West Palm Beach Criminal Defense Lawyer Applauds Proposed Juvenile Justice Bills in Florida Lege

WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. - May 11, 2015 - PRLog -- West Palm Beach criminal defense attorney Andrew Stine, of the law firm Andrew D. Stine, P.A., said today that he is encouraged by the favorable votes two juvenile justice bills have received in the Florida Senate and House of Representatives and was hopeful that the Florida Legislature will ultimately enact legislation that reduces the number of minors arrested for non-violent offenses. While Florida does currently have civil citation programs for first-time offenders, the way such programs are administered is largely uneven across most Florida counties.

The two bills would expand the use of civil citations and reduce the number of criminal records created by arrests, although the one difference between the two bills is the number of warnings a youth offender would receive in the form of citations before he or she was subject to arrest. House Bill 99, co-sponsored by state representatives Darryl Rouson and Gwyn Clarke-Reed, would allow juveniles to be cited four times before they are arrested. Senate Bill 378 sponsored by state senators Rene Garcia and Audrey Gibson would incorporate a more traditional “three strikes” model in terms of the number of citations that could be issued before arrest.

“It’s very encouraging to see lawmakers recognize the enormous long-term problems that arrests for minor offenses can create for young people and take real steps to correct them,” Stine said. “The proposed legislation would be a sensible alternative to incarceration that still holds minors accountable without running their lives.”

HB 99 received favorable votes in three House committees, including a 10-3 vote in the Criminal Justice Subcommittee, an 11-1 vote in the Justice Appropriations Subcommittee, and a 16-0 vote in the Judiciary Committee. SB 378 has also received approval in the Senate, including unanimous 5-0 votes in the Criminal Justice Committee and Children, Families, and Elder Affairs Committee and a 9-2 vote in the Rules Committee before being passed 37-1 by the Senate and 115-2 in the House.

Whereas some police officers are currently forced to arrest alleged youth offenders even in cases when they believe a ticket would be more appropriate, HB 99 and SB 378 would give law enforcement more authority to issue a civil citation instead. Officers could also inform a juvenile’s parent or guardian about the infraction or require him or her to participate in some kind of diversion program.

“The only real concern with these bills is that an alleged juvenile offender is required to admit his or her guilt in order to receive one of these citations,” Stine said. “There are some cases in which minors who are actually innocent may be better served to be arrested and retain their rights to an attorney who can possibly have those criminal charges dismissed.”

Andrew D. Stine, P.A. defends first-time offenders and people under the age of 18 who have been charged with all sorts of crimes in South Florida. Andrew Stine was an intern for the New Haven Public Defenders Office and a public defender for the Palm Beach County Appellate Division before founding his own firm.

For more information, call Andrew Stine of Andrew D. Stine, P.A. at (561) 832-1170 or visit http://www.andrewdstine.com to fill out a contact form.