Opinion ID: 1697743
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 4

Heading: Probable Cause Petition

Text: As an initial matter, this Court must first consider whether the Act requires a probable cause petition to be supported by sworn proof. The Second District concluded that the ex parte probable cause determination prescribed by section 394.915(1) must be supported by sworn proof in the form of a verified petition or affidavit. See Melvin, 804 So.2d at 463. The Second District noted that the Act does not state whether a petition initiating a commitment proceeding must be sworn, nor does it identify the basis on which the court is to make its initial probable cause determination. Melvin, 804 So.2d at 463. Despite the Act's failure to require a sworn petition, the Second District concluded sworn proof was necessary. The Second District reasoned: For at least two reasons, we conclude this determination must be founded on sworn proof. First, determining whether there is probable cause to believe something requires a consideration of factual circumstances and the making of mixed conclusions of law and fact. Absent the parties' stipulations, courts may only find facts based on sworn evidence; mere unsworn allegations are insufficient to prove any fact. Blimpie Capital Venture, Inc. v. Palms Plaza Partners Ltd., 636 So.2d 838 (Fla. 2d DCA 1994); State v. Brugman, 588 So.2d 279 (Fla. 2d DCA 1991). It is plain to see, then, that by charging the court with a duty to determine the existence of probable cause, the legislature necessarily contemplated that the court would receive sworn proof. Second, it is apparent that the legislature prescribed the early ex parte judicial probable cause determination in order to furnish the alleged predator due process before depriving him of his liberty pending trial on the merits of the commitment petition. See Addington v. Texas, 441 U.S. 418, 99 S.Ct. 1804, 60 L.Ed.2d 323 (1979) (holding that civil commitment for any purpose constitutes significant deprivation of liberty that requires due process protection); Pullen v. State, 802 So.2d 1113 (Fla.2001) (noting that individual who faces involuntary commitment to a mental health facility has a liberty interest at stake). Id. at 1116. But the promise of due process would be hollow if it required merely that the judge search the commitment petition for the requisite allegations. Id. at 463. In the instant cases, the Fourth District was faced with identical factual scenarios and agreed with the Second District on this point and held that sworn proof was needed to support an ex parte probable cause determination. See Kephart, 826 So.2d at 519. The Fourth District, however, contrary to the conclusion reached by the Second District, further concluded that the affidavits provided by the assistant state attorneys were inadequate because [d]etention after these individuals have finished serving their sentences is a serious deprivation of liberty, which cannot be allowed without proof in the form of some reliable individual's personal knowledge. Id. We agree with both the Second and the Fourth Districts' determinations that due process requires that a probable cause petition filed pursuant to section 394.914 be supported by sworn proof. [4] As we said in State v. Goode, 830 So.2d 817, 825-26 (Fla.2002), [c]ivil commitment proceedings involve a serious deprivation of liberty and, thus, such proceedings must comply with the due process clauses of the Florida and United States Constitutions. We have also recognized that confinement under the Act implicates an individual's liberty interest in being free from physical restraint. See Westerheide v. State, 831 So.2d 93, 104 (Fla.2002). When such fundamental liberty interests are at stake, the State at a minimum must be required to swear to the allegations made before the trial judge. This is especially true when the appearance before the trial judge is ex parte. However, we disagree with the Fourth District's further conclusion that the sworn proof filed with the petition must be provided in either an affidavit from, or live testimony by, at least one mental health care professional who has examined and evaluated the individual to be so held. Kephart, 826 So.2d at 519. The Fourth District's conclusion fails to acknowledge that the Act delegates the responsibility of filing the probable cause petition to the state attorney. Section 394.914 specifically provides: Following receipt of the written assessment and recommendation from the multidisciplinary team, the state attorney, in accordance with s. 394.913, may file a petition with the circuit court alleging that the person is a sexually violent predator and stating facts sufficient to support such allegation. § 394.914, Fla. Stat. (2001) (emphasis added). In interpreting a statute, this Court looks primarily at the plain meaning of the statute to determine the legislative intent. If the language of a statute is clear and unambiguous, the legislative intent must be derived from the words used without involving rules of construction or speculating as to what the legislature intended. Zuckerman v. Alter, 615 So.2d 661, 663 (Fla.1993); see also Forsythe v. Longboat Key Beach Erosion Control Dist., 604 So.2d 452, 454 (Fla.1992); St. Petersburg Bank & Trust Co. v. Hamm, 414 So.2d 1071 (Fla.1982). Section 394.914 clearly states that the state attorney should file the probable cause petition. Since the Legislature has given the state attorney this duty, we conclude that the Legislature intended for the state attorney to swear to the facts contained in the petition. The probable cause petition under the Act is similar to an application for an arrest warrant. In order to obtain a warrant for an arrest, a law enforcement officer must present a written affidavit or sworn complaint to the committing magistrate demonstrating probable cause to believe that the accused has violated the criminal law of the State. See Gerstein v. Pugh, 420 U.S. 103, 95 S.Ct. 854, 43 L.Ed.2d 54 (1975); Fla. R.Crim. P. 3.120. Rule 3.120 conforms to the Fourth Amendment requirement that probable cause be supported by oath or affirmation and to the procedural requirements discussed in Gerstein v. Pugh . [5] See art. I, § 12, Fla. Const. The complaint or affidavit that is presented to the committing magistrate must contain sufficient information to support the magistrate's independent determination on probable cause. In other words, [t]he basis for a finding of probable cause must appear on the face of the complaint. A complaint which states as a mere conclusion that the accused has committed a specific crime, without alleging that the affiant speaks from personal knowledge, indicating any sources for his or her belief, or setting forth any other sufficient basis on which a finding of probable cause could be made, is an insufficient basis for the issuance of an arrest warrant, since it does not permit the magistrate to make any independent assessment of the probability that the accused committed the crime charged. 5 Am.Jur.2d Arrest § 20 (1995); accord Giordenello v. United States, 357 U.S. 480, 78 S.Ct. 1245, 2 L.Ed.2d 1503 (1958). In the warrant context, courts have allowed the probable cause to be supplied by a sworn complaint or by affidavit. Either may be based on the personal knowledge of the complainant or affiant but can also be based on information received from others, e.g., fellow officers or confidential informants. See Johnson v. State, 660 So.2d 648, 654 (Fla.1995) (finding the obligation to establish probable cause in an affidavit may be met by hearsay, by fleeting observations, or by tips received from unnamed reliable informants whose identities often may not lawfully be disclosed). Thus, the person who supplies the information to the officer need not, but may, execute an affidavit or appear before the magistrate in support of the issuance of the arrest warrant. The warrant may be issued based simply on the sworn complaint or affidavit of the officer if sufficient facts are alleged to demonstrate probable cause. Id. at 654-55. Just as the arrest warrant is the State's authority to compel a defendant to answer to criminal charges lodged against him or her, the petition provided for in section 394.914 and the trial court's determination of probable cause based on that petition give the State the authority to hold a soon-to-be-released prisoner beyond the expiration of his or her sentence and to require him or her to answer to the allegations of being a sexual predator. The procedures outlined by both statutes and rules for issuance of an arrest warrant and by statute for consideration of probable cause to detain pursuant to the Act are analogous and must be interpreted in a like manner. As the State points out, whoever signs the probable cause petition or an affidavit in a proceeding brought under the Act is essentially in the same position as an officer preparing an affidavit for an arrest warrant. Both the prosecutor and the psychologists rely on sources of information furnished by others. See § 394.913(2)(a)-(e), Fla. Stat. (2002) (stating that the multidisciplinary team will be provided with the person's criminal history, including police reports, victim statements, presentence investigation reports, mental health records, and any other documents containing reports of the person's criminal history). Additionally, section 394.9155 permits hearsay evidence to be used in proceedings brought under the Act. Section 394.9155 provides in pertinent part: Hearsay evidence, including reports of a member of the multidisciplinary team or reports produced on behalf of the multidisciplinary team, is admissible in proceedings under this part unless the court finds that such evidence is not reliable. In a trial, however, hearsay evidence may not be used as the sole basis for committing a person under this part. § 394.9155(5), Fla. Stat. (2002). Since the Act permits the state attorney to file a petition based upon the recommendation of the multidisciplinary team (a recommendation which may itself rely upon hearsay evidence), we find that the sworn proof for the probable cause petition may be supplied by the prosecutor by swearing to the allegations in the petition or by affidavit attached to the petition from one or more of the mental health professionals.