W. J. N., In Interest of, 76-1513

• Decision Date: 27 September 1977
• Docket Number: No. 76-1513,76-1513
• Citation: 350 So.2d 119
• Parties: In the Interest of W. J. N., a child.
• Court: Florida District Court of Appeals

Page 119

350 So.2d 119

In the Interest of W. J. N., a child.

No. 76-1513.

District Court of Appeal of Florida, Fourth District.

Sept. 27, 1977.

Richard L. Jorandby, Public Defender, and Frank B. Kessler and Stuart A. Young, Asst. Public Defenders, West Palm Beach, for appellant.

Robert L. Shevin, Atty. Gen., Tallahassee, and Paul H. Zacks, Asst. Atty. Gen., West Palm Beach, for appellee.

ALDERMAN, Chief Judge.

W. J. N., age sixteen, appeals his adjudication of delinquency for burglary. The issue is whether appellant's confession, obtained after the person taking him into custody had determined that he should be detained, but before he was delivered to the appropriate intake officer, should be suppressed. Miranda warnings were given; the evidence is sufficient to establish the voluntariness of the confession, as well as parental consent; and the validity of the arrest is not challenged. The determinative question is whether the confession must be suppressed because of an alleged violation of Section 39.03(3)(a), Florida Statutes (1975). The relevant section of this statute provides that if the person taking a child into custody determines that the child should be detained, he shall "without unreasonable delay, deliver the child to the appropriate intake officer." We find no error and affirm the trial court's denial of appellant's motion to suppress.

Appellant was arrested at his home at about 6:00 A.M. He was first taken to a "command post" set up by the sheriff's office in front of the North Broward Hospital; then, between 8:00 and 8:30 A.M., with four or five other boys who had also been arrested, he was transported to the sheriff's road patrol office on the eighth floor of the Broward County Courthouse. There he was fingerprinted and photographed, and at about 9:30 A.M. he was questioned for about fifteen minutes. At that time he confessed his involvement in the burglary. Shortly thereafter he was delivered to the appropriate intake officer of the Division of Youth Services.

Appellant relies on In Interest of A. J. A., 248 So.2d 690 (Fla. 3d DCA 1971) and Roberts v. State, 285 So.2d 385 (Fla.1973). These cases, however, are no longer applicable because they deal with an earlier version of Section 39.03(3), which provided that the person taking a child into custody "shall, without delay for the purpose of investigation or any other purpose, deliver the child, by the most direct practical route, to the court of the county or district where the child is taken into custody." The explicit mandatory language of the former Section 39.03(3) allowed for no delay for any purpose. The confessions in A. J. A. and Roberts were therefore suppressed.

Appellant also relies upon the more recent case of B. M. v. State, 337 So.2d 423 (Fla. 3d DCA 1976), which contains broad language to the effect that the current Section 39.03(3) is a legislative directive to the courts and other law enforcement agencies that juveniles shall be treated differently from other suspected criminals in that they shall not be taken to a...