2013 Survey of Juvenile Law

The Supreme Court of Florida decided three cases this past year involving juveniles, all in the delinquency field involving significant but technical matters.' In the first case, the court held that it was necessary to prove that a school police officer was the designee of the school principal in order for a juvenile to be adjudicated for committing trespass on school grounds. In the second case, the court held, over a dissent, that a juvenile who committed several acts of indirect criminal contempt could be sentenced to consecutive periods of secure detention for each of the two offenses, thus resolving a conflict in the district courts of appeal. In the third case, the court held that a juvenile detention center falls within the criminal law definition of a detention facility.