ISAIAH CAMERON, PETITIONER,
v.
STATE OF FLORIDA AND AL LAMBERTI, AS SHERIFF OF BROWARD COUNTY, RESPONDENT
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Isaiah Cameron sought habeas corpus relief to reinstate his original bond conditions after the trial court sua sponte added supervision requirements and no-contact provisions following his restoration to competency. The Fourth District Court of Appeal granted the writ, holding that trial courts lack authority to unilaterally increase bond conditions without an application from the state.
Trial courts lack authority to sua sponte increase bond conditions. Although the court did not increase the monetary bond amount, the addition of significant and substantial conditions constitutes an impermissible increase in bail without proper application under the rules.
[1] A trial court lacks the authority to sua sponte modify a defendant's bond by adding new conditions.
[2] A trial court cannot sua sponte increase a defendant's bond.
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Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligence“A trial court is without authority to sua sponte increase a bond.”
Establishes the core legal principle that trial courts cannot unilaterally modify bond conditions
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Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligenceCameron was arrested in July 2011 on four charges with bonds set by a magistrate and no special release conditions imposed. In March 2012, he was foun…
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Criminal defendant, Isaiah Cameron, petitions for a writ of habeas corpus seeking to reinstate his initial bond and conditions, as the trial court sua sponte added additional pretrial release conditions after Cameron had been declared incompetent and then restored to competency. We grant the writ, concluding that the trial court does not have authority to sua sponte modify petitioner’s bond.
In July 2011, Cameron was arrested for four crimes, and the first appearance magistrate set bonds for each charge. No special conditions were attached to his pretrial release at that time. Cameron could not post bond and remained incarcerated. In March 2012, the court found Cameron incompetent to proceed and committed him to the state hospital. In May 2012, the court found Cameron competent. He was returned to court. At a July 2012 bond hearing, the court reinstated the original monetary conditions but added, over defense objection, “Standard Pretrial Release” supervision and no contact with the victim. The pretrial program requires, among other tasks, reporting to a Pretrial Services Specialist by telephone twice a week; a prohibition on petitioner, restricting him from leaving the tri-county area or changing his address; paying for any urinalysis drug testing, if requested; and, advising his pretrial specialist if he is hired for or fired from a job. He must also report to the pretrial specialist before and *550after every court appearance. Following the imposition of these conditions by the trial court, Cameron filed this petition for writ of habeas corpus.1
A trial court is without authority to sua sponte increase a bond. Montgomery v. Jenne, 744 So.2d 1148, 1149 (Fla. 4th DCA 1999). See also Griffin v. McRay, 890 So.2d 341, 341 (Fla. 3d DCA 2004); Plummer v. State, 65 So.3d 524 (Fla. 2d DCA 2011); Faella v. State, 90 So.3d 995, 996 (Fla. 5th DCA 2012). While in this case, the court did not increase the amount of the bond, it added significant and substantial conditions on Cameron’s release, the violation any of which could result in Cameron’s pretrial detention. Florida Rule of Criminal Procedure 3.131(b)(1) provides that “bail is defined as any of the forms of release stated below,” which includes various restrictions on travel, and residence, as well as any other conditions necessary to insure appearance by the defendant. Florida Rule of Criminal Procedure 3.131(d)(2) provides for applications for modification of bail by either the defendant or the state on three hours notice. It does not provide authority for the trial court to increase bail without such application. Here, the state never requested any modification of the original undertaking.
The petition is therefore granted, and the court is directed to remove the “standard pretrial release” program as a condition of release. This is without prejudice to the state filing a motion to modify bail, should it be able to satisfy the provisions of the rules.
STEVENSON and CIKLIN, JJ„ concur.
Cases With Similar Vibessemantic neighbors from the corpus
Citator
Cited By
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Tagliamonte v. State, 126 So. 3d 352 (Fla. 3d DCA 2013)…pretrial release conditions, but only on “showing good cause and with at least 3 hours’ notice to the attorney for the defendant.” A trial court is without authority sua sponte to modify a previously set pretrial release bond. See Cameron v. State, 127 So. 3d 549, 550, 2012 WL 5349405, *1 (Fla. 4th DCA 2012) (granting a writ of habeas corpus where trial court sua sponte “added significant and substantial conditions” to defendant’s release bond); Simmons v. State, 915 So. 2d 732 (Fla. 2d DCA 2005) (holding tr…
Authorities Cited
- Hampton v. State, 744 So. 2d 1148 (Fla. 4th DCA 1999)
- Griffin v. McRAY, 890 So. 2d 341 (Fla. 3d DCA 2004)
- Faella v. State, 90 So. 3d 995 (Fla. 5th DCA 2012)