Gov. Ron DeSantis on Monday received three bills from the Legislature, including one that would make changes in how long juveniles can be held in “detention care” before adjudicatory hearings.
Currently, courts can only place juveniles in detention care for 21 days unless hearings have started.
“However, in many juvenile cases, the time period required to commence an adjudicatory hearing far exceeds 21 days or even 30 days,” a House staff analysis of the bill (HB 7029) said. “As such, under current law, a court may be required to release a child from detention care prior to his or her adjudicatory hearing, even under circumstances where the court finds such release inappropriate.”
Under the bill, a court could order juveniles to be placed in what is known as “supervised release detention care” for any period of time until adjudicatory hearings are held.
Such placement would be in the custody of parents or guardians under supervision of the Department of Juvenile Justice, If minors have been under supervised detention for 60 days, the measure would require that separate hearings be held to determine if the supervised detention should continue.
For minors who are held in detention facilities ahead of adjudicatory hearings, the measure would allow courts to extend the detention period in 21-day increments for serious offenses.
However, the bill would require that separate hearings be held to determine the need to continue secure detention.
Another bill sent to DeSantis on Monday would give law-enforcement officers a wider range of people to charge for already-illegal drag racing and stunt-driving events that block traffic on roads and in parking lots.
The proposal (HB 399), in part, would allow police to charge people with first-degree misdemeanors, carrying a fine of up to $1,000 or a year in jail, for helping coordinate events through social media.
The measure, which would take effect Oct. 1, also would expand the definitions of stunt driving during a “street takeover” to include performing a “doughnut,” “drifting,” a stationary tire "burnout,” or a “wheelie.”
