Kephart v. Hadi

• Decision Date: 08 June 2006
• Docket Number: No. SC02-2280.,No. SC02-936.,SC02-936.,SC02-2280.
• Citation: 932 So.2d 1086
• Parties: Jack KEPHART, et al., Petitioners, v. Lucy D. HADI, etc., et al., Respondents. Lucy D. Hadi, etc., et al., Petitioners, v. Jack Kephart, et al., Respondents.
• Court: Florida Supreme Court

932 So.2d 1086

Jack KEPHART, et al., Petitioners, v. Lucy D. HADI, etc., et al., Respondents.

Lucy D. Hadi, etc., et al., Petitioners, v. Jack Kephart, et al., Respondents.

No. SC02-936.

No. SC02-2280.

Supreme Court of Florida.

June 8, 2006.

COPYRIGHT MATERIAL OMITTED

Diamond R. Litty, Public Defender and Russell L. Akins, Assistant Public Defender, Nineteenth Judicial Circuit, Fort Pierce, FL and Juan F. Torres, III of Blake, Torres and Mildner, P.A., Fort Pierce, FL, for Petitioners/Respondents.

Charles J. Crist, Jr., Attorney General, Tallahassee, FL and Richard L. Polin, Senior Assistant Attorney General, Miami, FL, for Respondents/Petitioners.

REVISED OPINION

QUINCE, J.

We have for review the decision of the Fourth District Court of Appeal in Kephart v. Kearney, 826 So.2d 517 (Fla. 4th DCA 2002), which certified conflict with the Second District Court of Appeal's decision in Melvin v. State, 804 So.2d 460 (Fla. 2d DCA 2001). We have jurisdiction. See art. V, § 3(b)(4), Fla. Const. For the reasons which follow below, we quash the decision of the Fourth District and hold that the probable cause petitions for Jimmy Ryce cases do not have to be supported by an affidavit or live testimony.

FACTS AND PROCEDURAL BACKGROUND

At various times in 1999, 2000, and 2001, the State filed petitions seeking the involuntary civil commitment, pursuant to the Jimmy Ryce Act¹ (the Act), of Jack Kephart and eleven others (petitioners) as sexually violent predators. In each case, the initial commitment petitions were signed by an assistant state attorney without any oath, verification, or affidavits from psychologists or other parties. However, after the Second District issued its opinion in Melvin,² the assistant state attorney in each case filed an amended petition. The amended petitions were identical to the original, except for the inclusion of a verification by the assistant state attorney. The verification provided: "I [name of assistant state attorney signing petition], Assistant State Attorney in and for the 19th Judicial Circuit of Florida, hereby certify that I have read the foregoing petition and know the contents thereof and attest that the same is true and correct to the best of my knowledge." The assistant state attorney's signature was notarized. The various trial courts concluded that the amended petitions satisfied Melvin and found that there was probable cause to continue petitioners' detention prior to their civil commitment trials.

Petitioners filed three separate petitions for a writ of habeas corpus in the Fourth District.³ Petitioners argued that they were being illegally detained pursuant to an ex parte probable cause determination based on insufficiently sworn documents. The Fourth District agreed and held "that the ex parte probable cause determination must be supported by sworn proof in the form of 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 further held that "it is reasonable to allow the state a period of seven working days in which to present such affidavits or testimony to the circuit court that initially made the ex parte probable cause determination." Id. The Fourth District denied the petitions, without prejudice. Additionally, the Fourth District certified conflict with the Second District:

To the extent that Melvin would permit the ex parte probable cause determination to be made on the basis of a verified petition without sworn proof by one who has performed such evaluation, and to the extent that the Melvin court ordered the immediate release of those petitioners, where we would allow a seven day "cure" period, we certify conflict with Melvin.

Id. Petitioners and the State now seek review of the Fourth District's decision.

LAW AND ANALYSIS

The case presents this Court with two issues: (1) whether the Act requires the probable cause petition to be supported by sworn proof in the form of an affidavit or live testimony by a mental professional who has evaluated the individual, and (2) whether the Act can be construed to give the State a seven-day period in which to cure defects in the probable cause petition. The interpretation of a statute is a purely legal matter and therefore subject to the de novo standard of review. See Armstrong v. Harris, 773 So.2d 7, 11 (Fla.2000); Operation Rescue v. Women's Health Center, Inc., 626 So.2d 664, 670 (Fla.1993), aff'd in part, rev'd in part on other grounds, 512 U.S. 753, 114 S.Ct. 2516, 129 L.Ed.2d 593 (1994).

Probable Cause Petition

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...