L.M. v. State
| Decision Date | 16 October 1991 |
| Docket Number | No. 91-00967,91-00967 |
| Citation | 587 So.2d 648 |
| Parties | In the Interest of L.M., a child, Appellant, v. STATE of Florida, Appellee. 587 So.2d 648, 16 Fla. L. Week. D2693 |
| Court | Florida District Court of Appeals |
Louis O. Frost, Jr., Public Defender, and Ward L. Metzger, Juvenile Court Coordinator, Jacksonville, for appellant.
Robert A. Butterworth, Atty. Gen., Gypsy Bailey, Asst. Atty. Gen., and Wendy S. Morris, Certified Legal Intern, Tallahassee, for appellee.
This cause is before us on appeal from an order adjudicating appellant delinquent. At issue is the validity of the requirement, as a condition of community control, that appellant "get with the pastor" of his mother's church and enroll in any and all of the church's youth programs.
Requiring a probationer or community controllee to submit to a course of religious instruction contravenes the First Amendment. Owens v. Kelley, 681 F.2d 1362, 1365 (11th Cir.1982). Although the record below does not indicate whether any or all of the youth programs have religious content, the order requires appellant to participate in such programs, regardless of content. This was error. The condition is also erroneous, in that it delegates to the pastor of a church the judicial function of determining those programs best suited to meet appellant's rehabilitation needs. See Singleton v. State, 582 So.2d 657, 658 (Fla. 1st DCA 1991). We must, therefore, reverse.
The record is clear, however, that the trial court found that appellant could benefit from participation in youth programs. The trial court may therefore, on remand, impose alternate conditions of community control, including the requirement that appellant attend youth programs of secular content.
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L.M. v. State, 92-1124
...a community controllee to submit to a course of religious instruction in contravention of the First Amendment. In the Interest of L.M. v. State, 587 So.2d 648 (Fla. 1st DCA 1991). We explained that this condition unlawfully "delegate[d] to the pastor of a church the judicial function of det......
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M.C.L. v. State
...or as the promotion or establishment of a particular religion. ML notwithstanding relies on this court's holding in L.M. v. State, 587 So.2d 648 (Fla. 1st DCA 1991) (L.M.I). We held there: "Requiring a probationer or community controllee to submit to a course of religious instruction contra......
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M.A.D. v. State, 94-962
...The state has conceded that the trial court erred in ordering the appellant to participate in church activities. See L.M. v. State, 587 So.2d 648 (Fla. 1st DCA 1991). We therefore reverse that portion of the order which imposes this condition of community control. On remand, the court may i......
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The administrative process and constitutional principles.
...1987). (59) Larson v. State, 572 So. 2d 1368 (Fla. 1991); Reynolds v. State, 598 So. 2d 188 (Fla. 1st DCA 1992). (60) L.M. v. State, 587 So. 2d 648 (Fla. 1st D.C.A. (61) Broward County v. La Rosa, 505 So. 2d 422 (Fla. 1987); Laborers' International Union of North America, Local 478 v. Burro......