Bill Text: FL H0701 | 2012 | Regular Session | Introduced
NOTE: There are more recent revisions of this legislation. Read Latest Draft
Bill Title: Florida Evidence Code
Spectrum: Bipartisan Bill
Status: (Engrossed - Dead) 2012-03-08 - Ordered enrolled -HJ 1244 [H0701 Detail]
Download: Florida-2012-H0701-Introduced.html
Bill Title: Florida Evidence Code
Spectrum: Bipartisan Bill
Status: (Engrossed - Dead) 2012-03-08 - Ordered enrolled -HJ 1244 [H0701 Detail]
Download: Florida-2012-H0701-Introduced.html
HB 701 |
1 | |
2 | An act relating to the Florida Evidence Code; amending |
3 | s. 90.803, F.S.; providing that certain specified |
4 | spontaneous statements relating to a call to an |
5 | emergency operations center, such as police, fire, or |
6 | emergency rescue personnel, are admissible as evidence |
7 | if the call is for the immediate dispatch of personnel |
8 | for emergency purposes; providing that an excited |
9 | utterance made by a victim to an emergency responder, |
10 | including police, fire, or emergency personnel, is |
11 | admissible if the victim or witness is under the |
12 | stress or excitement of the event while the statement |
13 | is being made; providing an exception to the |
14 | inadmissibility of a hearsay statement of the victim |
15 | of domestic violence in a proceeding relating to |
16 | criminal domestic violence; requiring that the court |
17 | consider certain matters and make specific findings of |
18 | fact to support the court's decision to admit the |
19 | victim's statement into evidence; requiring that, in a |
20 | criminal case, the defendant be notified of the |
21 | victim's statement at least 10 days before the |
22 | criminal trial or proceeding; providing for the |
23 | content of the notice; amending s. 90.804, F.S.; |
24 | providing that, in a criminal case, upon proof by a |
25 | preponderance of the evidence that the accused, at any |
26 | time, assaulted an unavailable witness, or threatened |
27 | to inflict physical harm upon an unavailable witness |
28 | or any member of the witness's immediate family, the |
29 | court may presume forfeiture of any objection under |
30 | the hearsay rule or the confrontation clause of the |
31 | State Constitution; creating s. 90.807, F.S.; |
32 | providing that a statement not specifically covered by |
33 | any other hearsay exception, but having equivalent |
34 | circumstantial guarantees of trustworthiness, is not |
35 | excluded by the hearsay rule if the court determines |
36 | that the interests of justice will be best served by |
37 | admitting the statement into evidence; requiring a |
38 | certain procedure be followed before that statement |
39 | may be admitted; providing an effective date. |
40 | |
41 | Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida: |
42 | |
43 | Section 1. Subsections (1) and (2) of section 90.803, |
44 | Florida Statutes, are amended, and subsection (25) is added to |
45 | that section, to read: |
46 | 90.803 Hearsay exceptions; availability of declarant |
47 | immaterial.-The provision of s. 90.802 to the contrary |
48 | notwithstanding, the following are not inadmissible as evidence, |
49 | even though the declarant is available as a witness: |
50 | (1) SPONTANEOUS STATEMENT.-A spontaneous statement |
51 | describing or explaining an event or condition made while the |
52 | declarant was perceiving the event or condition, or immediately |
53 | thereafter, except when such statement is made under |
54 | circumstances that indicate its lack of trustworthiness. A call |
55 | to an emergency operations center, such as police, fire, or |
56 | emergency rescue personnel, is admissible if the purpose of the |
57 | call is for the immediate dispatch of personnel for emergency |
58 | purposes and is not merely to report a crime or event or a call |
59 | for assistance regarding an event occurring a substantial period |
60 | of time in the past. |
61 | (2) EXCITED UTTERANCE.-A statement or excited utterance |
62 | relating to a startling event or condition made while the |
63 | declarant was under the stress of excitement caused by the event |
64 | or condition. In a criminal case, a statement made by the victim |
65 | to an emergency responder, including police, fire, or emergency |
66 | personnel, is admissible if, while the statement is made, the |
67 | victim or witness is under the stress or excitement of the |
68 | event. |
69 | (25) STATEMENT OF A VICTIM OF DOMESTIC VIOLENCE IN A |
70 | CRIMINAL PROCEEDING.- |
71 | (a) Unless the source of information or the method or |
72 | circumstances by which the statement is reported indicates a |
73 | lack of trustworthiness, an out-of-court statement made by a |
74 | victim of domestic violence, as defined in s. 741.28, describing |
75 | any act of domestic violence not otherwise admissible, is |
76 | admissible in evidence in any criminal proceeding if: |
77 | 1. The court finds in a hearing conducted outside the |
78 | presence of the jury that the time, content, and circumstances |
79 | of the statement provide sufficient safeguards of reliability. |
80 | In making its determination, the court may consider the mental |
81 | and physical age and maturity of the victim of domestic |
82 | violence, the nature and duration of the act of domestic |
83 | violence, the relationship of the victim to the offender, the |
84 | reliability of the assertion, the reliability of the victim of |
85 | domestic violence, and any other factor deemed appropriate; and |
86 | 2. The victim of domestic violence: |
87 | a. Testifies; or |
88 | b. Is unavailable as a witness and there is corroborative |
89 | evidence of the offense. Unavailability includes a finding by |
90 | the court that the victim's participation in the criminal trial |
91 | or proceeding would result in a substantial likelihood of severe |
92 | emotional, mental, or physical harm, in addition to findings |
93 | pursuant to s. 90.804(1). |
94 | (b) In a criminal action, the defendant shall be notified |
95 | at least 10 days before the trial that a statement that |
96 | qualifies as a hearsay exception pursuant to this subsection |
97 | will be offered as evidence at trial. The notice must include a |
98 | written statement of the content of the victim's statement, the |
99 | time at which the statement was made, the circumstances |
100 | surrounding the statement which indicate its reliability, and |
101 | such other particulars as necessary to provide full disclosure |
102 | of the statement. |
103 | (c) The court shall make specific findings of fact, on the |
104 | record, as to the basis for its ruling under this subsection. |
105 | Section 2. Paragraph (f) is added to subsection (2) of |
106 | section 90.804, Florida Statutes, to read: |
107 | 90.804 Hearsay exceptions; declarant unavailable.- |
108 | (2) HEARSAY EXCEPTIONS.-The following are not excluded |
109 | under s. 90.802, provided that the declarant is unavailable as a |
110 | witness: |
111 | (f) Forfeiture by wrongdoing.-A statement offered against |
112 | a party that has engaged or acquiesced in wrongdoing that was |
113 | intended to, and did, procure the unavailability of the |
114 | declarant as a witness. In a criminal case, upon proof by a |
115 | preponderance of the evidence that the accused, at any time, |
116 | assaulted an unavailable witness, or threatened to inflict |
117 | physical harm upon an unavailable witness or any member of the |
118 | witness's immediate family, the court may presume forfeiture of |
119 | any objection under the hearsay rule or the confrontation clause |
120 | of the State Constitution. This presumption may be rebutted by |
121 | proof by a preponderance of the evidence that the accused did |
122 | not engage in, and did not acquiesce in, the wrongdoing intended |
123 | to cause the witness not to testify. |
124 | Section 3. Section 90.807, Florida Statutes, is created to |
125 | read: |
126 | 90.807 Residual exception.-A statement that is not |
127 | specifically covered by s. 90.803 or s. 90.804 but that has |
128 | equivalent circumstantial guarantees of trustworthiness is not |
129 | excluded by the hearsay rule if the court determines that the |
130 | statement is offered as evidence of a material fact, the |
131 | statement is more probative on the point for which it is offered |
132 | than any other evidence that the proponent can procure through |
133 | reasonable efforts, and the general purposes of these rules and |
134 | the interests of justice will best be served by admission of the |
135 | statement into evidence. However, a statement may not be |
136 | admitted under this exception unless the party seeking admission |
137 | makes known such intention, including the particulars of the |
138 | statement and the declarant's name and address, to the adverse |
139 | party sufficiently in advance of the trial or hearing to provide |
140 | the adverse party with a fair opportunity to deny or explain the |
141 | statement. |
142 | Section 4. This act shall take effect July 1, 2012. |
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