Opinion ID: 1676101
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 4

Heading: Law Enforcement Officials' Conduct and Due Process

Text: The legislature has the authority to statutorily establish entrapment as a defense in this state. However, the legislature cannot enact a statute that overrules a judicially established legal principle enforcing or protecting a federal or Florida constitutional right. Accordingly, section 777.201 cannot overrule a decision of this Court regarding entrapment in any case decided under the due process provision of article I, section 9, of the Florida Constitution. Although the United States Supreme Court has yet to determine in a case before it that the conduct of law enforcement agents in an entrapment case has violated federal due process rights, it has determined that law enforcement agents' conduct could, in fact, violate such rights. See Russell. On the other hand, as noted above, we have determined, under the circumstances in Glosson, that the conduct of law enforcement agents violated the due process clause of the Florida Constitution. We recently reached a similar conclusion in State v. Williams, 623 So.2d 462 (Fla. 1993). In Williams, we relied on Glosson in finding that the police conduct violated the defendant's due process rights under article I, section 9, regardless of the defendant's predisposition. This was because the conduct engaged in by law enforcement agents, i.e., the manufacture of crack for sale within 1000 feet of a school, was illegal. In making our determination, we noted that defining the limits of due process is difficult because due process is not a technical, fixed concept; rather, it is a general principle of law that prohibits prosecutions brought about by methods offending one's sense of justice. Further, although we stated that we are not unmindful of the problems faced by law enforcement agents in combatting crime, we emphasized that certain conduct would not be tolerated in light of the due process considerations mandated by our constitution. While we must not tie law enforcement's hands in combatting crime, there are instances where law enforcement's conduct cannot be countenanced and the courts will not permit the government to invoke the judicial process to obtain a conviction. Williams, at 465. Because the legislature cannot abrogate an accused's due process rights, section 777.201 is inapplicable whenever a judge determines as a matter of law that law enforcement personnel have violated an accused's due process rights.