Title: In Re: Amendments to Florida Rule of Criminal Procedure 3.830
Citation: N/A
Docket Number: SC20-1102
State: Florida
Issuer: Florida Supreme Court
Date: January 7, 2021

Supreme Court of Florida 
 
 
 
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No. SC20-1102 
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IN RE: AMENDMENTS TO FLORIDA RULE OF CRIMINAL 
PROCEDURE 3.830. 
 
January 7, 2021 
 
PER CURIAM. 
 
 
This matter is before the Court for consideration of proposed amendments to 
Florida Rule of Criminal Procedure 3.830.  We have jurisdiction.  See art. V, § 
2(a), Fla. Const.; Fla. R. Jud. Admin. 2.140(f). 
 
The Florida Bar’s Criminal Procedure Rules Committee (Committee) filed a 
report proposing amendments to Florida Rule of Criminal Procedure 3.830 (Direct 
Criminal Contempt).  The Committee’s proposal follows a referral by the Court, 
requesting that the Committee consider whether the rule should require that the 
trial court’s judgment of direct criminal contempt include documentation that the 
procedural steps required by the rule were followed.  We adopt the Committee’s 
amendments to rule 3.830 with slight modification. 
 
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Rule 3.830 is reorganized.  As amended, the rule is divided into numbered 
subdivisions.  The first sentence remains as an introductory paragraph, and adds 
the word “only” as follows:  “A criminal contempt may be punished summarily 
only if the court saw or heard the conduct constituting the contempt committed in 
the actual presence of the court.”  The second sentence, providing that “The 
judgment of guilt of contempt shall include a recital of those facts on which the 
adjudication of guilt is based,” is moved to a numbered paragraph.  The 
introductory paragraph concludes with a new sentence, “The court shall strictly 
comply with the following five procedural requirements.”  Next are the five 
numbered paragraphs with the procedural requirements that were previously 
included in the rule but not separately numbered.  Finally, a final sentence is added 
as a standalone paragraph, providing that the defendant may be temporarily 
detained and removed to ensure the safety of the individuals in the courtroom.  See 
Manzaro v. D’Alessandro, 283 So. 3d 335, 337 (Fla. 4th DCA 2019) (suggesting 
that the Committee propose such an amendment to the rule to the Court). 
Accordingly, we amend Florida Rule of Criminal Procedure 3.830 as 
reflected in the appendix to this opinion.  New language is underscored; deleted 
language is stricken through.  The amendments to these rules shall become 
effective April 1, 2021. 
 
It is so ordered. 
 
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CANADY, C.J., and POLSTON, LABARGA, LAWSON, MUÑIZ, COURIEL, 
and GROSSHANS, JJ., concur. 
 
THE FILING OF A MOTION FOR REHEARING SHALL NOT ALTER THE 
EFFECTIVE DATE OF THESE AMENDMENTS. 
 
Original Proceedings – Florida Rules of Criminal Procedure 
 
Honorable Angela Cote Dempsey, Chair, Criminal Procedure Rules Committee, 
Tallahassee, Florida; and Joshua E. Doyle, Executive Director, and Mikalla Andies 
Davis, Staff Liaison, The Florida Bar, Tallahassee, Florida, 
 
 
for Petitioner 
 
 
 
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APPENDIX 
RULE 3.830. 
DIRECT CRIMINAL CONTEMPT 
A criminal contempt may be punished summarily only if the court saw or 
heard the conduct constituting the contempt committed in the actual presence of 
the court. The judgment of guilt of contempt shall include a recital of those facts 
on which the adjudication of guilt is based.The court shall strictly comply with the 
following five procedural requirements. 
(a) 
Prior to the adjudication of guilt the judge shall inform the defendant 
of the accusation against the defendant and inquire as to whether the defendant has 
any cause to show why he or she should not be adjudged guilty of contempt by the 
court and sentenced therefor. 
(b) 
The defendantcourt shall be givenprovide the defendant the 
opportunity to present evidence of excusing or mitigating circumstances.  
(c) 
The judgment of guilt of contempt shall include a recital of those facts 
on which the adjudication of guilt is based, and confirm compliance with the five 
procedural requirements of this rule. 
(d) 
The judgment shall be signed by the judge and entered of record.  
(e) 
Sentence shall be pronounced in open court. 
If necessary to ensure safety of individuals in the courtroom, the court may 
order the defendant be temporarily detained and removed from the courtroom; 
however once the danger to individuals in the courtroom has abated, the defendant 
should be returned to the courtroom to allow for the procedures set forth in this 
rule. 
Committee Notes 
[No changes]