CopyCited 2 times | Published | Florida 1st District Court of Appeal | 2012 WL 3870608, 2012 Fla. App. LEXIS 14874
...e, in her action seeking declaratory and injunctive relief. In her complaint, G.G. alleged that, by treating her confidential juvenile record as a public record and making it available to the public, FDLE violated the confidentiality requirements of section
985.04(1), Florida Statutes (2006); violated her right to privacy under article I, section 23 of the Florida Constitution; and violated her right to due process under article I, section 9 of the Florida Constitution. In the order under review, the trial court ruled that section
943.053(3), Florida Statutes (2006), creates an exception to the confidentiality established for juvenile criminal history records by section
985.04(1), and that FDLE had complied with the applicable statutes by making appellant’s arrest record available to the public. We hold that appellant, whose offense did not meet the requirements of section
985.04(2), Florida Statutes (2006), was entitled to confidential treatment of her juvenile criminal records....
...s website, which returned a record for appellant that included the petit theft arrest information. Thereafter, she filed the action that is the subject of this appeal. Chapter 985 of the Florida Statutes governs Florida’s juvenile justice system. Section 985.04 governs the treatment of the records and other information obtained or created under chapter 985. Section 985.04(1) establishes the confidential treatment afforded information relating to juveniles and provides, in pertinent part, as follows: (1) Except as provided in subsections (2), (3), (6), and (7) and s....
...Justice], ... any law enforcement agent, ... is confidential and may be disclosed only to the [designated entities and personnel], and others entitled under this chapter to receive that information, or upon order of the court .... (emphasis added). Section 985.04(2) creates an exception to the general rule of confidentiality for juvenile records and provides, in pertinent part, as follows: (2) Notwithstanding any other provisions of this chapter, the name, photograph, address, and crime or arre...
...nors” within “criminal history information,” and the second sentence as allowing “persons in the private sector” to have that criminal history information provided to them after tendering a fee of $23 per name submitted. According to FDLE, section
985.04(1), upon which appellant relies, contains an express exception to confidentiality of juvenile records as contained in “s.
943.053.” G.G. contends that FDLE’s interpretation of section
943.053(3)(a) renders section
985.04(1) meaningless. G.G. argues that a minor’s criminal history information loses its confidential status only when the minor and her arrest report fit within section
985.04(2)....
...aw, exempt certain records from the “access requirements of s.
119.07(1), s.
286.011, or s. 24 Art. I of the *271 State Constitution.” §
119.011(8), Fla. Stat. (2006). In 1993, section 39.045(9), Florida Statutes, now reworded and renumbered as section
985.04(2), authorized the release of the identity of a juvenile who was 16 years of age or older and had been arrested for a felony or convicted of three or more misdemeanors....
...Apparently responding to this concern, the 1996 Florida Legislature amended section 39.039(l)(a)(b), Florida Statutes (1995), renumbered to section
985.11(l)(a)(b), Florida Statutes (2006); section 39.045(5), Florida Statutes (1995), renumbered to section
985.04(1), Florida Statutes (2006); section 39.045(9), Florida Statutes (1995), renumbered to section
985.04(2), Florida Statutes (2006); and section
943.053....
..., the courts, the child, the parents or legal custodians of the child, their attorneys, and any other person authorized by the court to have access to such records.... Ch. 96-388, § 17, at 2316, Laws of Fla. At the same time, section 39.045(9), now 985.04(2), was amended as follows: (9) Notwithstanding any other provisions of this part, a law enforcement agency-may release for publication the name, photograph, and address, and crime or arrest report of a child: (а) Taken into custody if the ch...
...ons of law which, if committed by an adult, would be misdemeanors shall not be considered confidential and exempt from the provisions of s.
119.07(1) solely because of the child’s age. Ch. 96-388, § 18 at 2319, Laws of Fla. Section 39.045(5), now section
985.04(1), was amended as follows: (5) Except as provided in subsections (3), and (8), (9), and (10), and s....
...agencies on a priority basis and free of charge. The second sentence of section
943.053(3), which states that “persons in the private sector ... may be provided criminal history information upon tender of fees” (emphasis supplied), is limited by section
985.04(2). Thus, only those juveniles defined in section
985.04(2) lose the confidential status of their arrest records. We read sections
985.04(1) and (2) as a whole....
...Further, “statutes relating to the same subject matter should be read in pari materia, and such rule is particularly applicable where such statutes are enacted as part of the single act.” McGraw v. R and R Inv., Ltd.,
877 So.2d 886, 890 (Fla. 1st DCA 2004). As read, sections
985.04 and
943.053(3) are not in conflict or inconsistent. To accept FDLE’s reading of section
943.053(3), as allowing the public access to all juvenile arrest records regardless of the severity of the offense or offenses committed by the juvenile, would *273 render section
985.04 meaningless....
...that FDLE’s authority to disseminate criminal justice information under section
943.053(3) is expressly limited by section
943.053(1), which provides that release of such information shall be made “only in accordance with federal and state laws, regulations and rules.” Section
985.04 is one such state law that specifies which juvenile records may be released and which must be maintained as confidential and not publically released....
...pplied). The final bill analysis prepared for the House Committee on Criminal Justice is similar. Fla. H.R. Comm, on Crim. Justice, SB 156 (1996) Final Bill Analysis 8-9 (August 9, 1996) (emphasis supplied). Conclusion When subsection (1) and (2) of section
985.04 are read in pari materia with section
985.11(l)(a)(b) and section
943.053(3), it is clear that only the arrest records of those juveniles who the legislature has designated in section
985.04(2) have lost their confidential status and are available to the public pursuant to section
943.053(3)(a). G.G., who allegedly stole a can of Coke, is not one of the juveniles defined in section
985.04(2), and her arrest record is not a public record....
CopyCited 2 times | Published | Florida 4th District Court of Appeal | 2012 WL 3964972, 2012 Fla. App. LEXIS 15330
...not result in any criminal charges. Specifically, Harvard is seeking a copy of the juvenile offense report and a copy of a videotaped interview of her son taken,,during the investigation. The Village denied her initial public records request, citing section 985.04(1), Florida Statutes (2009). In pertinent part, section 985.04(1) provides that: [A]ll information obtained under [the juvenile justice] chapter in the discharge of official duty by any judge, any employee of the court, any authorized agent of the [juvenile justice] department, the Parole Commissi...
...icensed professional or licensed community agency representative participating in the assessment or treatment of a juvenile, and others entitled under [the juvenile justice] chapter to receive that information, or upon order of the court. Fla. Stat. § 985.04 (1)....
...4th DCA 2005) (“[t]he standard of review of a trial court’s application and interpretation of Florida law is de novo”). Harvard argues that the Village was required to produce the requested records because she falls under one of the exceptions to section 985.04(l)’s confidentiality provisions. Specifically, Harvard asserts that she is entitled to records under section 985.04(3), which provides that “[a] law enforcement agency may release a copy of the juvenile offense report to the victim of the offense.” Harvard also contends there is no exemption or confidentiality clause in any Florida Statute prohibiting the Village from releasing the videotaped interview of Harvard’s son to Harvard. The Village concedes that Harvard, as the representative of her son, qualifies as a “victim.” However, the Village emphasizes that although section 985.04(3) permits the release of a juvenile offense report to a victim, such a release is discretionary, not mandatory. In support of its argument, the Village emphasizes the presence of the word “may” in the statute. First, we address whether the Village was required to produce the requested juvenile offense report to Harvard under section 985.04(3)....
...In such an instance, “the statute’s plain and ordinary meaning must control, unless this leads to an unreasonable result or a result clearly contrary to legislative intent.” State v. Burris,
875 So.2d 408, 410 (Fla.2004). Here, the issue is whether the term “may” as used in section
985.04(3) is permissive or mandatory. We hold that the plain language of section
985.04(3) is unambiguous, and thus interpret the word “may” as a permissive term....
