Florida Statutes

Fla. Stat. § 784.082 (2025)

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.

✓ 2025 Florida Statutes — current through the 2025 Regular Session
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784.082 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.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 detention facility or upon any other detainee in the detention facility, the offense for which the person is charged shall be reclassified as follows:
(1) In the case of aggravated battery, from a felony of the second degree to a felony of the first degree.
(2) In the case of aggravated assault, from a felony of the third degree to a felony of the second degree.
(3) 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.
History.s. 4, ch. 96-293.

Arrestable Offenses under F.S. 784.082

M = misdemeanor · F = felony · degree: F=1st S=2nd T=3rd
§784.082(1)AGGRAV BATTERYAGG BATT PERSON DETAINED IN PRISON/JAIL FACILF · 1st
§784.082(2)ASSAULTRENUMBERED. SEE REC # 10485F · 2nd
§784.082(2)AGGRAV ASSAULTAGG ASSLT BY PERSON DETAIN IN PRISON/JAIL FACF · 2nd
§784.082(3)BATTERYBATTERY BY PERSN DETAINED IN PRISON/JAIL FACILF · 3rd
§784.082(4)SIMPLE ASSLTASSAULT BY PERSN DETAINED IN PRISON/JAIL FACILM · 1st
Notes of Decisions
Cited in 26 cases (3 in the last 5 years), 2002–2024 · leading case: Hopkins v. State, 105 So. 3d 470 (Fla. 2012).
Hopkins v. State, 105 So. 3d 470 (Fla. 2012). · cites it 37× “§ 784.082, Fla. Stat. (2007) (emphasis added); see also ch.”
Hughes v. State, 901 So. 2d 837 (Fla. 2005). · cites it 5× “2d at 1071-72 ; see § 784.082, Fla. Stat. (1997) (providing that the offense is a third-degree felony).”
State of Florida v. Harry James Chubbuck, 141 So. 3d 1163 (Fla. 2014). · cites it 2× “0026(2)(d), it could have said so. See Hopkins v. State, 105 So.”
& SC13-2330 Michael A. Hernandez, Jr. v. State of Florida & Michael A. Hernandez, Jr. v. Julie L. Jones, etc., 180 So. 3d 978 (Fla. 2015). · cites it 4× “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…”
United States v. Clifford B. Gandy, Jr., 917 F.3d 1333 (11th Cir. 2019). “Fla. Stat. § 784.082 (3). Because section 784.”
In re Stand. Jury Instructions in Crim. Cases—Report No. 2011-03, 95 So. 3d 868 (Fla. 2012). · cites it 2× “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…”
V.K.E. v. State, 934 So. 2d 1276 (Fla. 2006). · cites it 2× “Several are inconsistent with the concept of domestic violence, see § 784.082, Fla. Stat. (2005) (assault or battery by person who is being detained in a prison, jail, etc.”
Green v. State, 84 So. 3d 356 (Fla. 1st DCA 2012). · cites it 5× “045, Florida Statutes, and aggravated battery with a deadly weapon upon another detainee in a detention facility, pursuant to section 784.082, Florida Statutes. He asserts that the dual convictions violate the double jeopardy clause.”
Fenelon v. State, 932 So. 2d 431 (Fla. 4th DCA 2006). · cites it 2× “See § 784.082(3), Fla. Stat. (1999); Johnson v.”
Dasher v. Attorney Gen., Florida, 574 F.3d 1310 (11th Cir. 2009). “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). The latter plea was pursuant to a…”
T.C. v. State, 852 So. 2d 276 (Fla. 1st DCA 2003). · cites it 3× “Nothing in section 784.082 indicates that the statute applies to juveniles held in juvenile facilities.”
Deon Lionel Wilson v. Warden, FCC Coleman, 581 F. App'x 750 (11th Cir. 2014). “Under Florida law, “battery by a detainee” occurs when a person who is being detained in a prison, jail, or other detention facility commits battery upon any visitor to the detention facility or upon any other detainee in the detention center.”
— 784.082(1) — 2 cases
Hughes v. State, 901 So. 2d 837 (Fla. 2005). “2d at 1071-72 ; see § 784.082, Fla. Stat. (1997) (providing that the offense is a third-degree felony).”
State v. Converse, 78 So. 3d 78 (Fla. 5th DCA 2012).
— 784.082(3) — 8 cases
Hughes v. State, 901 So. 2d 837 (Fla. 2005). “2d at 1071-72 ; see § 784.082, Fla. Stat. (1997) (providing that the offense is a third-degree felony).”
& SC13-2330 Michael A. Hernandez, Jr. v. State of Florida & Michael A. Hernandez, Jr. v. Julie L. Jones, etc., 180 So. 3d 978 (Fla. 2015). “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…”
Fenelon v. State, 932 So. 2d 431 (Fla. 4th DCA 2006). “See § 784.082(3), Fla. Stat. (1999); Johnson v.”
T.C. v. State, 852 So. 2d 276 (Fla. 1st DCA 2003). “Nothing in section 784.082 indicates that the statute applies to juveniles held in juvenile facilities.”
— 784.082(3)(d) — 1 case
Page v. State, 74 So. 3d 1131 (Fla. 5th DCA 2011).
Annotations are extracted automatically from the opinions in the Syfert caselaw corpus and ranked by authority, recency, and treatment. Dots show Syfertize treatment of the citing case itself.

This Florida statute resource is curated by this site's author, a Jacksonville, Florida criminal defense attorney (Florida Bar No. 39104). Attorney Syfert regularly handles Chapter 784 matters in the context of assault and battery defense and represents clients throughout Northeast Florida. For legal consultation, call 904-383-7448.