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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 relating to crime victim's rights; creating s. 2
960.00011, F.S.; providing definitions; creating s. 3
960.00012, F.S.; specifying rights that crime victims 4
may exercise; requiring certain entities to notify 5
victims of certain events; creating s. 960.00 014, 6
F.S.; providing duties of specified agencies to notify 7
victims in specified ways; providing that a victim has 8
the right to retain an attorney for specified 9
purposes; providing for assertion of a victim's 10
rights; specifying that a criminal defendant ma y not 11
assert a victim's rights; amending s. 960.001, F.S.; 12
revising requirements for preparation of guidelines 13
for treatment of victims; providing for limited 14
privacy of victim information cards; amending s. 15
960.0015, F.S.; providing a policy concerning th e 16
grant of delays in criminal proceedings; providing for 17
withdrawal of counsel; providing for motions for 18
speedy trial; providing for hearings on such motions; 19
providing goals for completion of appellate review of 20
convictions; providing for notice of delay when review 21
exceeds the goal in a case; providing for reports of 22
cases that exceed the goals; providing requirements 23
for reports; amending s. 960.0021, F.S.; revising the 24
content of a specified notice to crime victims of 25
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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
victim rights; revising requiremen ts for posting of 26
such notices; providing an effective date. 27
28
Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida: 29
30
Section 1. Section 960.00011, Florida Statutes, is created 31
to read: 32
960.00011 Definitions. —As used in this chapter, the term: 33
(1) "Confer" or "consultation" means to consult together, 34
share information, compare opinions, and carry on a discussion 35
or deliberation. The right to confer does not create any right 36
to interfere with the state attorney's discretion in determining 37
what charges to bring, whether to go to trial on a case, or what 38
plea offer to make. The right to confer is intended to a give 39
crime victim a means to be heard and have his or her views 40
considered and does not give a crime victim the right to veto 41
decisions of the state. 42
(2) "Court proceedings" includes, but is not limited to, a 43
first appearance hearing, arraignment, any post -arraignment 44
hearing the effect of which may be the release of the defendant 45
from custody or to alter the conditions of bond, change of plea 46
hearing, the trial, any pretrial or post -trial hearing, 47
sentencing, and any proceeding or hearing in a juvenile 48
delinquency case, such as a detention hearing, an adjudicatory 49
hearing, a disposition hearing, a detention hearing, or a 50
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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
juvenile mediation, and any oral argument or hearing before an 51
appellate court, any competency hearing, a hearing for 52
conditional release, any hearing related to a modification of 53
sentence, probation or community control revocation hearing, 54
aftercare release or parole heari ng, postconviction relief 55
proceeding, habeas corpus proceeding, and clemency proceeding 56
related to the conviction or sentence of the defendant or 57
delinquent. 58
(3) "Crime victim" or "victim" is a person or entity who 59
suffers direct or threatened physical, psychological, or 60
financial harm as a result of the commission or attempted 61
commission of a crime or delinquent act or against whom the 62
crime or delinquent act is committed. The term includes the 63
victim's lawful representative, the parent or guardian of a 64
minor, or the next of kin of a homicide victim, except upon a 65
showing that the interest of such individual would be in actual 66
or potential conflict with the interests of the victim. The term 67
includes law enforcement officers, correctional officers, or 68
correctional probation officers who use deadly force in the 69
course and scope of their employment or official duties. The 70
term does not include the accused. As used in this subsection, 71
terms "crime" and "criminal" include delinquent acts and 72
conduct. 73
(4) "Information or records that could be used to locate 74
or harass the victim or the victim's family" includes, but is 75
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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
not limited to, any record or document that may reveal the 76
identity of the crime victim, including the name, home or 77
employment telephone number , home or employment address; the 78
personal assets of the victim of a crime; information or 79
documents that identify that person as the victim of a crime; or 80
disclose the identity of members of the crime victim's 81
household. 82
(5) "Status hearing" means a hea ring designed to provide 83
information to the court, at which no motion of a substantive 84
nature and no constitutional or statutory right of a crime 85
victim is implicated or at issue. 86
(6) "Victim's attorney" means an attorney retained by the 87
victim to assert the victim's constitutional and statutory 88
rights who is hired at the victim's expense or an attorney who 89
has agreed to provide pro bono representation. 90
Section 2. Section 960.00012, Florida Statutes, is created 91
to read: 92
960.00012 Rights a victim may opt to exercise.— 93
(1) A crime victim may elect to exercise any or all of the 94
following rights by providing or filing notice on a form 95
designated by the Attorney General to the state attorney or law 96
enforcement. 97
(a) The right to notice of court proceed ings. 98
Notwithstanding any rule of procedure to the contrary, the 99
right, upon request, to reasonable, accurate, and timely notice 100
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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
of all public court proceedings involving the criminal conduct, 101
or delinquency, including, but not limited to, trial, plea, 102
sentencing, or adjudication, even if the victim will be a 103
witness at the proceeding. 104
1. If a victim has requested notice of a court proceeding 105
and the victim is absent from that proceeding and the court 106
determines the victim was not noticed of the time and place of 107
the court proceeding in a method reasonably designed to actually 108
notify the victim then only a status hearing may be held at such 109
time and all other matters must be continued to a later court 110
proceeding where the victim is noticed in a manner dir ected by 111
the court. 112
2. A victim shall also be provided reasonable, accurate, 113
and timely notice of any release or escape of the defendant or 114
delinquent, and any proceeding during which a right of the 115
victim is implicated. 116
(b) The right to be present at all court proceedings 117
except for grand jury proceedings. Notwithstanding any rule of 118
procedure or court practice to the contrary, every crime victim 119
has a right to be present, even if he or she will be a witness 120
in the proceeding. The right to be present is equal to that of 121
the defendant or the delinquent charged with the criminal 122
offense or delinquent act against the victim, to attend and 123
observe all court proceedings related to the case, including 124
suppression or other evidentiary hearings and the entire trial 125
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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
of the accused, including jury selection, witness examinations, 126
and closing arguments. 127
(c) The right to be heard in any public or court 128
proceeding including pretrial hearings or other release from any 129
form of legal constraint hearings, plea hearin gs, sentencing, 130
adjudication, or parole and any proceeding during which a right 131
of the victim is implicated. 132
1. Whenever a victim who is not incarcerated has the right 133
to be heard, the court, subject to the proper functioning of the 134
court, shall allow th e victim to exercise the right in any 135
reasonable manner the victim chooses. 136
2. In the case of an incarcerated victim, the right to 137
exercise the right to be heard is effectuated by submitting a 138
written statement at any crucial stage of the criminal court 139
proceedings, parole proceedings, or any administrative 140
proceedings. 141
(d) The right to a copy of the police report. Upon the 142
request of the victim, the law enforcement agency having 143
jurisdiction shall provide a free copy of the police report 144
concerning the victim's incident, as soon as practicable, but no 145
later than 5 business days after the request. The law 146
enforcement entity may redact any confidential information that 147
is confidential under the public records law. 148
(e) The right to confer with the state attorney concerning 149
any plea agreements, participation of the accused in a formal or 150
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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
informal pretrial diversion program, release, restitution, 151
sentencing, or any other disposition of the case. 152
1. The state attorney's office shall consider the written 153
victim impact statement, if prepared before entering into a plea 154
agreement, before making an offer of a plea bargain to the 155
defendant or entering into negotiations with the defendant 156
concerning a possible plea agreement. 157
2. The victim's right to confer wi th the state attorney 158
about the case does not include the right to veto a plea 159
agreement or require the case go to trial. 160
(f) The right to provide information regarding the impact 161
of the offender's conduct on the victim and the victim's family. 162
The state attorney shall inform the victim of the victim's right 163
to submit an oral or written impact statement pursuant to s. 164
921.143 and shall assist in the preparation of such statement if 165
necessary. The information provided by the victim shall be 166
considered in any sentencing recommendations submitted to the 167
court. 168
(g) The right to receive a copy of any presentence report, 169
and any other report or record relevant to the exercise of a 170
victim's right, except for any confidential information. 171
(h) The right to be informed of the conviction, sentence, 172
adjudication, place and time of incarceration or commitment in 173
any type of facility, or other disposition of the convicted 174
offender, any scheduled release date of the offender, and the 175
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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
release of or the escape of the offender from custody. 176
(i) The right to be informed of all postconviction 177
processes and court proceedings and procedures, to be notified, 178
to participate in such processes and procedures, either by being 179
heard in a trail court, filing amicus briefs that comply with 180
the appellate rules, or to appear before panels, commissions, or 181
boards to provide information to be considered before any 182
release decision is made and to be notified of any release 183
decision regarding the offender. The parole or early release 184
authority shall extend the right to be heard to any person 185
harmed by the offender. 186
(j) The right to be informed of clemency and discretionary 187
expungement procedures, not including those that may occur by 188
operation of law based on the passage of time, to provide 189
information to the governor, the court, any clemency board, and 190
other authority in these procedures, and to have such 191
information considered before a clemency or expungement decision 192
is made; and to be notified of such decision in advance of any 193
release of the offender. 194
(2) The rights of the victim, as provided in paragraph 195
(1)(a), paragraph (1)(b), or paragraph (1)(c), when the court 196
proceeding is a first appearance hearing, will be deemed to be 197
satisfied by a reasonable attempt by the appropria te agency to 198
notify the victim and if known, when the victim's views are 199
conveyed to the court timely if the victim is unable to attend. 200
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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
Section 3. Section 960.00014, Florida Statutes, is created 201
to read: 202
960.00014 Duty to provide victims with notice of their 203
rights.— 204
(1) Victims have a right to be informed of their rights 205
under s. 16(b), Art. I of the State Constitution and Florida 206
law, and to be informed that they may seek the advice of an 207
attorney with respect to their rights. 208
(a) The office of Attorney General shall design and 209
publish information that advises the general public and crime 210
victims about their rights. This information shall be made 211
available to the general public and provided to all crime 212
victims in the form of a card, or by othe r means, intended to 213
effectively advise the victim of their rights for use by law 214
enforcement or other entities assisting victims. The victim 215
right's card or other notification should advise victims where 216
they can acquire additional information about their rights, how 217
to make elections to exercise optional rights, provide 218
information about crime victim compensation, including how to 219
contact the Office of the Attorney General to file a claim, and 220
appropriate referrals to local and state programs that provide 221
victim services. 222
(b) A law enforcement agency that investigates an offense 223
committed in this state shall provide a crime victim with a copy 224
of the victim rights card and an explanation of the rights of 225
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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
crime victims within 48 hours of law enforcement's initial 226
contact with a victim. The law enforcement agency shall also 227
provide a crime victim with a form that the victim shall sign 228
and date as an acknowledgement that he or she has been furnished 229
with information and an explanation of the rights of crime 230
victims and compensation. If the victim chooses not to sign the 231
form, a notation shall be made in a report. 232
(c) The elected state attorneys shall design a form that 233
may be used by victims to make elections about which rights they 234
may wish to exercise. T he completed election of rights form 235
shall be filed with the court and will be available to the trial 236
judge. The form may be amended at any time. The state attorneys 237
shall make the form available to victims, law enforcement, 238
clerks of court, and state and local programs that provide 239
victim services. The form may also be available for download on 240
state attorney websites or the websites of other criminal 241
justice system participants. 242
(2) At any point, the victim has the right to retain a 243
victim's attorney who may be present with the victim during all 244
stages of any interview, investigation, or other interaction 245
with representatives of the criminal justice system the victim 246
is required to participate. The victim's attorney also has the 247
right to be present at a ny proceeding or other event, either 248
with the victim or on behalf of the victim, which the victim may 249
be present. Treatment of the victim should not be affected or 250
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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
altered in any way as a result of the victim's decision to 251
exercise this right. 252
(a) An attorney wishing to appear on behalf of a victim 253
shall file a limited notice of appearance allowing the attorney 254
to assert and protect the victim's rights. 255
(b) Upon the filing of the notice of appearance and 256
service on the state attorney and the defendant, the victim's 257
attorney is to receive copies of all notices, motions and court 258
orders filed thereafter in the case through the court's 259
electronic filing system. 260
(3) The victim, the retained attorney of the victim, a 261
lawful representative of the victim, th e parents of a minor 262
victim, or the office of the state attorney upon request of the 263
victim, have standing and may assert and seek enforcement of the 264
rights enumerated in s. 16(b), Art. I of the State Constitution, 265
this chapter, or any other right afforded to a victim by law in 266
any trial or appellate court, or before any other authority with 267
jurisdiction over the case, as a matter of right. 268
(4) The defendant in the criminal case has no standing to 269
assert a right of the victim in any court proceeding, inc luding 270
on appeal. 271
Section 4. Paragraphs (a) and (b) of subsection (1) of 272
section 960.001, Florida Statutes, are amended to read: 273
960.001 Guidelines for fair treatment of victims and 274
witnesses in the criminal justice and juvenile justice systems. — 275
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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
(1) The Attorney General Department of Legal Affairs , the 276
state attorneys, the Secretary Department of Corrections, the 277
Secretary Department of Juvenile Justice, the Florida Commission 278
on Offender Review, the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court State 279
Courts Administrator and the chief judge of each circuit court 280
administrators, the executive director of the Department of Law 281
Enforcement, and every sheriff sheriff's department , police 282
department, or other law enforcement agency as defined in s. 283
943.10(4) shall develop, publish, post on any agency or court 284
entity website, and implement guidelines for the use of their 285
respective agencies, which guidelines are consistent with the 286
purposes of this act and s. 16(b), Art. I of the State 287
Constitution and are de signed to implement s. 16(b), Art. I of 288
the State Constitution and to achieve the following objectives: 289
(a) Information concerning services available to victims 290
of adult and juvenile crime. —As provided in s. 27.0065, state 291
attorneys and public defenders shall gather information 292
regarding the following services in the geographic boundaries of 293
their respective circuits and shall provide such information to 294
each law enforcement agency with jurisdiction within such 295
geographic boundaries. Law enforcement perso nnel shall ensure, 296
through distribution of a Marsy's victim's rights information 297
card or brochure at the crime scene, during the criminal 298
investigation, and in any other appropriate manner, that victims 299
are given, as a matter of course at the earliest poss ible time, 300
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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
information about: 301
1. The availability of crime victim compensation, if 302
applicable; 303
2. Crisis intervention services, supportive or bereavement 304
counseling, social service support referrals, and community -305
based victim treatment programs; 306
3. The role of the victim in the criminal or juvenile 307
justice process, including what the victim may expect from the 308
system as well as what the system expects from the victim; 309
4. The stages in the criminal or juvenile justice process 310
which may be are of the greatest significance or interest to the 311
victim and the manner in which information about such stages can 312
be obtained; 313
5. The right of a victim, who is not incarcerated, 314
including the victim's parent or guardian if the victim is a 315
minor, the lawful repr esentative of the victim or of the 316
victim's parent or guardian if the victim is a minor, and the 317
next of kin of a homicide victim, upon request, to be informed, 318
to be present, and to be heard at all stages of a criminal or 319
juvenile proceedings proceeding as provided by s. 16(b), Art. I 320
of the State Constitution; 321
6. In the case of incarcerated victims, the right, upon 322
request, to be informed and to submit written statements at all 323
stages of the criminal proceedings, parole proceedings, or 324
juvenile proceedings; 325
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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
7. The right of a victim to a prompt and timely 326
disposition of the case in order to minimize the period during 327
which the victim must endure the responsibilities and stress 328
involved; and 329
8. The right of a victim to employ private counsel. The 330
Florida Bar is encouraged to develop a registry of attorneys who 331
are willing to serve on a pro bono basis as advocates for crime 332
victims. 333
(b) Information for purposes of notifying victim or 334
appropriate next of kin of victim or other designated contact of 335
victim.—In the case of a homicide, pursuant to chapter 782; or a 336
sexual offense, pursuant to chapter 794; or an attempted murder 337
or sexual offense, pursuant to chapter 777; or stalking, 338
pursuant to s. 784.048; or domestic violence, pursuant to s. 339
25.385: 340
1. The arresting law enforcement officer or personnel of 341
an organization that provides assistance to a victim or to the 342
appropriate next of kin of the victim or other designated 343
contact must request that the victim or appropriate next of kin 344
of the victim or other designated contact complete a victim 345
notification card. However, the victim or appropriate next of 346
kin of the victim or other designated contact may choose not to 347
complete the victim notification card. 348
2. Unless the victim or the appropriate next o f kin of the 349
victim or other designated contact waives the option to complete 350
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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
the victim notification card, a copy of the victim notification 351
card must be filed with the incident report or warrant in the 352
sheriff's office of the jurisdiction in which the in cident 353
report or warrant originated. The notification card shall, at a 354
minimum, consist of: 355
a. The name, address, and phone number of the victim; or 356
b. The name, address, and phone number of the appropriate 357
next of kin of the victim; or 358
c. The name, address, and telephone number of a designated 359
contact other than the victim or appropriate next of kin of the 360
victim; and 361
d. Any relevant identification or case numbers assigned to 362
the case. 363
e. The victim information card is confidential unless the 364
court, upon motion, makes all or part of the information on the 365
card available to the defense. 366
3. The chief administrator, or a person designated by the 367
chief administrator, of a county jail, municipal jail, juvenile 368
detention facility, or residential commi tment facility shall 369
make a reasonable attempt to notify the alleged victim or 370
appropriate next of kin of the alleged victim or other 371
designated contact within 4 hours following the release of the 372
defendant on bail or, in the case of a juvenile offender, u pon 373
the release from residential detention or commitment. If the 374
chief administrator, or designee, is unable to contact the 375
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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
alleged victim or appropriate next of kin of the alleged victim 376
or other designated contact by telephone, the chief 377
administrator, or designee, must send to the alleged victim or 378
appropriate next of kin of the alleged victim or other 379
designated contact a written notification of the defendant's 380
release. 381
4. Unless otherwise requested by the victim or the 382
appropriate next of kin of the victim or other designated 383
contact, the information contained on the victim notification 384
card must be sent by the chief administrator, or designee, of 385
the appropriate facility to the subsequent correctional or 386
residential commitment facility following the sentencing and 387
incarceration of the defendant, and unless otherwise requested 388
by the victim or the appropriate next of kin of the victim or 389
other designated contact, he or she must be notified of the 390
release of the defendant from incarceration as provided by law. 391
5. If the defendant was arrested pursuant to a warrant 392
issued or taken into custody pursuant to s. 985.101 in a 393
jurisdiction other than the jurisdiction in which the defendant 394
is being released, and the alleged victim or appropriate next of 395
kin of the alleged victim or other designated contact does not 396
waive the option for notification of release, the chief 397
correctional officer or chief administrator of the facility 398
releasing the defendant shall make a reasonable attempt to 399
immediately notify the chief correctional officer of the 400
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jurisdiction in which the warrant was issued or the juvenile was 401
taken into custody pursuant to s. 985.101, and the chief 402
correctional officer of that jurisdiction shall make a 403
reasonable attempt to notify the alleged vict im or appropriate 404
next of kin of the alleged victim or other designated contact, 405
as provided in this paragraph, that the defendant has been or 406
will be released. 407
Section 5. Section 960.0015, Florida Statutes, is amended 408
to read: 409
(Substantial rewording o f section. See 410
s. 960.0015, F.S., for present text.) 411
960.0015 Victim's right to a prompt and final conclusion; 412
reporting requirements. — 413
(1) Section 16(b)(10), Art. I of the State constitution 414
ensures for victims the right of a victim to a prompt and ti mely 415
disposition of a criminal proceeding, thus minimizing the period 416
during which the victim must endure hardships and 417
responsibilities resulting from participating in a criminal 418
proceeding, including the stress, cost, and inconvenience 419
resulting to the victim. To protect and enforce this right to a 420
prompt and final conclusion of the case and any related 421
postjudgment proceedings, delays shall be limited to only those 422
necessary to protect the due process rights of the parties. 423
Therefore, delays shall be mon itored and documented in order to 424
provide accountability and transparency to the public, victims, 425
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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
and policy makers. 426
(a) If the defendant's attorney determines that the 427
interest of the accused is so adverse or hostile, or that a 428
conflict of interest exi sts in continuing the representation of 429
the accused pursuant to s. 27.5303, the attorney shall, within a 430
reasonable time, not to exceed 10 days after the facts 431
supporting the motion are known or should have been known, file 432
a motion to withdraw. 433
(b) The attorney may request an in camera or ex parte 434
hearing to establish the grounds creating the conflict 435
consistent with s. 27.5303. The court may not consider any 436
information alleged or established in support of a motion to 437
withdraw for any purpose other than deciding the motion to 438
withdraw. 439
(2) At the trial court level, the state attorney may file 440
a good faith demand for a speedy trial attesting that the state 441
attorney believes the case is ready to proceed to trial. 442
(a) Once the demand is filed the trial court shall notice, 443
schedule, and hold a hearing on the demand within 15 days of the 444
filing of the demand. 445
(b) At the hearing the trial court shall either: 446
1. Schedule a trial to commence on a date at least 5 days 447
but no more than 60 days after the da te of the hearing unless 448
the state and defense agree to a date outside of the time 449
parameters; or 450
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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
2. Deny the state attorney's demand for speedy trial by 451
entering a written order with specific findings of fact 452
justifying a trial date more than 60 days a fter the hearing. 453
(3) At the appellate court level, s. 16(b)(10)b., Art. I 454
of the State Constitution establishes the goal that all appeals 455
from a final judgment and sentence, including any collateral 456
attacks on the final judgment and sentence be complet e within 2 457
years from the date of appeal in noncapital cases and within 5 458
years from the date of appeal in capital cases. Based on the 459
State Constitution the following reporting requirements are 460
established: 461
(a) Notice of Delay. —When the appeal or collat eral attack 462
is not final within 2 years for a noncapital case or within 5 463
years in a capital case the chief judge of any district court of 464
appeal or the Chief Justice of the supreme court shall enter a 465
Notice of Delay in the case setting forth the date of filing the 466
appeal, the type of appeal, and the reason or reasons for the 467
failure to meet the time goals of this subsection. The Notice of 468
Delay shall be filed and served on the state, the defense, and 469
the victim, if the victim requested notice, within 30 d ays after 470
the applicable time period has expired. 471
(b) Aging Report.—By January 15 of each year, the chief 472
judge of each district court of appeal and the Chief Justice of 473
the supreme court shall issue an aging report on a case -by-case 474
basis to the Preside nt of the Senate and the Speaker of the 475
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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
House of Representatives listing all cases where the court: 476
1. Previously entered a Notice of Aging, or cases where 477
the notice of appeal was filed before December 31, 2016, for 478
noncapital cases, or before December 31, 2013, for capital 479
cases; and 480
2. Where the case still remains pending as of the January 481
15 reporting date. 482
3. The Aging Report shall include the filing date of the 483
pending appeal, the reason or reasons the chief judge or the 484
Chief Justice determin ed have caused the delay, and any 485
suggested actions the Legislature might take to address the 486
reasons for delay thus helping achieve these time goals. 487
4. Any case that appears in an Aging Report, that also 488
appeared on the previous January's Aging Report must include an 489
itemization of all judicial actions taken on the case during the 490
last year and a notation made of any measurable progress on the 491
case during that time period. 492
5. If the Attorney General, the applicable office of the 493
public defender, or any other government entity is listed as a 494
cause of, or a contributor to the delay, that entity shall have 495
30 days after a district court of appeal or the Supreme Court 496
files an Aging Report to file a response to the report providing 497
any information the of fice of Attorney General, office of public 498
defender or other governmental agency deems beneficial. A copy 499
of the response must be served on the President of the Senate 500
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and the Speaker of the House of Representatives. 501
Section 6. Section 960.0021, Florid a Statutes, is amended 502
to read: 503
960.0021 Legislative intent; advisement to victims. — 504
(1) The Legislature finds that in order to ensure that 505
crime victims can effectively understand and exercise their 506
rights under s. 16, Art. I of the State Constitution , and to 507
promote law enforcement that considers the interests of crime 508
victims, victims must be properly advised in the courts of this 509
state. 510
(2) The courts may fulfill their obligation to advise 511
crime victims by doing one of the following: 512
(a) Making the following announcement at any arraignment, 513
sentencing, or case-management proceeding: 514
"If you are the victim of a crime with a case pending before 515
this court, you are advised that you have the right, upon 516
request: 517
1. To be informed. 518
2. To be present. 519
3. To be heard at all stages of criminal court 520
proceedings. 521
4. To receive advance notification, when possible, of 522
judicial proceedings and notification of scheduling 523
changes, pursuant to section 960.001, Florida Statutes. 524
5. To seek crimes compensation and restitution. 525
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6. To consult with the state attorney's office in certain 526
felony cases regarding the disposition of the case. 527
7. To make an oral or written victim impact statement at 528
the time of sentencing of a defendant. 529
For further information regarding additional rights afforded to 530
victims of crime, you may contact the state attorney's office or 531
obtain a listing of your rights from the Clerk of Court." 532
(b) Displaying prominently on the courtroom doors posters 533
giving notification of the existence and general provisions of 534
this chapter. The Attorney General Department of Legal Affairs 535
shall provide the courts with the posters specified by this 536
paragraph. 537
(3) The chief judge of the circuit court administrator 538
shall coordinate efforts to ensure that victim rights 539
information, as established in s. 16(b), Art. I of the State 540
Constitution and Florida law s. 960.001(1)(o), is provided to 541
the clerk of the court . 542
(4) This section is only for the benefit of crime victims. 543
Accordingly, a failure to comply with this section shall not 544
affect the validity of any hearing, conviction, or sentence. 545
Section 7. This act shall take effect July 1, 2024. 546