State laws should be viewed with a watchful eye as we move toward the next election. I often speak highly of Florida state laws, but make no mistake – Florida’s state government is still a GOVERNMENT but the lesser of multiple evils. Nearly every state quietly passed new legislation on January 1, and Florida’s new rules regarding pretrial release and detention are concerning.
SB 1534 regarding pretrial and detention now state that only a judge may set bail.
Section 1. Subsections (4), (5), and (6) are added to 48 section 903.011, Florida Statutes, to read: 49 903.011 Pretrial release “Bail” and “bond” defined; general 50 terms; statewide uniform bond schedule.— 51 (4) Except as authorized in subsection (5), only a judge 52 may set, reduce, or otherwise alter a defendant’s bail. Upon 53 motion by a defendant, or on the court’s own motion, a court may 54 reconsider the monetary component of a defendant’s bail if he or 55 she is unable to post a monetary bond. 56 (5)(a) Beginning January 1, 2024, and annually thereafter, 57 the Supreme Court must adopt a uniform statewide bond schedule 58 for criminal offenses not described in subsection (6) for which 59 a person may be released on bail before and in lieu of his or 60 her first appearance hearing or bail determination. The Supreme 61 Court must make the revised uniform statewide bond schedule 62 available to each judicial circuit.
Judges will have the ability to raise bail, but they may not lower it. If convicted, not charged, with the following crimes, you will be detained until a judge can hear your case:
(6) A person may not be released before his or her first 93 appearance hearing or bail determination and a judge must 94 determine the appropriate bail, if any, based on an 95 individualized consideration of the criteria in s. 903.046(2), 96 if the person meets any of the following criteria: 97 (a) The person was, at the time of arrest for any felony, 98 on pretrial release, probation, or community control in this 99 state or any other state; 100 (b) The person was, at the time of arrest, designated as a 101 sexual offender or sexual predator in this state or any other 102 state; 103 (c) The person was arrested for violating a protective 104 injunction; 105 (d) The person was, at the time of arrest, on release from 106 supervision under s. 947.1405, s. 947.146, s. 947.149, or s. 107 944.4731; 108 (e) The person has, at any time before the current arrest, 109 been sentenced pursuant to s. 775.082(9) or s. 775.084 as a 110 prison releasee reoffender, habitual violent felony offender, 111 three-time violent felony offender, or violent career criminal; 112 (f) The person has been arrested three or more times in the 113 12 months immediately preceding his or her arrest for the 114 current offense; or 115 (g) The person’s current offense of arrest is for one or 116 more of the following crimes: 117 1. A capital felony, life felony, felony of the first 118 degree, or felony of the second degree; 119 2. A homicide under chapter 782; or any attempt, 120 solicitation, or conspiracy to commit a homicide; 121 3. Assault in furtherance of a riot or an aggravated riot; 122 felony battery; domestic battery by strangulation; domestic 123 violence, as defined in s. 741.28; stalking; mob intimidation; 124 assault or battery on a law enforcement officer; assault or 125 battery on juvenile probation officer, or other staff of a 126 detention center or commitment facility, or a staff member of a 127 commitment facility, or health services personnel; assault or 128 battery on a person 65 years of age or older; robbery; burglary; 129 carjacking; or resisting an officer with violence; 130 4. Kidnapping, false imprisonment, human trafficking, or 131 human smuggling; 132 5. Possession of a firearm or ammunition by a felon, 133 violent career criminal, or person subject to an injunction 134 against committing acts of domestic violence, stalking, or 135 cyberstalking; 136 6. Sexual battery; indecent, lewd, or lascivious touching; 137 exposure of sexual organs; incest; luring or enticing a child; 138 or child pornography; 139 7. Abuse, neglect, or exploitation of an elderly person or 140 disabled adult; 141 8. Child abuse or aggravated child abuse; 142 9. Arson; riot, aggravated riot, inciting a riot, or 143 aggravated inciting a riot; or a burglary or theft during a 144 riot; 145 10. Escape; tampering or retaliating against a witness, 146 victim, or informant; destruction of evidence; or tampering with 147 a jury; 148 11. Any offense committed for the purpose of benefitting, 149 promoting, or furthering the interests of a criminal gang; 150 12. Trafficking in a controlled substance, including 151 conspiracy to engage in trafficking in a controlled substance; 152 13. Racketeering; or 153 14. Failure to appear at required court proceedings while 154 on bail.
Now, you may read through this list, nodding your head in agreement that anyone who commits a violent crime is a danger to our society and should be locked away. However, the legal system was designed so everyone is viewed as INNOCENT until proven guilty. This method enables the law to detain people who have not been charged with a crime and may be innocent.
Read the list a bit closer, and you will notice there are non-violent offenses that could land you in jail without bail. Inciting or participating in a riot means you are guilty until proven innocent. There WILL be riots after the election regardless of who wins, and everyone who participates may be held. You are unwise if you believe this will only benefit your political party. All the new arrivals to Florida could flip it blue, and “riots” like the Black Lives Matter wave will be considered OK, as the blue states deemed them, while conservative rallies will lead to domestic terrorism charges.
Conspiracy is also on the list if you read it carefully. So, if they simply THINK you may have committed a drug-related crime, you will be locked away until a judge can hear your case. We know that three-letter agencies have planted drugs on innocent people in the past to get that conviction. They do not even need evidence, as this is opening Pandora’s box to permit the government to detain citizens before trial.
Look at what happened over COVID. The courts closed due to the pandemic, and people living in states that did not offer bail were stuck behind bars for months until a judge could take their case. In New Jersey, for example, people awaiting trial were not even permitted to go outside for months on end, and the time they spent awaiting trial was not reduced from their sentence if found guilty. The judge is not required to take your case immediately, and they could potentially delay it for as long as possible, as they did during COVID.
There is a grave danger in handing over this power to the government.
