The 2023 Florida Statutes (including Special Session C)
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The order at issue here qualifies as one from a “preadjudicatory hearing[ ],” section 985.534(1)(b)8., Florida Statutes (2007), but it is nonfinal. See § 985.19(5)(a), Fla. Stat. (2014) (requiring trial court to retain jurisdiction for two years after date of order of incompetency, with reviews at least every six months). Appellate court jurisdiction to hear the State's appeal from a nonfinal order requires a court rule. See State v. M.K., 786 So.2d 24, 26 (Fla. 1st DCA 2001) (citing Blore v. Fierro, 636 So.2d 1329 (Fla.1994)). Under Florida Rule of Appellate Procedure 9.145, in juvenile delinquency proceedings, the State “may appeal an order ... finding a child incompetent pursuant to the Florida Rules of Juvenile Procedure.” Fla. R.App. P. 9.145(c)(1)(I). The question, then, is whether the lower court's decision not to order secure placement for K.S. is an appealable issue for the State within “an order ... finding a child incompetent.”
Thus, as to Plaintiff's claims for false arrest, the Court concludes that the unavailability of federal habeas review does not preclude application of the Heck doctrine. First, as discussed above, Plaintiff's claims for false arrest would necessarily imply the invalidity of the order of adjudication issued by the state court. See Vickers, 137 Fed. App'x at 289-90; Christy, 288 Fed. App'x at 665-66. And, second, federal habeas relief was not the only means by which M.E. could challenge her juvenile adjudication and disposition and thus receive a favorable termination. See Domotor, 630 F. Supp. 2d at 1380. M.E. could have appealed the order of adjudication or sought habeas relief through state avenues. See § 985.534, Fla. Stat. (allowing a juvenile to appeal a final order of the court under the Juvenile Justice Act, §§ 985.01-807, Fla. Stat.); see also T.P.H. v. State, 739 So. 2d 1180, 1181 (Fla. 4th DCA 1999) (stating that a juvenile has a "constitutional right to appeal his [or her] adjudication of delinquency, disposition, and order of restitution"); J.E.P. v. State, 130 So. 3d 764, 765 (Fla. 2d DCA 2014) (stating that a petition for habeas corpus is the appropriate…
We cannot review the disposition orders for two reasons. First, the appeal is untimely. A child may appeal an order of adjudication of delinquency or any disposition order entered upon adjudication. §§ 985.534(1), 924.051, Fla. Stat. (2009) ; Fla. R.App. P. 9.145(b)(1). But the notice of appeal must be filed within 30 days of the rendition of the order. Fla. R.App. P. 9.110(b). Under rule 9.020(h)(1), rendition is tolled if a party timely files one of several specified, "authorized" motions. Among these is a motion "to withdraw a plea after sentencing pursuant to Florida Rule of Criminal Procedure 3.170(l )". D.M.'s motions to withdraw his pleas were not filed pursuant to rule 3.170(l ) because that rule applies to criminal cases, not to delinquency proceedings.
Admittedly, section 985.534(1)(b)5. appears to authorize state appeals from disposition orders, not from orders modifying a disposition. However, in State v. Allen, 553 So.2d 176 (Fla. 4th DCA 1989), the Fourth District treated an immediate modification of an adult criminal sentence as an appealable order under the analogous criminal statute. There, the trial court imposed a guideline sentence but immediately mitigated it below the guidelines without stating reasons for departure. Responding to the state's objection to such a tactic, the trial court stated, "I didn't go under, I sentenced him on the guidelines. I mitigated it." Id. The defendant moved to dismiss the state's appeal arguing that the mitigation order was not appealable. The appellate court disagreed, finding that the order under review was appealable under section 924.07(1)(e), Florida Statutes (1987), which authorizes the state to appeal "[t]he sentence, on the ground that it is illegal". That section is analogous to section 985.534(1)(b)5.
§ 985.534(1)(b), Fla. Stat. (2009).
. . . ],” section 985.534(l)(b)8., Florida Statutes (2007), but it is nonfinal. See § 985.19(5)(a), Fla. . . .
. . . . §§ 985.534(1), 924.051, Fla. Stat. (2009); Fla. R.App. P. 9.145(b)(1). . . .
. . . , and find that we have jurisdiction under two separate statutes: section 985.433(7)(b) and section 985.534 . . . In addition, jurisdiction is established under section 985.534(l)(b)5., which gives the State authority . . . Admittedly, section 985.534(l)(b)5. appears to authorize state appeals from disposition orders, not from . . . That section is analogous to section 985.534(l)(b)5. . . . As such, they are appealable under section 985.534(1)(b)5. . . .
. . . Section 985.534(l)(b), Florida Statutes (2009), provides a list of orders from which the State may appeal . . . hearings, except that the state may not take more than one appeal under this subsection in any case. § 985.534 . . . The state should be able to appeal the order pursuant to section 985.534(l)(b)(2), Florida Statutes ( . . .