Senate Bill 930 (2024) — Review of juvenile sentences
SB 930
Florida Bills
Florida Senate - 2024 SB 930 By Senator Thompson 15-01305-24 2024930__ Page 1 of 8 CODING: Words stricken are deletions; words underlined are additions. A bill to be entitled 1
An act relating to review of juvenile sentences; 2 amending s. 921.1402, F.S.; revising the definition of 3 the term “juvenile offender”; revising eligibility 4 requirements for review of sentences for offenses a 5 person committed while a juvenile; revising duties of 6 the Department of Corrections concerning such reviews; 7 revising procedures for initiating a review; providing 8 for appointment of counsel for indigent offenders; 9 providing requirements for hearings; requiring a 10 certain court to render a written ruling within a 11 specified period; requiring a certain court to 12 consider specified additional factors in reviewing a 13 sentence; requiring that concurrent and consecutive 14 sentences be treated as a single sentence; providing 15 legislative intent; requiring an annual report 16 concerning sentence reviews; providing requirements 17 for the report; providing for retroactive application; 18 providing an effective date. 19 20 Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida: 21 22
Section
Section 921.1402, Florida Statutes, is amended 23 to read: 24 921.1402 Review of sentences for persons convicted of 25 specified offenses committed while under the age of 18 years.— 26
(1) As used in For purposes of this section, the term 27 “juvenile offender” means a person sentenced to imprisonment in 28 the custody of the Department of Corrections for an offense 29
Florida Senate - 2024 SB 930 15-01305-24 2024930__ Page 2 of 8 CODING: Words stricken are deletions; words underlined are additions. committed on or after July 1, 2014, and committed before he or 30 she attained 18 years of age. 31 (2)(
a) A juvenile offender sentenced under s. 32 775.082(1)(b)1. is entitled to a review of his or her sentence 33 after 25 years. However, a juvenile offender sentenced under s. 34 775.082(1)(b)1. is not entitled to a review of his or her 35 sentence if he or she has previously been convicted of one of 36 the following offenses, or conspiracy to commit one of the 37 following offenses, if the offense for which the person was 38 previously convicted was part of a separate criminal transaction 39 or episode than that which resulted in the sentence under s. 40 775.082(1)(b)1.: 41 1. Murder; 42 2. Manslaughter; 43 3.
Sexual battery; 44 4. Armed burglary; 45 5. Armed robbery; 46 6. Armed carjacking; 47 7. Home-invasion robbery; 48 8. Human trafficking for commercial sexual activity with a 49 child under 18 years of age; 50 9. False imprisonment under s. 787.02(3)(a); or 51 10. Kidnapping. 52 (
b) A juvenile offender sentenced to a term of more than 25 53 years under s. 775.082(3)(a)5.a. or s. 775.082(3)(b)2.a. is 54 entitled to a review of his or her sentence after 25 years. 55 (
c) A juvenile offender sentenced to a term of more than 15 56 years under s. 775.082(1)(b)2., s. 775.082(3)(a)5.b., or s. 57 775.082(3)(b)2.b. is entitled to a review of his or her sentence 58
Florida Senate - 2024 SB 930 15-01305-24 2024930__ Page 3 of 8 CODING: Words stricken are deletions; words underlined are additions. after 10 15 years. 59 (
d) A juvenile offender sentenced to a term of 20 years or 60 more under s. 775.082(3)(
c) is entitled to a review of his or 61 her sentence after 10 20 years. If the juvenile offender is not 62 resentenced at the initial review hearing, he or she is eligible 63 for one subsequent review hearing 2 10 years after the initial 64 review hearing. 65
(3) The Department of Corrections shall do all of the 66 following: 67 (
a) Notify a juvenile offender of his or her eligibility to 68 request a sentence review hearing 18 months before the juvenile 69 offender is entitled to a sentence review hearing under this 70 section. 71 (
b) Include a juvenile offender’s time spent in county jail 72 before his or her custody in the Department of Corrections when 73 calculating the juvenile offender’s eligibility date for 74 sentence review. 75 (
c) Update a juvenile offender’s classification records to 76 reflect the potential for early release. 77 (
d) Ensure that a juvenile offender has access to 78 transitional programming, with the aim of reducing recidivism. 79 (4)(
a) A juvenile offender seeking sentence review pursuant 80 to subsection (2) must submit an application under Rule 3.996, 81 Florida Rules of Criminal Procedure, to the court of original 82 jurisdiction requesting that a sentence review hearing be held. 83 The juvenile offender may submit the application at any time 84 following the notice under subsection (3), but not more than 18 85 months before the judicial review eligibility date. 86 (
b) The juvenile offender must submit a new application to 87
Florida Senate - 2024 SB 930 15-01305-24 2024930__ Page 4 of 8 CODING: Words stricken are deletions; words underlined are additions. the court of original jurisdiction to request subsequent 88 sentence review hearings pursuant to paragraph (2)(d). The 89 sentencing court shall retain original jurisdiction for the 90 duration of the sentence for this purpose. 91 (5)(
a) A juvenile offender who is eligible for a sentence 92 review hearing under this
section is entitled to be represented 93 by counsel, and the court shall appoint a public defender to 94 represent the juvenile offender if the juvenile offender cannot 95 afford an attorney. The juvenile offender may file a request for 96 appointment of counsel, if indigent, to prepare for the judicial 97 review at any time following the notice under subsection (3), 98 but not more than 18 months before the judicial review 99 eligibility date. 100 (
b) At a hearing under this section, the juvenile offender 101 must be present unless he or she waives the right to be present 102 in writing. This requirement may be satisfied by the juvenile 103 offender appearing by video teleconference. The hearing must be 104 recorded and transcribed. 105
(6) Upon receiving an application from an eligible juvenile 106 offender, the court of original sentencing jurisdiction shall 107 hold a sentence review hearing within 120 days to determine 108 whether the juvenile offender’s sentence should be modified. 109 When determining if it is appropriate to modify the juvenile 110 offender’s sentence, the court shall consider any factor it 111 deems appropriate, including all of the following: 112 (
a) Whether the juvenile offender demonstrates maturity and 113 rehabilitation and the current age of the juvenile offender. 114 (
b) Whether the juvenile offender remains at the same level 115 of risk to society as he or she did at the time of the initial 116
Florida Senate - 2024 SB 930 15-01305-24 2024930__ Page 5 of 8 CODING: Words stricken are deletions; words underlined are additions. sentencing. 117 (
c) The opinion of the victim or the victim’s next of kin. 118 The absence of the victim or the victim’s next of kin from the 119 sentence review hearing may not be a factor in the determination 120 of the court under this section. The court shall permit the 121 victim or victim’s next of kin to be heard, in person, in 122 writing, or by electronic means. If the victim or the victim’s 123 next of kin chooses not to participate in the hearing, the court 124 may consider previous statements made by the victim or the 125 victim’s next of kin during the trial, initial sentencing phase, 126 or subsequent sentencing review hearings. 127 (
d) Whether the juvenile offender was a relatively minor 128 participant in the criminal offense or acted under extreme 129 duress or the domination of another person. 130 (
e) Whether the juvenile offender has shown sincere and 131 sustained remorse for the criminal offense. 132 (
f) Whether the juvenile offender’s age, maturity, and 133 psychological development at the time of the offense affected 134 his or her behavior. 135 (
g) Whether the juvenile offender has successfully obtained 136 a high school equivalency diploma or completed another 137 educational, technical, work, vocational, or self-rehabilitation 138 program, if such a program is available. 139 (
h) Whether the juvenile offender was a victim of sexual, 140 physical, or emotional abuse before he or she committed the 141 offense. 142 (
i) The results of any mental health assessment, risk 143 assessment, or evaluation of the juvenile offender as to 144 rehabilitation. 145
Florida Senate - 2024 SB 930 15-01305-24 2024930__ Page 6 of 8 CODING: Words stricken are deletions; words underlined are additions. (
j) The nature of the offense, including changing societal 146 attitudes regarding the propriety of criminalizing the offense 147 and the appropriate sentence for the offense. 148
(7) If the court determines at a sentence review hearing 149 that the juvenile offender has been rehabilitated and is 150 reasonably believed to be fit to reenter society, the court 151 shall modify the sentence and impose a term of probation of at 152 least 5 years, which can be terminated early for compliance with 153 probation guidelines pursuant to s. 948.04. If the court 154 determines that the juvenile offender has not demonstrated 155 rehabilitation or is not fit to reenter society, the court shall 156 issue a written order stating the reasons why the sentence is 157 not being modified. 158
(8) If the court does not render a ruling during the 159 judicial review hearing, the court shall have 90 days to issue a 160 written ruling on whether the court finds the juvenile offender 161 has been rehabilitated and is reasonably believed to be fit to 162 reenter society. 163
(9) Concurrent and consecutive sentences shall be treated 164 as a single sentence. 165
(10) It is the intent of the Legislature that: 166 (
a) All persons sentenced for a crime committed while under 167 the age of 18 be entitled to periodic case reviews, ensuring 168 consistent consideration of their evolving circumstances and the 169 chance to show maturity and rehabilitation before their sentence 170 ends. The Legislature emphasizes that juvenile sentencing should 171 align with the lowest permissible punishment as detailed in Rule 172 3.992, Florida Rules of Criminal Procedure, Criminal Punishment 173 Code scoresheet, reflecting the distinct nature of juvenile 174
Florida Senate - 2024 SB 930 15-01305-24 2024930__ Page 7 of 8 CODING: Words stricken are deletions; words underlined are additions. offenses and the potential for rehabilitation of juvenile 175 offenders. 176 (
b) Juvenile offenders serving lengthy sentences, with 177 judicial review hearings on the horizon, be provided with 178 transitional programming by the Department of Corrections. 179 (11)(
a) By July 1, 2025, and annually thereafter, the State 180 Courts Administrator shall submit to the President of the Senate 181 and the Speaker of the House of Representatives a report on 182 requests for sentence reductions under this
section and make the 183 report available to the public. 184 (
b) Each report must include, for the 1-year period 185 preceding the report: 186 1. The number of incarcerated juveniles granted and denied 187 sentence reductions under this section. 188 2. The number of incarcerated juveniles released from 189 prison under this section. 190 3. The demographic characteristics of the incarcerated 191 juveniles, including race and gender, and the location, 192 categorized by judicial circuit and county, of: 193 a. Those who applied for sentence reductions under this 194 section. 195 b. Those granted sentence reductions under this section. 196 c.
Those released from prison under this section. 197 d. Those denied release from prison under this section. 198 e. The initial sentencing term, including any prior 199 resentencing proceedings, of each incarcerated juvenile in 200 subparagraphs 1. and 2. 201 f. The applicable Criminal Punishment Code scoresheet total 202 and mandatory minimums imposed on each incarcerated juvenile in 203
Florida Senate - 2024 SB 930 15-01305-24 2024930__ Page 8 of 8 CODING: Words stricken are deletions; words underlined are additions. subparagraphs 1. and 2. 204
Section 2. This act shall apply retroactively to all 205 persons serving a sentence for offenses committed while under 206 the age of 18. 207