IN RE FLORIDA RULES OF CRIMINAL PROCEDURE, RULE 3.710
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The Florida Supreme Court initiates a rulemaking proceeding to consider whether to amend Rule 3.710 to eliminate presentence investigation reports in capital cases, inviting public comment on whether such reports should be available given statutory sentencing criteria in Section 921.141.
The Court invites public comment on whether to amend Rule 3.710 to eliminate presentence investigations in capital cases.
[1] A court may initiate rulemaking proceedings on its own motion to reconsider procedural rules in light of constitutional developments and statutory sentencing frameworks.
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Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligenceFlorida Rule 3.710 currently requires presentence investigations in criminal cases. Section 921.141 establishes statutory criteria for capital sentenc…
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PER CURIAM.
Pursuant to Article V, Section 2(a) of the Florida Constitution, the Court on its own motion initiates this proceeding to consider revision of Rule 3.710 of the Florida Rules of Criminal Procedure, which would have the effect of' eliminating all presentence investigations in cases in which the death penalty may be imposed. It is proposed that Rule 3.710 be amended by adding at the end a new sentence to read:
“This rule shall not apply in any case where a defendant has been found guilty of a capital crime.”
Section 921.141, Florida Statutes (1975), enumerates statutory criteria by which trial judges and advisory juries shall determine whether a sentence of death, or life imprisonment, is appropriate for persons convicted of a capital crime. The United States Supreme Court has upheld this statute on the basis that the discretion inherent in the sentencing process is controlled by these statutory criteria. Proffitt v. Florida, 428 U.S. 242, 96 S.Ct. 2960, 49 L.Ed.2d 913 (1976).
This Court now invites comment by all interested persons as to whether presen-tence investigation reports should be made available to the sentencing judge in any capital case, in light of the statutory considerations contained in Section 921.141. Not later than January 15, 1978, any interested person may comment on the proposed Rule and request to appear at an oral argument on the proposed Rule to be held on February 22, 1978.
It is so ordered.
OVERTON, C. J., and BOYD, ENGLAND, SUNDBERG, HATCHETT and KARL, JJ., concur.