HB 6507 2022
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hb6507-00
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F L O R I D A H O U S E O F R E P R E S E N T A T I V E S
A bill to be entitled 1
An act for the relief of Scotty Bartek; providing an 2
appropriation to compensate Scotty Bartek for being 3
wrongfully incarcerated; providing a limitation on 4
compensation and the payment of attorney fees; 5
providing an effective date. 6
7
WHEREAS, on September 9, 1991, Scotty Bartek was convicted 8
of two counts of sexual battery upon a child under 12 years of 9
age and was sentenced to two life sentences with a 2 5-year 10
mandatory minimum term of imprisonment on each count, and 11
WHEREAS, on October 5, 2009, Mr. Bartek filed a motion for 12
postconviction relief, claiming newly discovered evidence in the 13
form of the victim's recantation, and 14
WHEREAS, the victim informe d the state that she had no 15
recollection of Mr. Bartek, her father, committing sexual 16
battery and that her mother had coached her to fabricate 17
testimony against Mr. Bartek, and 18
WHEREAS, on May 15, 2012, the Circuit Court for the Fifth 19
Judicial Circuit, in and for Marion County, granted Mr. Bartek's 20
petition of postconviction relief in Case No. 1991 -CF-376, and 21
the State of Florida then appealed the circuit court's order, 22
and 23
WHEREAS, if a circuit court's order vacating a conviction 24
and sentence is appeale d by the State of Florida, the order 25
HB 6507 2022
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F L O R I D A H O U S E O F R E P R E S E N T A T I V E S
becomes final upon the issuance of a mandate by the appellate 26
court, and 27
WHEREAS, on November 26, 2013, the Fifth District Court of 28
Appeal per curiam affirmed the circuit court's order granting 29
Mr. Bartek's petition an d vacating the judgment and sentence in 30
Case No. 5D12-2399, and 31
WHEREAS, section 961.03(1)(b)1., Florida Statutes (2014), 32
requires a wrongfully convicted person to file a petition 33
seeking compensation within 90 days after the order vacating a 34
conviction and sentence becomes final, and 35
WHEREAS, on December 20, 2013, after more than 22 years of 36
wrongful incarceration, Mr. Bartek was exonerated and the 37
mandate was issued by the District Court of Appeal, giving him 38
until March 20, 2014, to timely file his pet ition seeking a 39
determination of eligibility for compensation, and 40
WHEREAS, Mr. Bartek's case was scheduled for a retrial in 41
March 2014, and 42
WHEREAS, on February 27, 2014, the state entered a nolle 43
prosequi, dismissing its charges against Mr. Bartek, and 44
indicated that it did not have sufficient evidence to establish 45
beyond a reasonable doubt that Mr. Bartek committed sexual 46
battery, and 47
WHEREAS, on May 20, 2014, within 90 days after the state's 48
filing of the nolle prosequi, Mr. Bartek filed a petition 49
seeking compensation for wrongful incarceration, and 50
HB 6507 2022
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F L O R I D A H O U S E O F R E P R E S E N T A T I V E S
WHEREAS, on September 8, 2014, counsel for Mr. Bartek filed 51
a supplemental memorandum of law alleging that Mr. Bartek is 52
"eligible for compensation" under chapter 961, Florida Statutes 53
(2014), and 54
WHEREAS, counsel for Mr. Bartek alleged that although Mr. 55
Bartek was disqualified from seeking compensation by s. 56
961.04(1), Florida Statutes (2014), the statute did not afford 57
him equal protection under the law, in violation of the United 58
States Constitution a nd the State Constitution, because the 59
statute unconstitutionally discriminated between persons 60
wrongfully incarcerated who had prior felony convictions and 61
those persons who did not have prior felony convictions, and 62
WHEREAS, Mr. Bartek was convicted bef ore his wrongful 63
sexual battery conviction and incarceration on one count of the 64
sale of cannabis, a nonviolent felony of the third degree, and 65
WHEREAS, the courts did not consider Mr. Bartek's equal 66
protection argument, but the Legislature narrowed the t ypes of 67
disqualifying felonies in its passage of chapter 2017 -120, Laws 68
of Florida, so that wrongfully incarcerated persons would be 69
disqualified if they committed a violent felony before their 70
wrongful conviction and incarceration and so that those person s 71
who committed a nonviolent felony would no longer be 72
disqualified, and 73
WHEREAS, Mr. Bartek's counsel argued that the Legislature 74
did not intend to require a defendant seeking compensation for 75
HB 6507 2022
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F L O R I D A H O U S E O F R E P R E S E N T A T I V E S
wrongful incarceration to file a petition while the state could 76
pursue charges against him or her, and 77
WHEREAS, on March 3, 2015, the circuit court dismissed Mr. 78
Bartek's petition seeking compensation because it was not timely 79
filed, and on August 12, 2016, the District Court of Appeal 80
affirmed the trial court's dismissal, and 81
WHEREAS, the Legislature has determined that it is 82
appropriate to compensate individuals who have been wrongly 83
incarcerated, and 84
WHEREAS, if Mr. Bartek had met the requirements of chapter 85
961, Florida Statutes (2014), he would have been e ntitled to 86
compensation at a rate of $50,000 for each year of wrongful 87
incarceration, prorated to account for a portion of a year 88
served; a waiver of tuition and fees for up to 120 hours of 89
instruction at a career center, community college, or state 90
university; a refund of the amount of any fine, penalty, or 91
court costs imposed which he paid; and a refund of the amount of 92
reasonable attorney fees and expenses which he incurred and 93
paid, and 94
WHEREAS, Mr. Bartek was wrongfully incarcerated for 22 95
years and 242 days, which amounts to $1,133,150.69, and 96
WHEREAS, the estimated cost of attendance for a full -time 97
undergraduate Florida resident to attend a state university for 98
4 years is approximately $24,000, and 99
WHEREAS, Mr. Bartek paid an estimated $500 in cou rt costs 100
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and fines, and 101
WHEREAS, Mr. Bartek's defense attorney charged him $40,000 102
for legal services relating to the charges described in this 103
case, and 104
WHEREAS, these figures amount to an estimated total of 105
$1,197,650.69, which is the amount Mr. Bartek seeks under this 106
claim bill, NOW, THEREFORE, 107
108
Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida: 109
110
Section 1. The facts stated in the preamble to this act 111
are found and declared to be true. 112
Section 2. The sum of $1,197,650.69 is appropriat ed from 113
the General Revenue Fund to the Department of Legal Affairs for 114
the relief of Scotty Bartek for his wrongful incarceration. 115
Section 3. The Chief Financial Officer is directed to draw 116
a warrant in favor of Scotty Bartek in the sum of $1,197,650. 69 117
upon funds of the Department of Legal Affairs in the State 118
Treasury and to pay the same out of such funds in the State 119
Treasury. 120
Section 4. The amount awarded under this act is intended 121
to provide the sole compensation for all present and future 122
claims arising out of the wrongful incarceration of Scotty 123
Bartek as described in this act. The total amount paid for 124
attorney fees, including the $40,000 reimbursement for Mr. 125
HB 6507 2022
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Bartek's defense attorney fees, may not exceed 25 percent of the 126
amount awarded under this act. 127
Section 5. This act shall take effect upon becoming a law. 128