Florida Statute 918.16 - Full Text and Legal Analysis

The 2025 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.

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Amendments to 918.16

Annotations, Discussions, Cases:

Cases Citing Statute 918.16

Total Results: 18

Alvarez v. State

827 So. 2d 269, 2002 WL 1758210

District Court of Appeal of Florida | Filed: Jul 31, 2002 | Docket: 1726434

Cited 15 times | Published

courtroom during his revocation hearing pursuant to section 918.16, Florida Statutes (2000). We affirm because

Pritchett v. State

566 So. 2d 6, 1990 WL 100743

District Court of Appeal of Florida | Filed: Jul 20, 1990 | Docket: 1529087

Cited 11 times | Published

to be cleared of all spectators, pursuant to section 918.16, Florida Statutes (1987).[1] He contends that

Clements v. State

742 So. 2d 338, 1999 WL 550533

District Court of Appeal of Florida | Filed: Jul 30, 1999 | Docket: 1710275

Cited 10 times | Published

victim testified, merits discussion. Pursuant to section 918.16, Florida Statutes (1997)[1] the State asked

Jones v. State

883 So. 2d 369, 2004 WL 2173349

District Court of Appeal of Florida | Filed: Sep 29, 2004 | Docket: 1402451

Cited 5 times | Published

seeks partial closure of the courtroom under section 918.16, Florida Statutes. First, the court must determine

Luda v. State

860 So. 2d 457, 2003 WL 22336133

District Court of Appeal of Florida | Filed: Oct 15, 2003 | Docket: 1511611

Cited 5 times | Published

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

Alonso v. State

821 So. 2d 423, 2002 WL 1563842

District Court of Appeal of Florida | Filed: Jul 17, 2002 | Docket: 1236130

Cited 4 times | Published

L. and the two teenagers under authority of section 918.16, Florida Statutes (1999).[1] That statute provides:

Hobbs v. State

820 So. 2d 347, 2002 WL 464731

District Court of Appeal of Florida | Filed: Mar 28, 2002 | Docket: 2518257

Cited 4 times | Published

interests applicable in this case as provided in section 918.16, Florida Statutes (2000): (2) When the victim

Lena v. State

901 So. 2d 227, 2005 WL 840438

District Court of Appeal of Florida | Filed: Apr 13, 2005 | Docket: 1216634

Cited 3 times | Published

victim, who was eleven at the time of trial. Section 918.16, Florida Statutes provides for a partial closure

Whitson v. State

791 So. 2d 544, 2001 WL 844756

District Court of Appeal of Florida | Filed: Jul 27, 2001 | Docket: 1655711

Cited 3 times | Published

a new trial. The remaining issues are moot. Section 918.16(2), Florida Statutes (1999), empowers a trial

Kovaleski v. State

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

Supreme Court of Florida | Filed: Oct 25, 2012 | Docket: 60227234

Cited 2 times | Published

testimony of the victim, J.L., pursuant to section 918.16, Florida Statutes (1997), which allowed for

Kovaleski v. State

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

District Court of Appeal of Florida | Filed: Jan 5, 2009 | Docket: 1172687

Cited 2 times | Published

of the courtroom when the victim testified. Section 918.16(2), Florida Statutes (2001), provides: When

Springer v. State

874 So. 2d 719, 2004 WL 1223674

District Court of Appeal of Florida | Filed: Jun 4, 2004 | Docket: 1473989

Cited 1 times | Published

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

Kovaleski v. State

854 So. 2d 282, 2003 WL 22136263

District Court of Appeal of Florida | Filed: Sep 17, 2003 | Docket: 1747341

Cited 1 times | Published

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

Berkuta v. State

788 So. 2d 1081, 2001 Fla. App. LEXIS 7844, 2001 WL 609047

District Court of Appeal of Florida | Filed: Jun 6, 2001 | Docket: 64806549

Cited 1 times | Published

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

Thornton v. State

585 So. 2d 1189, 1991 WL 183841

District Court of Appeal of Florida | Filed: Sep 20, 1991 | Docket: 2512460

Cited 1 times | Published

would deny him the right to a public trial. Section 918.16, Florida Statutes (1989), provides that in

PATRICK HUFF v. STATE OF FLORIDA

District Court of Appeal of Florida | Filed: Mar 3, 2021 | Docket: 59699916

Published

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

Miller v. State

991 So. 2d 946, 2008 WL 4067304

District Court of Appeal of Florida | Filed: Sep 4, 2008 | Docket: 1401396

Published

testimony of the victim, A.H., contrary to section 918.16(1), Florida Statutes. That statute provides:

Roberts v. State

816 So. 2d 1175, 2002 Fla. App. LEXIS 6395, 2002 WL 954986

District Court of Appeal of Florida | Filed: May 10, 2002 | Docket: 64815342

Published

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