Opinion ID: 1590563
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 3

Heading: Waiver of Other Constitutional Rights

Text: Finally, Chames argues that waiver of the homestead exemption should be permitted because we have permitted waiver of other constitutional rights. This would be the most compelling reason for receding from Carter and Sherbill, for if indeed we have held that other constitutional rights can be waived, it would seem anomalous to prohibit waiver of the homestead exemption. We do not agree, however, that such an inconsistency exists. It is true that we recently noted that most personal constitutional rights may be waived. In re Rule 4-1.509(4)(B), 939 So.2d at 1038; see also In re Shambow's Estate, 153 Fla. 762, 15 So.2d 837, 837 (1943) (It is fundamental that constitutional rights which are personal may be waived.). However, an individual cannot waive a right designed to protect both the individual and the public. See, e.g., Coastal Caisson Drill Co. v. Am. Cas. Co. of Reading, Pa., 523 So.2d 791, 793 (Fla. 2d DCA 1988), approved, 542 So.2d 957 (Fla.1989); Asbury Arms Dev. Corp. v. Fla. Dep't of Bus. Regulations, 456 So.2d 1291, 1293 (Fla. 2d DCA 1984). We have repeatedly recognized that the homestead exemption protects not only the debtor, but also the debtor's family and the State. See Havoco, 790 So.2d at 1020; Snyder, 699 So.2d at 1002; Caggiano, 605 So.2d at 60; Lopez, 531 So.2d at 948; Slatcolt; 76 So.2d at 794; Hill, 84 So. at 192. Therefore, the right to the homestead exemption is not purely personal as some others are. We recognize that since Carter, a trend has developed toward permitting the waiver of constitutional rights, especially rights given to criminal defendants. See, e.g., Faretta v. California, 422 U.S. 806, 807, 95 S.Ct. 2525, 45 L.Ed.2d 562 (1975) (permitting waiver of the right to assistance of counsel under the Sixth and Fourteenth Amendments); Miranda v. Arizona, 384 U.S. 436, 444-45, 86 S.Ct. 1602, 16 L.Ed.2d 694 (1966) (permitting waiver of the right to counsel and right to remain silent under the Fifth Amendment); Larzelere v. State, 676 So.2d 394, 403 (Fla.1996) (recognizing that a defendant may waive the right to conflict-free counsel); Tescher, 578 So.2d at 703 (finding valid an antenuptial waiver of surviving spouse's homestead rights); Melvin v. State, 645 So.2d 448, 449 (Fla.1994) (finding that a defendant who knowingly enters into a plea agreement waives the constitutional protection against double jeopardy in exchange for reduced charges); cf. re Rule 4-1.5(f)(4)(B), 939 So.2d at 1038 (citing examples of constitutional rights that may be waived, but declining to determine whether the rights granted to medical malpractice claimants under article I, section 26 may be waived). [10] We have also emphasized, however, that such waivers must be made knowingly, voluntarily, and intelligently. See, e.g., Sanchez-Velasco State, 702 So.2d 224, 227 (Fla.1997) (A waiver of collateral counsel and proceedings must be knowing, intelligent, and voluntary.); Larzelere, 676 So.2d at 403 (finding the trial court met the burden of assuring that appellant's waiver was made voluntarily, knowingly, and intelligently); State v. Upton, 658 So.2d 86, 87 (Fla.1995) (An effective waiver of a constitutional right must be knowing, voluntary, and intelligent.). For example, when a criminal defendant executes a plea agreement, the judge must confirm that the defendant is aware of the right to a jury trial and voluntarily waives it. See Fla. R.Crim. P. 3.172(c)(3). The Florida Rules of Criminal Procedure prescribe a detailed colloquy judges must recite to confirm that the defendant knows the consequences of pleading guilty instead of going to trial. See Fla. R.Crim. P. 3.172. Similarly, when a defendant chooses to represent himself and waives the right to counsel, the judge must confirm that the defendant understands the consequences of such actions. E.g., Lamarca v. State, 931 So.2d 838, 854-55 (Fla.2006) ([T]rial courts are required to make the defendant `aware of the dangers and disadvantages of self-representation . . .' (quoting Hernandez-Alberto v. State, 889 So.2d 721, 729 (Fla.2004))). In the civil context, we recently allowed civil plaintiffs to waive their right to no less than 70% of the first $250,000 in damages received and 90% of damages in excess of $250,000. See In re Rule 4-1.5(9(4)(B), 939 So.2d at 1040. In doing so, however, we approved a form that attorneys must provide to inform the client about the constitutional right and the possible consequences of waiving it. The client must initial six separate paragraphs explaining the rights involved. See R. Regulating Fla. Bar 4-1.5(f)(4)(B), and attached form. In contrast, the waiver in this case was contained on page four of a six-page, single-spaced contract, and at the end of a 118-word sentence. This is precisely the evil that our cases have sought to avoid. Carter and Sherbill do not contradict the trend toward allowing waivers of constitutional rights. To the contrary, they are consistent with the cases within this same trend holding that such waivers must be knowing, intelligent, and voluntary. To be clear: Carter and Sherbill do not prohibit a waiver of the homestead exemption; they simply require that such waivers be accomplished as the Florida Constitution prescribes: by mortgage, sale, or gift, see art. X, § 4(c), Fla. Const. They prohibit only a general waiver in an otherwise unsecured instrument. Requiring that a waiver of the homestead exemption be made in the context of a mortgage assures that the waiver is made knowingly, intelligently, and voluntarily. In obtaining a mortgage, a homeowner is well aware that if the payments are not made, the home may be foreclosed upon. As we noted in Carter, the very nature of the transaction implies the exercise of discretion and the contemplation of inevitable consequences. Carter, 20 Fla. at 570. A mortgage assures that the waiver of the homestead exemption, like the waiver of other rights, is made with eyes wide opennot inadvertently, deep in the entrails of a retainer agreement. Those who truly wish to waive their homestead exemptionincluding DeMayocan do so.