Case Name: STATE of Florida, Appellant, v. Frank MITCHELL, Appellee
Court: Florida District Court of Appeal
Jurisdiction: Florida
Decision Date: 2003-07-03
Citations: 848 So. 2d 1209
Docket Number: No. 1D03-1518
Parties: STATE of Florida, Appellant, v. Frank MITCHELL, Appellee.
Judges: VAN NORTWICK and LEWIS, JJ., concur.
Reporter: Southern Reporter, Second Series
Volume: 848
Pages: 1209–1213

Head Matter:
STATE of Florida, Appellant, v. Frank MITCHELL, Appellee.
No. 1D03-1518.
District Court of Appeal of Florida, First District.
July 3, 2003.
Charlie Crist, Attorney General; Thomas H. Duffy, Assistant Attorney General, Tallahassee, for Appellant.
Nancy A. Daniels, Public Defender, Second Judicial Circuit, and Robert S. Friedman, Assistant Public Defender, Tallahassee, for Appellee.

Opinion:
ON MOTION FOR REVIEW OF ORDER TO STAY
PER CURIAM.
Appellee, Frank Mitchell, requests review, pursuant to Florida Rule of Appellate Procedure 9.310(f), of the trial court's order denying appellee's motion to vacate the automatic stay provided for in Florida Rule of Appellate Procedure 9.310(b)(2) and seeks the reversal of such. In his motion for review, appellee contends that the trial court erred in denying his motion to vacate the stay because, while the commitment of sexually violent predators under the Jimmy Ryce Act has been deemed to be civil in nature, such commitment during the pendency of the State's appeal constitutes a serious deprivation of a defendant's liberty interests. Concluding that the automatic stay provision set forth in rule 9.310(b)(2) is applicable to civil commitment proceedings brought under the Jimmy Ryce Act when the State appeals the lower court's dismissal of the petition seeking commitment, we affirm the trial court's order.
In the instant case, the State sought to civilly commit appellee as a sexually violent predator pursuant to what is commonly known as the Jimmy Ryce Act, sections 894.910-394.931, Florida Statutes (2000) (entitled "Involuntary Civil Commitment of Sexually Violent Predators"). The trial court found that there was probable cause to believe that appellee was a sexually violent predator. Thereafter, the trial court dismissed the proceeding for lack of jurisdiction and the State filed a notice of appeal. Appellee subsequently filed a motion with the trial court to vacate the automatic stay under rule 9.310(b)(2). However, the trial court denied the motion, stating that the issue presented was one of first impression in Florida and determining that it was unable to find that the State had no likelihood of success on appeal.
Rule 9.310(b)(2) provides that "[t]he timely filing of a notice shall automatically operate as a stay pending review, except in criminal cases, when the state, any public officer in an official capacity, board, commission, or other public body seeks review. ." The statute and the case law construing the Jimmy Ryce Act make it clear that the commitment proceedings under the Jimmy Ryce Act are civil in nature. See, e.g., Westerheide v. State, 767 So.2d 637, 648 (Fla. 5th DCA 2000) (holding that the Jimmy Ryce Act is civil in nature and that confinement is for treatment and the protection of the public, not punishment), approved by 831 So.2d 93 (Fla.2002). Moreover, section 394.9155(1), Florida Statutes (2000), provides that the Florida Rules of Civil Procedure apply to all civil commitment proceedings for sexually violent predators unless otherwise specified. It has also been observed that automatic stays are available only in civil cases and that "[s]ubject to the exception for criminal cases, rule 9.310(b)(2) makes no distinction as to the type of case in which a public party is entitled to an automatic stay." See Philip J. Padovano, Florida Appellate Practice § 12.5 at 184 (2003 ed.). Although, the automatic stay provision has been held inapplicable to discretionary review proceedings, see, e.g., State, Department of Health and Rehabilitative Services v. E.D.S. Federal Corporation, 622 So.2d 90 (Fla. 1st DCA 1993) and City of Miami v. Arostegui, 616 So.2d 1117 (Fla. 1st DCA 1993), in the instant case, the State has the right to appeal the final order of dismissal. Accordingly, because the commitment of sexually violent predators has been held to be civil in nature and because rule 9.310(b)(2) applies to civil cases, we conclude that rule 9.310(b)(2) is applicable to this appeal.
In State v. Kobel, 757 So.2d 556, 557 (Fla. 4th DCA 2000), the State sought a writ of certiorari to review a trial court order that directed the release of a detainee under the Jimmy Ryce Act. The Fourth District Court of Appeal stayed that portion of the trial court's order that required the detainee's release and issued an order to show cause. Id. at 559. To maintain the status quo, the court continued the stay on the condition that an adversarial hearing be held as previously scheduled. The court set forth that once the finding of probable cause had been made, the trial judge was required to order that the detainee " 'be maintained in custody and held in an appropriate secure facility for further proceedings in accordance' with the [Jimmy Ryce] Act, Part V of Chapter 394, Florida Statutes (1999). § 394.9135(3), Fla. Stat. (1999)." Id. at 563.
Even if we were to determine that the automatic stay provision does not apply to this appeal, Kobel suggests that the detainee still would not be eligible for release based on the mandatory provision of section 394.915(5), Florida Statutes, which sets forth that after a court finds probable cause, "the person must be held in custody in a secure facility without opportunity for pretrial release or release during the trial proceeding." Here, the trial court made a finding of probable cause that appellee was a sexually violent predator. Although the trial court later dismissed the commitment petition, the effectiveness of that order is not final because the State has taken this appeal.
As observed in Meadows v. Krischer, 763 So.2d 1087, 1091 n. 4 (Fla. 4th DCA 1999), this case demonstrates the difficulty courts have had in fashioning procedures on a case by case basis to implement the Jimmy Ryce Act and:
underscore[s] the need for the Florida Supreme Court to appoint an appropriate committee to fashion comprehensive procedural rules for the implementation of substantive requirements of the Jimmy Ryce Act for those situations where the application of the Rules of Civil Procedure would be impracticable and where the statute is silent as to procedure.
As appellee continues to be held in detention, we sua sponte expedite consideration of this case on its merits.
Because we share the serious concerns for due process expressed in the dissent, we certify the following question to the Florida Supreme Court to be of great public importance:
WHETHER THE STATE IS ENTITLED TO THE BENEFIT OF THE AUTOMATIC STAY PROVISION OF RULE 9.310(b)(2) ON APPEAL IN A CIVIL COMMITMENT PROCEEDING BROUGHT PURSUANT TO PART V OF CHAPTER 394, FLORIDA STATUTES, WHEN THE TRIAL COURT HAS DISMISSED THE PETITION SEEKING COMMITMENT.
AFFIRMED; QUESTION CERTIFIED.
VAN NORTWICK and LEWIS, JJ., concur.
PADOVANO, J., dissents with written opinion.