Florida Statute 918.16 | Lawyer Caselaw & Research

The 2024 Florida Statutes

Title XLVII
CRIMINAL PROCEDURE AND CORRECTIONS

Chapter 918
CONDUCT OF TRIAL

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F.S. 918.16

918.16 Sex offenses; testimony of person under age 16 or who has an intellectual disability; testimony of victim; courtroom cleared; exceptions.—

(1) Except as provided in subsection (2), in the trial of any case, civil or criminal, if any person under the age of 16 or any person with an intellectual disability as defined in s. 393.063 is testifying concerning any sex offense, the court shall clear the courtroom of all persons except parties to the cause and their immediate families or guardians, attorneys and their secretaries, officers of the court, jurors, newspaper reporters or broadcasters, court reporters, and, at the request of the victim, victim or witness advocates designated by the state attorney’s office.

(2) If the victim of a sex offense is testifying concerning that offense in any civil or criminal trial, the court shall clear the courtroom of all persons upon the request of the victim, regardless of the victim’s age or mental capacity, except that parties to the cause and their immediate families or guardians, attorneys and their secretaries, officers of the court, jurors, newspaper reporters or broadcasters, court reporters, and, at the request of the victim, victim or witness advocates designated by the state attorney may remain in the courtroom.

History.—s. 28, ch. 77-312; s. 5, ch. 90-211; s. 26, ch. 94-154; s. 109, ch. 99-3; s. 1, ch. 99-157; s. 8, ch. 2000-338; s. 96, ch. 2004-267; s. 37, ch. 2013-162.

F.S. 918.16 on Google Scholar

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Amendments to 918.16

Arrestable Offenses / Crimes under Fla. Stat. 918.16

Level: Degree
Misdemeanor/Felony: First/Second/Third

Current data shows no reason an arrest or criminal charge should have occurred directly under Florida Statute 918.16.

Annotations, Discussions, Cases:

Cases Citing Statute 918.16

Total Results: 18

PATRICK HUFF v. STATE OF FLORIDA

Court: Fla. Dist. Ct. App. | Date Filed: 2021-03-02T23:53:00-08:00

Snippet: that partial courtroom closure pursuant to section 918.16(2), Fla. Stat., complied with the Waller test)

Kovaleski v. State

Court: Fla. | Date Filed: 2012-10-25T00:00:00-07:00

Citation: 103 So. 3d 859, 37 Fla. L. Weekly Supp. 661, 2012 Fla. LEXIS 2138, 2012 WL 5258677

Snippet: remain in the courtroom. § 918.16(2), Fla. Stat. (2001).2 We find that section 918.16(2) acceptably embraces…testimony of the victim, J.L., pursuant to section 918.16, Florida Statutes (1997), which allowed for partial…the testimony of the victim pursuant to section 918.16(2), Florida Statutes (2001), which provided for…closure during J.L.’s testimony pursuant to section 918.16(2) violated his right to a public trial under the…asserts that a partial closure pursuant to section 918.16(2) runs afoul of the United States Supreme Court

Kovaleski v. State

Court: Fla. Dist. Ct. App. | Date Filed: 2009-01-05T00:00:00-08:00

Citation: 1 So. 3d 254, 2009 Fla. App. LEXIS 42, 2009 WL 18673

Snippet: the courtroom when the victim testified. Section 918.16(2), Florida Statutes (2001), provides: When the…proceeding, not a partial closure such as section 918.16 authorizes. In Clements v. State, 742 So.2d 338…explaining: The Legislature, by enacting section 918.16, has found that there is a compelling state interest…concerning a sexual offense. Accordingly, section 918.16 is narrowly drawn to ensure that a defendant’s …constitutional right to a public trial. Per section 918.16, Florida Statutes, which, we note, Clements has

Miller v. State

Court: Fla. Dist. Ct. App. | Date Filed: 2008-09-04T00:53:00-07:00

Citation: 991 So. 2d 946

Snippet: testimony of the victim, A.H., contrary to section 918.16(1), Florida Statutes. That statute provides: [I…designated by the state attorney's office. § 918.16(1), Fla. Stat. (2006). When the State called A.…court's attention to the language of section 918.16, Florida Statutes (1998), that exempts the parties…trial court erred in not complying with section 918.16, where "the parties knew that the State was…was attempting to comply with section 918.16" and defense counsel failed to object). In a similar

Lena v. State

Court: Fla. Dist. Ct. App. | Date Filed: 2005-04-13T00:53:00-07:00

Citation: 901 So. 2d 227

Snippet: attorney's office." Id. § 918.16(1); see also id. § 918.16(2). Everyone else must leave the courtroom…victim, who was eleven at the time of trial. Section 918.16, Florida Statutes provides for a partial closure…testifying concerning any sex offense...." Id. § 918.16(1). The statute also provides for partial closure…victim's age or mental capacity...." Id. § 918.16(2). Where there is a partial closure, the statute… partial closure of the courtroom under section 918.16, arguing that partial closure would reduce the

Jones v. State

Court: Fla. Dist. Ct. App. | Date Filed: 2004-09-29T00:00:00-07:00

Citation: 883 So. 2d 369

Snippet: partial closure of the courtroom under subsection 918.16(2), Florida Statutes (2000) during the testimony… of trial. At the time of the trial, subsection 918.16(2), Florida Statutes (2000) provided: (2) When … partial closure of the courtroom under section 918.16, Florida Statutes. First, the court must determine… partial closure of the courtroom under section 918.16, Florida Statutes. The absence of Waller findings

Springer v. State

Court: Fla. Dist. Ct. App. | Date Filed: 2004-06-04T00:53:00-07:00

Citation: 874 So. 2d 719

Snippet: closure of the courtroom in accordance with section 918.16, Florida Statutes (2002), during the testimony

Luda v. State

Court: Fla. Dist. Ct. App. | Date Filed: 2003-10-15T00:53:00-07:00

Citation: 860 So. 2d 457

Snippet: court's attention to the language of section 918.16, Florida Statutes (1998), that exempts the parties

Kovaleski v. State

Court: Fla. Dist. Ct. App. | Date Filed: 2003-09-17T00:53:00-07:00

Citation: 854 So. 2d 282

Snippet: partially closed under Florida Statutes section 918.16, which allows for closure to all but specified

Alvarez v. State

Court: Fla. Dist. Ct. App. | Date Filed: 2002-07-31T00:53:00-07:00

Citation: 827 So. 2d 269

Snippet: during his revocation hearing pursuant to section 918.16, Florida Statutes (2000). We affirm because appellant…clear the courtroom pursuant to Florida Statute 918.16, a sex victim testifying." The court instructed… 104 S.Ct. 2210, 81 L.Ed.2d 31 (1984)). Section 918.16 requires the closure of a courtroom when a victim…the court held that closure pursuant to section 918.16, which exempts from exclusion certain members of…unnecessary. The court reasoned that, in enacting section 918.16, the legislature has implicitly reviewed the Waller

Alonso v. State

Court: Fla. Dist. Ct. App. | Date Filed: 2002-07-17T00:53:00-07:00

Citation: 821 So. 2d 423

Snippet: authority of section 918.16, Florida Statutes (1999).[1] That statute provides: 918.16 Sex offenses; testimony…four-part analysis before statutes such as section 918.16 can be constitutionally implemented. See Waller

Roberts v. State

Court: Fla. Dist. Ct. App. | Date Filed: 2002-05-10T00:00:00-07:00

Citation: 816 So. 2d 1175

Snippet: State, 566 So.2d 6 (Fla. 2d DCA 1990). Section 918.16(1), Florida Statutes (2000), provides that when

Hobbs v. State

Court: Fla. Dist. Ct. App. | Date Filed: 2002-03-27T23:53:00-08:00

Citation: 820 So. 2d 347

Snippet: applicable in this case as provided in section 918.16, Florida Statutes (2000): (2) When the victim of…making the necessary findings pursuant to [s]ection 918.16." II. We agree with the Fifth District Court…not required when the trial court follows section 918.16 to achieve a partial closing, citing Douglas v.…test."). The Legislature, by enacting section 918.16, recognizes that there is a substantial, if not…victim are fulfilled by compliance with section 918.16. Contra Whitson v. State, 791 So.2d 544, 547-48

Whitson v. State

Court: Fla. Dist. Ct. App. | Date Filed: 2001-07-27T00:53:00-07:00

Citation: 791 So. 2d 544

Snippet: new trial. The remaining issues are moot. Section 918.16(2), Florida Statutes (1999), empowers a trial court…In tacit recognition of this limitation, section 918.16 carefully identifies those members of the public…Whitson's counsel objected, arguing that section 918.16 requires a showing before closure can occur. The…prior to closure. We further observe that section 918.16 does not authorize total closure of the courtroom… partial closure is entered pursuant to section 918.16, Florida Statutes." Id. at 341. We observe

Berkuta v. State

Court: Fla. Dist. Ct. App. | Date Filed: 2001-06-06T00:00:00-07:00

Citation: 788 So. 2d 1081

Snippet: during the testimony of the minor victims. Section 918.16 (1), Florida Statutes (1999), authorizes closure

Clements v. State

Court: Fla. Dist. Ct. App. | Date Filed: 1999-07-30T00:53:00-07:00

Citation: 742 So. 2d 338

Snippet: pursuant to section 918.16, Florida Statutes.[5] The Legislature, by enacting section 918.16, has found that…testified, merits discussion. Pursuant to section 918.16, Florida Statutes (1997)[1] the State asked that…constitutional rights.[2] The trial court read section 918.16 as mandatory and overruled the objection. Defense…ordered that all persons not permitted by section 918.16 leave the courtroom. On appeal, Clements asserts… to remain in the courtroom pursuant to section 918.16, and again the appellate court reversed. Thornton

Thornton v. State

Court: Fla. Dist. Ct. App. | Date Filed: 1991-09-20T00:53:00-07:00

Citation: 585 So. 2d 1189

Snippet: would deny him the right to a public trial. Section 918.16, Florida Statutes (1989), provides that in a trial…prerequisites and apparently did not adhere to section 918.16 when it cleared the courtroom of even those individuals

Pritchett v. State

Court: Fla. Dist. Ct. App. | Date Filed: 1990-07-20T00:53:00-07:00

Citation: 566 So. 2d 6

Snippet: cleared of all spectators, pursuant to section 918.16, Florida Statutes (1987).[1] He contends that the….C.J., and HALL, J., concur. NOTES [1] Section 918.16, Florida Statutes (1987), provides: In the trial