State ex rel. Stromer v. Rowley
State ex rel. Stromer v. Rowley
Opinion of the Court
Petitioner seeks to prohibit the trial court from trying him as an adult on the ground that the state failed to file a motion with the court within five days after a delinquency petition was filed seeking to have the child certified to the adult division of the circuit court. On December 23, 1977, a complaint was filed with the Division of Youth Services charging petitioner with various acts of burglary and he was taken into custody. On January 20,1978, a petition was filed in the juvenile division of circuit court charging petitioner with certain acts of delinquency. The petition did not include a request to waive jurisdiction to the criminal division of the circuit court. Ten days thereafter, or on January 30,1978, the state filed a motion to amend the original petition pursuant to Fla.R.Juv.P. 8.160(a) by adding to the petition a prayer for the court to waive jurisdiction to the criminal division of the circuit court. Subsequently an order was entered granting the state’s motion to amend the petition. Petitioner’s case was certified to the criminal division of the circuit court and an information was filed against him charging him with 11 counts of burglary.
The question presented is whether the court should be prohibited from trying petitioner as an adult because, as argued by petitioner, the state failed to comply with Section 39.09(2)(a),
We decline to approve petitioner’s construction of the statute. The petitioner’s argument that conflict exists between the statute and the rule is more imagined than real. Section 39.09(2)(a) employs the permissive language. “may” in allowing the state attorney to file a motion within five days after a delinquency petition was filed requesting transfer of the child for criminal prosecution.
The committee note to Fla.R. Juv.P. 8.150, pertaining to waiver of jurisdiction, states that the committee is of the opinion that Section 39.09(2)(a), allowing involuntary waiver for a child over the age of 14, goes to the jurisdiction of the court and is substantive.
The rule nisi is discharged and the petition for writ of prohibition is denied.
. Which provides:
The State Attorney may, within 5 days of the date a delinquency petition has been filed and before a hearing on the petition on its merits, and following consultation with the intake office, file a motion requesting the court to transfer the child for criminal prosecution if the child was 14 or more years of age at the time of the conduct charged and is alleged to have committed an act which would be a violation of law if committed by an adult. If the child has been previously adjudicated delinquent for one of the violent crimes, to wit: murder, rape or sexual battery, armed robbery, or aggravated assault, and is currently charged with a second or subsequent such offense, the State Attorney shall file a motion requesting the court to transfer the child for criminal prosecution.
. The word “shall” used in this context would normally be construed to be mandatory. Neal v. Bryant, 149 So.2d 529 (Fla. 1962); White v. Means, 280 So.2d 20 (Fla. 1st DCA 1973).
. S. R. v. State, 346 So.2d 1018 (Fla. 1977), in interpreting the effect of Section 39.05(7), Fla. Stat. (1975), which provided that “petitions alleging delinquency shall be dismissed with prejudice [upon motion] if not filed within 30 days from the date the complaint was referred to the intake office . .” held that the statute’s provisions were mandatory and furnished the child with a substantive right of dismissal; thus superseding Fla.R.Juv.P. 8.020 which provided only that “the petition may be dismissed with prejudice . . .” A similar construction was placed upon Section 39.03(2), Fla.Stat. (1975), which provided that the “person taking the child into custody shall, within three days . . .” file a full written report with the Juvenile Division Intake Office. In Interest of J.W.H., 345 So.2d 871 (Fla. 1st DCA 1977). Our court there held that the statute’s three day requirement was mandatory and that the state could not circumvent its provisions by waiting an indefinite period of time before filing a complaint with the intake officer. As previously noted, here we are confronted only with a statute which permits, not mandates, the state attorney to file a motion requesting transfer within the applicable five day period.
Case-law data current through December 31, 2025. Source: CourtListener bulk data.