Bill Text: FL S0822 | 2010 | Regular Session | Introduced

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Bill Title: Forensic Services/Misdemeanants [SPSC]

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 1-0)

Status: (Failed) 2010-04-30 - Died in Committee on Children, Families, and Elder Affairs [S0822 Detail]

Download: Florida-2010-S0822-Introduced.html

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Florida Senate - 2010                                     SB 822 
 
By Senator Hill 
1-00671-10                                             2010822__ 
1                        A bill to be entitled 
2         An act relating to forensic services; amending s. 
3         916.105, F.S.; providing legislative intent that 
4         forensic services be provided to a person charged with 
5         a misdemeanor as well as a felony offense; amending 
6         ss. 916.106, 916.107, 916.13, and 916.302, F.S., 
7         relating to definitions, the rights of forensic 
8         clients, the involuntary commitment of a defendant 
9         with mental illness, and the involuntary commitment of 
10         a defendant determined to be incompetent; conforming 
11         provisions to changes made by the act; providing an 
12         effective date. 
13 
14  Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida: 
15 
16         Section 1. Subsection (1) of section 916.105, Florida 
17  Statutes, is amended to read: 
18         916.105 Legislative intent.— 
19         (1) It is the intent of the Legislature that the Department 
20  of Children and Family Services and the Agency for Persons with 
21  Disabilities, as appropriate, establish, locate, and maintain 
22  separate and secure forensic facilities and programs for the 
23  treatment or training of defendants who have been charged with a 
24  misdemeanor or felony, and who have been found to be incompetent 
25  to proceed due to their mental illness, mental retardation, or 
26  autism, or who have been acquitted of a misdemeanor or felony by 
27  reason of insanity, and who, while still under the jurisdiction 
28  of the committing court, are committed to the department or 
29  agency under the provisions of this chapter. Such facilities 
30  must be able shall be sufficient to accommodate the number of 
31  defendants committed under the conditions noted above. Except 
32  for those defendants found by the department or agency to be 
33  appropriate for treatment or training in a civil facility or 
34  program pursuant to subsection (3), forensic facilities shall be 
35  designed and administered so that ingress and egress, together 
36  with other requirements of this chapter, may be strictly 
37  controlled by staff responsible for security in order to protect 
38  the defendant, facility personnel, other clients, and citizens 
39  in adjacent communities. 
40         Section 2. Subsections (6) and (7) of section 916.106, 
41  Florida Statutes, are amended to read: 
42         916.106 Definitions.—For the purposes of this chapter, the 
43  term: 
44         (6) “Defendant” means an adult, or a juvenile who is 
45  prosecuted as an adult, who has been arraigned and charged with 
46  a misdemeanor or felony offense under the laws of this state. 
47         (7) “Department” means the Department of Children and 
48  Family Services. The department is responsible for the treatment 
49  of forensic clients who have been determined incompetent to 
50  proceed due to mental illness or who have been acquitted of a 
51  misdemeanor or felony by reason of insanity. 
52         Section 3. Paragraph (a) of subsection (1) of section 
53  916.107, Florida Statutes, is amended to read: 
54         916.107 Rights of forensic clients.— 
55         (1) RIGHT TO INDIVIDUAL DIGNITY.— 
56         (a) The policy of the state is that the individual dignity 
57  of the client shall be respected at all times and upon all 
58  occasions, including any occasion when the forensic client is 
59  detained, transported, or treated. Clients with mental illness, 
60  retardation, or autism and who are charged with committing a 
61  misdemeanor or felony felonies shall receive appropriate 
62  treatment or training. In a criminal case involving a client who 
63  has been adjudicated incompetent to proceed or not guilty by 
64  reason of insanity, a jail may be used as an emergency facility 
65  for up to 15 days following the date the department or agency 
66  receives a completed copy of the court commitment order 
67  containing all documentation required by the applicable Florida 
68  Rules of Criminal Procedure. For a forensic client who is held 
69  in a jail awaiting admission to a facility of the department or 
70  agency, evaluation and treatment or training may be provided in 
71  the jail by the local community mental health provider for 
72  mental health services, by the developmental disabilities 
73  program for persons with retardation or autism, the client’s 
74  physician or psychologist, or any other appropriate program 
75  until the client is transferred to a civil or forensic facility. 
76         Section 4. Section 916.13, Florida Statutes, is amended to 
77  read: 
78         916.13 Involuntary commitment of defendant adjudicated 
79  incompetent.— 
80         (1) Every defendant who is charged with a misdemeanor or 
81  felony and who is adjudicated incompetent to proceed may be 
82  involuntarily committed for treatment upon a finding by the 
83  court of clear and convincing evidence that: 
84         (a) The defendant has a mental illness and because of the 
85  mental illness: 
86         1. The defendant is manifestly incapable of surviving alone 
87  or with the help of willing and responsible family or friends, 
88  including available alternative services, and, without 
89  treatment, the defendant is likely to suffer from neglect or 
90  refuse to care for herself or himself and such neglect or 
91  refusal poses a real and present threat of substantial harm to 
92  the defendant’s well-being; or 
93         2. There is a substantial likelihood that in the near 
94  future the defendant will inflict serious bodily harm on herself 
95  or himself or another person, as evidenced by recent behavior 
96  causing, attempting, or threatening such harm; 
97         (b) All available, less restrictive treatment alternatives, 
98  including treatment in community residential facilities or 
99  community inpatient or outpatient settings, which would offer an 
100  opportunity for improvement of the defendant’s condition have 
101  been judged to be inappropriate; and 
102         (c) There is a substantial probability that the mental 
103  illness causing the defendant’s incompetence will respond to 
104  treatment and the defendant will regain competency to proceed in 
105  the reasonably foreseeable future. 
106         (2) A defendant who has been charged with a misdemeanor or 
107  felony and who has been adjudicated incompetent to proceed due 
108  to mental illness, and who meets the criteria for involuntary 
109  commitment to the department under the provisions of this 
110  chapter, may be committed to the department, and the department 
111  shall retain and treat the defendant. No later than 6 months 
112  after the date of admission and at the end of any period of 
113  extended commitment, or at any time the administrator or 
114  designee shall have determined that the defendant has regained 
115  competency to proceed or no longer meets the criteria for 
116  continued commitment, the administrator or designee shall file a 
117  report with the court pursuant to the applicable Florida Rules 
118  of Criminal Procedure. 
119         Section 5. Subsection (1) and paragraph (a) of subsection 
120  (2) of section 916.302, Florida Statutes, are amended to read: 
121         916.302 Involuntary commitment of defendant determined to 
122  be incompetent to proceed.— 
123         (1) CRITERIA.—Every defendant who is charged with a 
124  misdemeanor or felony and who is adjudicated incompetent to 
125  proceed due to retardation or autism may be involuntarily 
126  committed for training upon a finding by the court of clear and 
127  convincing evidence that: 
128         (a) The defendant has retardation or autism; 
129         (b) There is a substantial likelihood that in the near 
130  future the defendant will inflict serious bodily harm on himself 
131  or herself or another person, as evidenced by recent behavior 
132  causing, attempting, or threatening such harm; 
133         (c) All available, less restrictive alternatives, including 
134  services provided in community residential facilities or other 
135  community settings, which would offer an opportunity for 
136  improvement of the condition have been judged to be 
137  inappropriate; and 
138         (d) There is a substantial probability that the retardation 
139  or autism causing the defendant’s incompetence will respond to 
140  training and the defendant will regain competency to proceed in 
141  the reasonably foreseeable future. 
142         (2) ADMISSION TO A FACILITY.— 
143         (a) A defendant who has been charged with a misdemeanor or 
144  felony and who is found to be incompetent to proceed due to 
145  retardation or autism, and who meets the criteria for 
146  involuntary commitment to the agency under the provisions of 
147  this chapter, shall be committed to the agency, and the agency 
148  shall retain and provide appropriate training for the defendant. 
149  No later than 6 months after the date of admission or at the end 
150  of any period of extended commitment or at any time the 
151  administrator or designee shall have determined that the 
152  defendant has regained competency to proceed or no longer meets 
153  the criteria for continued commitment, the administrator or 
154  designee shall file a report with the court pursuant to this 
155  chapter and the applicable Florida Rules of Criminal Procedure. 
156         Section 6. This act shall take effect July 1, 2010.