000 be set, and that petitioner wear an ankle bracelet for monitoring house arrest, in addition to the othеr conditions of the original bond.
The trial judge ruled that it was necessary to incarcerate petitioner before trial in order to protect the community from physical harm. He acknowledged that such a showing might not have been sufficient to revoke bond undеr the prevailing case law in this district at the time. Even so, the judge said releasing Barns would place the community at risk of physical harm no matter what amount of bond or other condition was imposed.
In his petition, Barns relied primarily on Paul v. Jenne, 728 So.2d 1167 (Fla. 4th DCA), rev. granted, 741 So.2d 1137 (Fla. 1999), to argue that the trial court‘s decision to revoke bond failеd to comply with the pretrial detention statute,
On April 24, 2000, we denied the petition for writ of habeas corpus by order, indicating that an opinion would follow. The court had tentatively voted to consider this case en banc for the purpose of receding frоm Paul as well as from Metzger v. Cochran, 694 So.2d 842 (Fla. 4th DCA 1997) and Merdian v. Cochran, 654 So.2d 573 (Fla. 4th DCA 1995). We found it to be significant that this case involved the revocation of a preexisting bond, one that had been set at the commencement of this case, and we intended to adopt the general lines of the dissent in Thomas v. Jenne, 766 So.2d 320 (Fla. 4th DCA 2000) (Gross, J., dissenting). The Thomas dissent contended that the revocation of a preexisting bond did not have to comply with the pretrial detention statute, and that, instead, such a revocation properly traveled under the more general provisions of
The legislature sent a clear signal about revocation of existing bonds during the 2000 session. While proposed opinions wеre still circulating through the court, the legislature passed Chapters 2000-178 and 2000-229, Laws of Florida.1 Those statutes
The decisions in Paul v. Jenne, Merdian v. Cochran, and Metzger v. Cochran
Paul involved a defendant charged with attempted second degree murder. He was released on a $25,000 bond. While out on bond, he was arrestеd for firearms offenses, possession of cannabis, and possession of drug paraphernalia. The state moved to revoke the defendant‘s bond on the original charge and detain him without bond pending trial. See Paul, 728 So.2d at 1167.
After an evidentiary bond revocation hearing, the trial judge revoked the defendant‘s bond and remanded him into custody without bond pending trial. Ruling on the defendant‘s petition for writ of habeas corpus, we cited to Metzger to point out that where an existing bond is revoked, “a refusal `to impose any conditions of release thеreafter constitutes pretrial detention, the need for which the State must prove... beyond a reasonable doubt.‘” Id. at 1168 (quoting Metzger, 694 So.2d at 843).
The parties conceded that if the pretrial detention statute applied, the only section authorizing detention would be
We rejected thе state‘s invitation to reexamine our position that “the trial court has no discretion to refuse readmission to bond upon breach of a bond condition, absent proof of the pretrial detention factors in section 907.041.” Id. at 1169. We certified conflict with Houser v. Manning, 719 So.2d 307 (Fla. 3d DCA 1998). See id. at 1172. In doing so we gave deference to the legislative intent that we discerned behind the statute:
Although we agree with Houser that a trial court has the authority to revoke a defendant‘s bond under pretrial release rules allowing arrest and recommitment for bond violations, and pursuant to the court‘s inherent power to enfоrce its own orders, we disagree that a trial court has the absolute discretion to deny bond unless a defendant meets the criteria for detention without bond under the pretrial detention statutes. By breaching a condition of the bond originally set by the court, a defendant forfeits the right to continued release under the terms of that bond. However, the defendant does not forfeit his or her constitutionally guaranteed right to bail altogether; a refusal to readmit a defendant to any bail at all must be subject to the limitations of the pretrial detention statute.
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We continue to hold, as we did in Merdian and Metzger, that the court‘s authority to deny bond pending trial is circumscribed by the provisions of Florida Statute section 907.041. The legislature has specifically delineated and narrowly limited those circumstances under which bond may be denied. We have nо difficulty divining the legislative intent to curtail the court‘s power to deny bail, except in certain instances, in light of the constitutionally guaranteed right to bail.
Paul, 728 So.2d at 1171 (emphasis omitted).
Metzger and Merdian both involved cases where a defendant‘s bond was revoked and pretrial detention ordered because of a violation of a condition of an earlier bond. In Merdian, the condition was a no contact provision with the victim; in Metzger, the defendant violated a condition concerning the use of illegal drugs by testing positive for cannabis in his urine. It was these cases that Paul relied upon in requiring compliance with
Chapter 2000-178, Laws of Florida
The Governor approved Chapter 2000-178 on June 2, 2000. The statute amends and adds to the bond and pretrial release statutes to address the situation that arose in Paul.2 One addition to
(2) When determining whether to release a defendant on bail or other conditions, and what that bail or those cоnditions may be, the court shall consider:
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(j)Whether there is probable cause to believe that the defendant committed a new crime while on pretrial release.
Ch.2000-178, § 1, at 1466-67, Laws of Fla.
Significantly, the legislature created
903.0471 Violation of condition of pretrial release.—Notwithstanding s. 907.041, a court may, on its own motion, revoke pretrial release and order pretrial detention if the court finds probable cause to believe that the defendant committed a new crime while on pretrial release.
Ch.2000-178, § 3, at 1469, Laws of Fla.
Finally, section 5 of the new statute repealed
Had these statutory changes been in effect when Paul was decided, this court would have upheld the trial court‘s decision to remand the defendant into custody without bond.
Chapter 2000-229, Laws of Florida
The Governor approved Chapter 2000-229 on June 6, 2000. The statute makes substantial changes to
(b) The court may order pretrial detention if it finds a substantial probability, based on a defendant‘s past and present patterns of bеhavior, the criteria in s. 903.046, and any other relevant facts, that any of the following circumstances exists:
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7. The defendant has violated one or more conditions of pretrial release or bond for the offense currently before the court and the violation, in the discretion of the court, supports a finding that no conditions of release can reasonably protect the community from risk of physical harm to persons or assure the presence of the accused at trial.
Ch.2000-229, § 2, at 1708-09, Laws of Fla. (new statutory language underlined).3 This amendment negates the holdings of Merdian and Metzger.
Application of the 2000 Amendments to this Case
It is proper to consider the 2000 legislation in arriving at the correct interpretation of the pretrial detention statute. See, e.g., Gamble v. State, 723 So.2d 905, 907 (Fla. 5th DCA 1999). As the supreme court has noted:
The rule seems to be well established [that] the interpretation of a statute by the legislative department goes far to remove doubt as to the meaning of the law. The court has the right and the duty, in arriving at the correct meaning of a prior statute, to consider subsequent legislation.
Gay v. Canada Dry Bottling Co. of Florida, 59 So.2d 788, 790 (Fla.1952) (quoting General Petroleum Corp. of Cal. v. Smith, 62 Ariz. 239, 157 P.2d 356, 360 (1945)).
In creating
The legislature also made it clear that this court‘s interpretation of the pretrial detention statutе too severely limited the trial court‘s discretion on bond issues. The statutory changes plainly implement the trial court‘s discretion to impose pretrial detention within the limits of
If no conditions of releasе can reasonably protect the community from risk of physical harm to persons, assure the presence of the accused at trial, or assure the integrity of the judicial process, the accused may be detained.
For these reasons, we deny the petition for writ of habeas corpus.
STONE and POLEN, JJ., concur.