Case Name: In re AMENDMENT TO FLORIDA RULE OF JUVENILE PROCEDURE 8.165(a)
Court: Florida Supreme Court
Jurisdiction: Florida
Decision Date: 2008-05-01
Citations: 981 So. 2d 463
Docket Number: No. SC07-1162
Parties: In re AMENDMENT TO FLORIDA RULE OF JUVENILE PROCEDURE 8.165(a).
Judges: LEWIS, C.J., and ANSTEAD, PARIENTE, and QUINCE, JJ., concur.
Reporter: Southern Reporter, Second Series
Volume: 981
Pages: 463–470

Head Matter:
In re AMENDMENT TO FLORIDA RULE OF JUVENILE PROCEDURE 8.165(a).
No. SC07-1162.
Supreme Court of Florida.
May 1, 2008.
Robert W. Mason, Chair, Juvenile Court Rules Committee, Public Defender’s Office, Fourth Judicial Circuit, Jacksonville, FL; John F. Harkness, Jr., Executive Director, The Florida Bar, Tallahassee, FL, for Petitioner.
Carlos J. Martinez, Vice President, Florida Public Defender Association, Miami, FL, Responding with comments.

Opinion:
PER CURIAM.
This matter is before the Court for consideration of proposed amendments to the Florida Rules of Juvenile Procedure. We have jurisdiction. See art. V, § 2(a), Fla. Const.
In 2004, the Juvenile Court Rules Committee (Committee) filed its regular-cycle report proposing amendments to the Florida Rules of Juvenile Procedure. Among the proposed amendments were several amendments to rule 8.165, Providing Counsel to Parties, applicable in juvenile delinquency proceedings. Specifically, the Committee proposed amending subdivision (a), Duty of the Court, to require that a child be given a meaningful opportunity to confer with counsel before waiving his or her right to counsel and that all such waivers be in writing. The Committee also proposed new subdivision (b)(3) requiring that when a child enters a plea or is being tried for a delinquent act, the written waiver of counsel be submitted "in the presence of a parent, legal custodian, responsible adult relative, or attorney assigned by the court to assist the child, who shall verify on the written waiver that the child's decision to waive counsel has been discussed with the child and appears to be knowing and voluntary." See Fla. R. Juv. P. 8.165(b)(3). These proposals were unanimously recommended to the Committee by The Florida Bar's Commission on the Legal Needs of Children (Commission), an interdisciplinary statewide commission whose mission is to study the legal needs of children in Florida and recommend ways to help children appearing in Florida courts. The Commission's 2002 report addressed the legal needs of children according to five priority areas: (1) representation; (2) treatment and services; (3) confidentiality; (4) education and the role of The Florida Bar; and (5) technology and the court. With regard to representation, the Commission adopted the Representation Subcommittee's Report, which made a number of recommendations to improve the representation of children in Florida courts. The Commission noted that a disturbing number of children waive their right to counsel in delinquency pro ceedings and drafted the proposed amendments to rule 8.165(a) to provide standards to be used before a child in delinquency proceedings may waive his or her right to counsel. Final Report of The Florida Bar Commission on the Legal Needs of Children 5, 12-13, appendix A (2002). Additionally, both the Steering Committee on Families and Children in the Court (Steering Committee) and the Florida Public Defender Association (FPDA) supported the proposals. After considering the Committee's report and hearing oral argument, the Court adopted the amendment to rule 8.165(a) requiring all waivers of counsel to be in writing, as well as new subdivision (b)(3). However, the Court ultimately deferred consideration of the proposed amendment requiring prewaiver consultation with an attorney, stating:
Although we believe that consultation with an attorney prior to waiving counsel is an important additional safeguard designed to protect a juvenile's constitutional right to counsel, we are also mindful of the potential financial impact of this requirement. We note that one of the recommendations of the representation subcommittee that was adopted by the full Commission on the Legal Needs of Children was to encourage efforts seeking legislative changes that would "create" a right to a prewaiver consultation and authorize the public defender to provide the required consultation. In fact, in its June 2002 Final Report, the Commission specifically recommended:
5. Florida law should specifically create a right for children to consult counsel, short of outright appointment for the duration of the case, in the following instances:
a. Regarding waiver of counsel or other right or legal interest in a delinquency proceeding, prior to the appointment of the Public Defender by a judge, or at any time thereafter where waiver is sought;
6. Florida law should specifically authorize the Public Defender to provide the consultation services outlined in # 5 above. This recommendation would necessitate the legislature appropriating additional funds for the Public Defender to adequately provide consultation services.
These two recommended changes in the law could be made by amending sections 985.203(1) and 27.51, Florida Statutes (2004).
Because of the potential financial impact of the amendment to rule 8.165(a) regarding consultation with attorneys and our desire to work cooperatively with the Legislature, we urge the Legislature to consider the Commission's recommendations. We also strongly urge that the voluntary practice that exists in many jurisdictions in which consultation with an attorney takes place be continued and, where possible, expanded in the interim.
We thus decline to adopt at this time the portion of rule 8.165(a) regarding consultation with an attorney prior to a waiver. We emphasize that we are not rejecting this proposed amendment to rule 8.165(a), but are merely deferring its consideration. We intend to readdress the adoption of the amendment to rule 8.165(a) at a future time following the conclusion of the legislative session. We further take this opportunity to reinforce that it is critical for delinquency judges to ensure that any waiver of counsel by a child is knowingly and vol untarily given, especially prior to accepting a plea of guilty or nolo contendere.
Amendments to Fla. Rules of Juv. Pro., 894 So.2d 875, 880-81 (Fla.2005).
Subsequently, given the Court's concerns regarding the potential financial impact on the public defenders of requiring a prewaiver consultation with counsel, the Court directed the Committee to seek input from the FPDA concerning this issue. Further, in 2005, the National Juvenile Defender Center (NJDC) conducted an assessment of children's access to counsel in delinquency proceedings in Florida and issued a report. This report made some sobering observations. The NJDC reported that (1) even very young children in Florida's courts routinely waive counsel, sometimes with subtle encouragement from judges; (2) that this is done without counsel being present or any meaningful discussion of the potential long term disadvantages; (3) that the rule requiring a written waiver is generally followed, but seems to be regarded as a substitute for a meaningful inquiry into the child's understanding; (4) that the rule requiring consultation with an adult about the waiver decision is "routinely flouted," and (5) that consultation with a parent may also be an inadequate safeguard, given the other subtle disincentives for exercising the right to counsel, such as indigence and application fees, surcharges, complex application forms, and inadequate oversight of indigence determinations by judges. Patricia Puritz & Cathryn Crawford, National Juvenile Defender Center, Florida: An Assessment of Access to Counsel and Quality of Representation in Delinquency Proceedings 3 (2006), available at http://www. njdc.info/pdf/Florida%20Assessment.pdf. The NJDC's report also made the following specific recommendation:
Further restrictions on waiver of counsel must be established consistent with national standards. Youth should not be permitted to waive counsel without prior consultation with such counsel. Counsel should assist the client in making an informed, knowing and voluntary choice and stand-by counsel should be available in the event of waiver. It is imperative that youth understand the long-term consequences of a juvenile adjudication.
Id. at 4.
Accordingly, on June 22, 2007, the Committee resubmitted the proposed amendment to rule 8.165(a) to the Court. The Committee's report states that the FPDA continues to support the proposed amendment and believes there would be only minimal fiscal impact as a result of public defenders providing a prewaiver consultation in juvenile dependency proceedings. Additionally, the Committee notes that several bills in accordance with the Commission's recommendations were introduced in subsequent legislative sessions, and although these bills ultimately failed to pass, the staff analyses for several of them, relying upon representations of the FPDA, noted minimal fiscal impact. The proposed rule amendment at issue passed the Committee by a vote of fourteen to five, and was approved by the Executive Committee of The Florida Bar Board of Governors by. a unanimous vote of ten to zero.
After submission to the Court, the proposed amendment was published for comment in the July 15, 2007, edition of The Florida Bar News. One comment was received from the FPDA in favor of the proposed amendment. In its comment, the FPDA expressly agreed to provide the consultation services required by the proposed amendment. The FPDA also represented that it believes the fiscal impact of requiring a prewaiver consultation will be minimal, and the resulting increase in caseloads that may occur in some circuits if more children decide not to waive their right to counsel will not be unduly burdensome. The FPDA states that "[m]ost [public defender] offices will be able to absorb the increases within current staffing levels or with the addition of a minimal number of positions." Finally, the FPDA requests that the Court balance any potential financial impact against the likelihood that, if the amendment to the rule is adopted, there will be fewer reversals on appeal in cases in which a child has not received legal counsel.
After considering the Committee's report and the FPDA's comments, we adopt the amendment to rule 8.165(a) as proposed by the Committee. We adopt- the amendment because we agree with the Committee, the Commission, the Steering Committee, the FPDA, and the NJDC that consultation with an attorney prior to waiving counsel is an important and necessary procedural safeguard designed to protect a juvenile's constitutional right to counsel.
The substantive right to counsel for children in juvenile delinquency proceedings is firmly established under the United States Constitution and Florida Statutes. In re Gault, 387 U.S. 1, 36, 87 S.Ct. 1428, 18 L.Ed.2d 527 (1967); § 985.033(1), Fla. Stat. (2007) (stating that a child is entitled to representation by legal counsel at all stages of any delinquency proceeding). Florida courts have a duty to protect that right. Florida Rule of Juvenile Procedure 8.165 governs the appointment and waiver of counsel in juvenile delinquency proceedings. This rule "contains specific guidelines to ensure that the substantive right of a juvenile to counsel is protected." K.E.N. v. State, 892 So.2d 1176, 1179 (Fla. 5th DCA 2005). Part of protecting and effectuating a child's right to counsel in juvenile delinquency proceedings is ensuring that a waiver of that right by the child is knowing and voluntary. This Court has noted that "[i]t is extremely doubtful that any child of limited experience can possibly comprehend the importance of counsel." State v. T.G., 800 So.2d 204, 211 (Fla.2001) (quoting P.L.S. v. State, 745 So.2d 555, 557 (Fla. 4th DCA 1999)): Especially given the observations brought to light by the NJDC's assessment of children's access to counsel in delinquency proceedings in our courts, it is clear that additional safeguards are needed. Accordingly, we conclude that a meaningful opportunity to consult with counsel before waiving the right to counsel is a necessary step in effectuating and protecting the child's substantive right to counsel.
Accordingly, we hereby adopt the amendment to rule 8.165(a) as set forth in the appendix to this opinion. Additions are indicated by underscoring; deletions are indicated by struek-through type. The amendment shall become effective on July 1, 2008, at 12:01 a.m.
It is so ordered.
LEWIS, C.J., and ANSTEAD, PARIENTE, and QUINCE, JJ., concur.
BELL, J., dissents with an opinion, in which WELLS and CANTERO, JJ., concur.
. The proposals submitted to the Court by the Juvenile Court Rules Committee were almost identical to the proposed amendments drafted by the Commission.
. See Fla. SB 88 (2007) (died in Juvenile Justice Committee); Fla. HB 53 (2007) (withdrawn prior to introduction); Fla. HB 7 (2007) (died in Juvenile Justice Committee); Fla. SB 526 (2006) (passed by Senate but died in House Judiciary Committee); Fla. CS for SB 1218 (2005) (died in Senate Judiciary Committee).
. See Fla. S. Comm, on Judiciary, SB 88 (2007) Staff Analysis 3-4 (Mar. 7, 2007) (on file with comm.); Fla. S. Comm. on Crim. Just., SB 88 (2007) Staff Analysis 3-4 (Feb. 1, 2007) (on file with comm.); Fla. S. Comm. on Crim. Just., SB 526 (2006) Staff Analysis 2-3 (Jan. 6, 2006) (on file with comm.); Fla. S. Comm. on Crim. Just., CS for SB 1218 (2005) Staff Analysis 2-3 (Apr. 7, 2005) (on file with comm.). Of course, as acknowledged in these staff analyses, the potential fiscal impact that cannot be determined is that which may occur if more children decide not to waive their right to counsel as a result of the prewaiver consultation. The staff analyses noted that according to the FDPA, in large circuits like the Fourth (Jacksonville), the Eleventh (Miami), and the Thirteenth (Tampa) there would be no impact because the common practice is to appoint a public defender to almost all indigent children. Other circuits that do not have this practice could realize a significant increase in caseloads.