Florida Statute 985.1 - Full Text and Legal Analysis

The 2025 Florida Statutes

Title XLVII
CRIMINAL PROCEDURE AND CORRECTIONS

Chapter 985
JUVENILE JUSTICE; INTERSTATE COMPACT ON JUVENILES

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F.S. 985.01

985.01 Purposes and intent.—

(1) The purposes of this chapter are:

(a) To increase public safety by reducing juvenile delinquency through effective prevention, intervention, and treatment services that strengthen and reform the lives of children.

(b) To provide judicial and other procedures to assure due process through which children, victims, and other interested parties are assured fair hearings by a respectful and respected court or other tribunal and the recognition, protection, and enforcement of their constitutional and other legal rights, while ensuring that public safety interests and the authority and dignity of the courts are adequately protected.

(c) To provide an environment that fosters healthy social, emotional, intellectual, educational, and physical development; to ensure secure and safe custody; and to promote the health and well-being of all children under the state’s care.

(d) To ensure the protection of society, by providing for a comprehensive standardized assessment of the child’s needs so that the most appropriate control, discipline, punishment, and treatment can be administered consistent with the seriousness of the act committed, the community’s long-term need for public safety, the prior record of the child, and the specific rehabilitation needs of the child, while also providing, whenever possible, restitution to the victim of the offense.

(e) To preserve and strengthen the child’s family ties whenever possible, by providing for removal of the child from the physical custody of a parent only when his or her welfare or the safety and protection of the public cannot be adequately safeguarded without such removal; and, when the child is removed from his or her own family, to secure custody, care, and discipline for the child as nearly as possible equivalent to that which should have been given by the parents.

(f)1. To assure that the adjudication and disposition of a child alleged or found to have committed a violation of Florida law be exercised with appropriate discretion and in keeping with the seriousness of the offense and the need for treatment services, and that all findings made under this chapter be based upon facts presented at a hearing that meets the constitutional standards of fundamental fairness and due process.

2. To assure that the sentencing and placement of a child tried as an adult be appropriate and in keeping with the seriousness of the offense and the child’s need for rehabilitative services, and that the proceedings and procedures applicable to such sentencing and placement be applied within the full framework of constitutional standards of fundamental fairness and due process.

(g) To provide children committed to the department with training in life skills, including career and technical education, when appropriate.

(h) To care for children in the least restrictive and most appropriate service environments to ensure that children assessed as low and moderate risk to reoffend are not committed to residential programs, unless the court deems such placement appropriate.

(i) To allocate resources for the most effective programs, services, and treatments to ensure that children, their families, and their community support systems are connected with these programs at the points along the juvenile justice continuum where they will have the most impact.

(2) It is the intent of the Legislature that this chapter be liberally interpreted and construed in conformity with its declared purposes.

History.—s. 1, ch. 97-238; s. 12, ch. 2001-125; s. 64, ch. 2004-267; ss. 2, 87, ch. 2006-120; s. 1, ch. 2014-162.

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F.S. 985.01 on CourtListener

Amendments to 985.01

Annotations, Discussions, Cases:

Cases Citing Statute 985.01

Total Results: 23

EAR v. State

4 So. 3d 614, 2009 WL 217979

Supreme Court of Florida | Filed: Jan 30, 2009 | Docket: 1666810

Cited 55 times | Published

delinquency. § 985.03(21), Fla. Stat. (2007); see also § 985.01-.02, Fla. Stat. (2007). Conversely, in the decision

E.A.R. v. State

4 So. 3d 614, 34 Fla. L. Weekly Supp. 120, 2009 Fla. LEXIS 150

Supreme Court of Florida | Filed: Jan 30, 2009 | Docket: 60295083

Cited 34 times | Published

delinquency. § 985.03(21), Fla. Stat. (2007); see also § 985.01-.02, Fla. Stat. (2007). Conversely, in the decision

VKE v. State

934 So. 2d 1276, 2006 WL 1838948

Supreme Court of Florida | Filed: Jul 6, 2006 | Docket: 2185398

Cited 29 times | Published

In re C.J.W., 377 So.2d 22, 24 (Fla.1979)). Section 985.01 provides that the purposes of the chapter are

City of Jacksonville v. Smith

159 So. 3d 888, 2015 Fla. App. LEXIS 2703, 2015 WL 798154

District Court of Appeal of Florida | Filed: Feb 26, 2015 | Docket: 60246704

Cited 10 times | Published

Compensation Fairness Act” are eliminated. . See, e.g., § 985.01(l)(f), Fla. Stat. (juvenile justice hearing must

JAB v. State

993 So. 2d 1150, 2008 WL 4790946

District Court of Appeal of Florida | Filed: Nov 5, 2008 | Docket: 469444

Cited 5 times | Published

actually obtaining employment is inappropriate. Section 985.01(1)(c) states that the purposes of the juvenile

JIS v. State

930 So. 2d 587, 2006 WL 1278439

Supreme Court of Florida | Filed: May 11, 2006 | Docket: 1468934

Cited 5 times | Published

possible restitution to the victim of the offense. § 985.01(1)(c), Fla. Stat. (2005). The statutory definition

B.O. v. State

25 So. 3d 586, 2009 Fla. App. LEXIS 17688

District Court of Appeal of Florida | Filed: Nov 25, 2009 | Docket: 60287604

Cited 3 times | Published

involving the search without further comment. . § 985.01(1)(a), Fla. Stat. (2008). . 387 U.S. at 33-34

BM v. Dobuler

979 So. 2d 308, 2008 WL 724124

District Court of Appeal of Florida | Filed: Mar 19, 2008 | Docket: 1714467

Cited 3 times | Published

hearings by a respectful and respected court[.]" § 985.01, Fla. Stat. (2007). That is good enough for us

KQS v. State

975 So. 2d 536, 2008 WL 244938

District Court of Appeal of Florida | Filed: Jan 31, 2008 | Docket: 1727511

Cited 3 times | Published

authority and dignity of a court or judge."); see also § 985.01(1)(a), Fla. Stat. (2007) (stating that one of

BS v. State

862 So. 2d 15, 2003 WL 22136809

District Court of Appeal of Florida | Filed: Sep 17, 2003 | Docket: 1762237

Cited 2 times | Published

specific rehabilitation needs of the child.... § 985.01(c); see also P.W.G. v. State, 682 So.2d 1203,

D.V. v. State

216 So. 3d 3, 2017 WL 1076938, 2017 Fla. App. LEXIS 3774

District Court of Appeal of Florida | Filed: Mar 22, 2017 | Docket: 60265169

Cited 1 times | Published

unless the court deems such placement appropriate. § 985.01(l)(c)(d)(g) & (h), Florida Statutes (2015). To

D.G. v. State

170 So. 3d 1, 2015 Fla. App. LEXIS 4250, 2015 WL 1312646

District Court of Appeal of Florida | Filed: Mar 25, 2015 | Docket: 60249398

Cited 1 times | Published

delinquency. § 985.03(21), Fla. Stat. (2007); see also § 985.01-.02, Fla. Stat. (2007). 4 So.3d at 628 (footnotes

J.A.B. v. State

25 So. 3d 554, 35 Fla. L. Weekly Supp. 5, 2010 Fla. LEXIS 5

Supreme Court of Florida | Filed: Jan 7, 2010 | Docket: 60287600

Cited 1 times | Published

of the offense. § 985.01 (l)(c), Fla. Stat. (2005) (emphasis added); see also § 985.01(l)(c), Fla. Stat

JAB v. State

25 So. 3d 554, 2010 WL 26540

Supreme Court of Florida | Filed: Jan 7, 2010 | Docket: 2409830

Cited 1 times | Published

of the offense. § 985.01(1)(c), Fla. Stat. (2005) (emphasis added); see also § 985.01(1)(c), Fla. Stat

J.A.B. v. State

993 So. 2d 1150, 2008 Fla. App. LEXIS 16973

District Court of Appeal of Florida | Filed: Nov 5, 2008 | Docket: 64856343

Cited 1 times | Published

actually obtaining employment is inappropriate. Section 985.01(l)(e) states that the purposes of the juvenile

V.K.E. v. State

934 So. 2d 1276, 31 Fla. L. Weekly Supp. 505, 2006 Fla. LEXIS 1475

Supreme Court of Florida | Filed: Jul 6, 2006 | Docket: 64845913

Cited 1 times | Published

In re C.J.W., 377 So.2d 22, 24 (Fla.1979)). Section 985.01 provides that the purposes of the chapter are

B.S. v. State

862 So. 2d 15, 2003 Fla. App. LEXIS 13958

District Court of Appeal of Florida | Filed: Sep 17, 2003 | Docket: 64827241

Cited 1 times | Published

specific rehabilitation needs of the child.... § 985.01(c); see also P.W.G. v. State, 682 So.2d 1203,

SBL v. State

737 So. 2d 1131, 1999 WL 371305

District Court of Appeal of Florida | Filed: Jun 9, 1999 | Docket: 700645

Cited 1 times | Published

governing juvenile delinquency proceedings. See § 985.01, Fla. Stat. (1997); ch. 97-238, § 1, at 4212-13

BO v. State

25 So. 3d 586, 2009 WL 4061010

District Court of Appeal of Florida | Filed: Nov 25, 2009 | Docket: 1662084

Published

involving the search without further comment. [2] § 985.01(1)(a), Fla. Stat. (2008). [3] 387 U.S. at 33-34

K.Q.S. v. State

975 So. 2d 536, 2008 Fla. App. LEXIS 985

District Court of Appeal of Florida | Filed: Jan 31, 2008 | Docket: 64853954

Published

authority and dignity of a court or judge.”); see also § 985.01(1)(a), Fla. Stat. (2007) (stating that one of

J.I.S. v. State

930 So. 2d 587, 31 Fla. L. Weekly Supp. 277, 2006 Fla. LEXIS 805

Supreme Court of Florida | Filed: May 11, 2006 | Docket: 64845179

Published

possible restitution to the victim of the offense. § 985.01(l)(c), Fla. Stat. (2005). The statutory definition

E.M. v. State

761 So. 2d 1177, 2000 Fla. App. LEXIS 8066, 2000 WL 827191

District Court of Appeal of Florida | Filed: Jun 28, 2000 | Docket: 64798512

Published

section 39.054(1)(a)1, Florida Statutes (1995)); see § 985.01(l)(c), Fla. Stat. (1999) (identifying as a purpose

S.B.L. v. State

737 So. 2d 1131, 1999 Fla. App. LEXIS 7469

District Court of Appeal of Florida | Filed: Jun 9, 1999 | Docket: 64789633

Published

governing juvenile delinquency proceedings. See § 985.01, Fla. Stat. (1997); ch. 97-238, § 1, at 4212-13