Case Name: In re COMMITMENT OF Gary BURTON. Gary Burton, Appellant, v. State of Florida, Appellee
Court: Florida District Court of Appeal
Jurisdiction: Florida
Decision Date: 2004-10-22
Citations: 884 So. 2d 1112
Docket Number: No. 2D01-223
Parties: In re COMMITMENT OF Gary BURTON. Gary Burton, Appellant, v. State of Florida, Appellee.
Judges: SILBERMAN, J., Concurs.
Reporter: Southern Reporter, Second Series
Volume: 884
Pages: 1112–1121

Head Matter:
In re COMMITMENT OF Gary BURTON. Gary Burton, Appellant, v. State of Florida, Appellee.
No. 2D01-223.
District Court of Appeal of Florida, Second District.
Oct. 22, 2004.
James Marion Moorman, Public Defender, and Deborah K. Brueckheimer, Assistant Public Defender, Bartow, for Appellant.
Charles J. Crist, Jr., Attorney General, Tallahassee, and Janet A. McDonald, and Marilyn Muir Beccue, Assistant Attorney General, Tampa, for Appellee.

Opinion:
LEVENS, WILLIAM P., Associate Judge.
Gary Burton seeks review of his civil commitment as a sexually violent predator under the Jimmy Ryce Act, section 394.910-.931, Florida Statutes (1999) ("the Act"). Burton takes issue with several pretrial rulings of the trial court, several evidentiary rulings that took place during the course of trial, the State's closing argument, and the jury instructions. Our review of the record revealed no reversible error, and we affirm the commitment order in all respects. We write to address the issues that are likely to recur in other commitment proceedings under the Act.
FRYE ISSUES
Prior to trial, Burton filed a motion in limine requesting the exclusion of expert testimony regarding certain tests used to determine whether a defendant is a sexually violent predator. The court conducted a Frye hearing and denied the motion. At the Frye hearing, the parties presented evidence about seven instruments that experts used to determine whether a defendant qualifies as a sexually violent predator (VRAG, SORAG, MnSOST, MnSOST-R, RRASOR, PCL-R and SVR-20). The expert testimony in this case only relied upon the RRASOR, PCL-R, and SVR-20.
Under Frye, expert opinion testimony that relies on novel scientific principles will only be admitted if it is generally accepted by the members of its particular field. Id. at 1014. We have previously determined that the RRASOR and PCL-R satisfy the requirements articulated in Frye. See Rodgers v. State (In re Commitment of Rodgers), 875 So.2d 737, 739 (Fla. 2d DCA 2004); Lee v. State, 854 So.2d 709, 712 (Fla. 2d DCA 2003). We conclude that the SVR-20 is not subject to the requirements of Frye.
The SVR-20 consists of twenty risk factors to be assessed by a clinician during a clinical interview as part of a sexual offender evaluation. The SVR-20 does not produce a numerical score or predict a degree of recidivism risk. Instead, it is a guidepost that assists the professional by focusing the clinical interview on risk factors which research has determined to be relevant to recidivism.
Given the very nature of the SVR-20, it is clearly not the type of objective scientific principle or test with which Frye is concerned. Any testimony regarding the use and application of the SVR-20 is tantamount to pure opinion testimony. An expert's "pure opinion testimony," based "solely on the expert's training and experience," is admissible without having to satisfy the requirements of Frye. Hadden v. State, 690 So.2d 573, 579-80 (Fla.1997); Flanagan v. State, 625 So.2d 827, 828 (Fla.1993). But see Collier v. State, 857 So.2d 943, 945-46 (Fla. 4th DCA 2003) (holding that the SVR-20 does not satisfy Frye).
VIOLATION OF PLEA BARGAIN
Prior to trial, Burton filed a motion to enforce his plea agreement and to dismiss the civil commitment petition. Burton argued that the State violated the plea agreement (a twelve-year prison sentence followed by fifteen years of probation) by seeking civil commitment pursuant to the Act. The Florida Supreme Court has addressed this issue and determined that the State does not violate a plea agreement to a term of incarceration followed by probation by seeking civil commitment under the Act after the term of incarceration is served. See State v. Harris, 881 So.2d 1079, 1083 (Fla.2004); Murray v. Regier, 872 So.2d 217, 224 (Fla.2002); see also Rodgers, 875 So.2d at 741; State v. Heath, 865 So.2d 633, 634 (Fla. 2d DCA 2004); Cartwright v. State (In re Commitment of Cartwright), 870 So.2d 152, 155 (Fla. 2d DCA 2004).
HEARSAY
Burton argues that the admission of hearsay under the Act is unconstitutional because it violated his right to confrontation under the Confrontation Clause of the Sixth Amendment of the U.S. Constitution and the parallel provision in article I, section 16(a) of the Florida Constitution. This court has recently rejected this argument. See Cartwright, 870 So.2d at 156.
"SEXUALLY VIOLENT PREDATOR"
Burton argues that the trial court erred in allowing Burton to be referred to as a "sexually violent predator" at trial. The supreme court has expressly allowed the State and court to use the term "sexually violent predator" to explain to the jury that their job is to determine whether the defendant meets this status. Standard Jury Instructions-Criminal Cases (99-2), 777 So.2d 366, 367 (Fla.2000). The only caveat to the use of the term is that it must not become a "feature of the trial." Id. The use of the term was proper in this case.
JURY INSTRUCTIONS
Burton argues that the jury was not properly instructed on an essential element of volitional control. Burton claims that the jury should have been required to find that he had a serious difficulty in controlling his dangerous behavior. This issue was not preserved and does not rise to the level of fundamental error. See Westerheide v. State, 831 So.2d 93, 109 (Fla.2002); Rodgers, 875 So.2d at 741; Lee, 854 So.2d at 716. As we have previously done, we certify the following question as one of great public importance:
MAY AN INDIVIDUAL BE COMMITTED UNDER THE JIMMY RYCE ACT IN THE ABSENCE OF A JURY INSTRUCTION THAT THE STATE MUST PROVE THAT THE INDIVIDUAL HAS SERIOUS DIFFICULTY IN CONTROLLING HIS OR HER DANGEROUS BEHAVIOR?
Affirmed; question certified.
SILBERMAN, J., Concurs.
ALTENBERND, C.J., Concurs with opinion.
. Frye v. United States, 293 F. 1013 (D.C.Cir.1923).
. Section 394.9155(5), Florida Statutes (1999), allows for the use of hearsay in civil commitment proceedings under the Act as long as it is reliable and not the sole basis for the commitment.