Florida Senate - 2023 CS for CS for SB 618
By the Appropriations Committee on Criminal and Civil Justice;
the Committee on Criminal Justice; and Senator Yarborough
604-03773-23 2023618c2
1 A bill to be entitled
2 An act relating to rights of law enforcement officers
3 and correctional officers; amending s. 112.531, F.S.;
4 providing definitions; amending s. 112.532, F.S.;
5 providing rights of law enforcement officers and
6 correctional officers relating to Brady identification
7 systems; prohibiting a law enforcement officer or
8 correctional officer from being discharged, suspended,
9 demoted, or otherwise disciplined or threatened with
10 discipline for certain reasons; providing
11 construction; requiring the employing agency of a law
12 enforcement officer or correctional officer to conform
13 to certain rules and procedures; creating s. 112.536,
14 F.S.; providing that a prosecuting agency is not
15 required to maintain a Brady identification system;
16 authorizing a prosecuting agency to choose different
17 procedures to fulfill its obligations under a
18 specified Supreme Court case; requiring the employing
19 agency of a law enforcement officer or correctional
20 officer to forward specified information to a
21 prosecuting agency; requiring an employing agency to
22 provide certain notice to a law enforcement officer or
23 correctional officer in specified circumstances;
24 requiring a prosecuting agency that maintains a Brady
25 information system to adopt written policies;
26 providing minimum requirements for such policies;
27 authorizing a law enforcement officer or correctional
28 officer to request reconsideration of the inclusion of
29 his or her name and information in a Brady
30 identification system; requiring a prosecuting agency
31 to remove the name of a law enforcement officer or
32 correctional officer from a Brady identification
33 system under certain circumstances; requiring a
34 prosecuting agency to notify a law enforcement officer
35 or correctional officer and certain parties that the
36 officer’s name is being removed from the Brady
37 identification system; authorizing a law enforcement
38 officer or correctional officer to petition for a writ
39 of mandamus under certain circumstances; providing the
40 scope of a court’s judicial review; providing
41 construction; providing an effective date.
42
43 Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
44
45 Section 1. Present subsections (1) and (2) of section
46 112.531, Florida Statutes, are redesignated as subsections (2)
47 and (3), respectively, and a new subsection (1) and subsection
48 (4) are added to that section, to read:
49 112.531 Definitions.—As used in this part, the term:
50 (1) “Brady identification system” means a list or
51 identification, in whatever form, of the name or names of law
52 enforcement officers or correctional officers about whom a
53 prosecuting agency is in possession of impeachment evidence as
54 defined by court decision, statute, or rule.
55 (4) “Prosecuting agency” means the Attorney General or an
56 assistant attorney general, the statewide prosecutor or an
57 assistant statewide prosecutor, a state attorney or an assistant
58 state attorney, a city or county attorney, a special prosecutor,
59 or any other person or entity charged with the prosecution of a
60 criminal case.
61 Section 2. Subsection (7) is added to section 112.532,
62 Florida Statutes, to read:
63 112.532 Law enforcement officers’ and correctional
64 officers’ rights.—All law enforcement officers and correctional
65 officers employed by or appointed to a law enforcement agency or
66 a correctional agency shall have the following rights and
67 privileges:
68 (7) RIGHTS OF LAW ENFORCEMENT OFFICERS AND CORRECTIONAL
69 OFFICERS RELATING TO A BRADY IDENTIFICATION SYSTEM.—
70 (a) A law enforcement officer or correctional officer has
71 all of the rights specified in s. 112.536 relating to the
72 inclusion of the name and information of the officer in a Brady
73 identification system.
74 (b) A law enforcement officer or correctional officer may
75 not be discharged, suspended, demoted, or otherwise disciplined,
76 or threatened with discharge, suspension, demotion, or other
77 discipline, by his or her employing agency solely as a result of
78 a prosecuting agency determining that the officer’s name and
79 information should be included in a Brady identification system.
80 This paragraph does not prohibit an officer’s employing agency
81 from discharging, suspending, demoting, or taking other
82 disciplinary action against a law enforcement officer or
83 correctional officer based on the underlying actions of the
84 officer which resulted in his or her name being included in a
85 Brady identification system. If a collective bargaining
86 agreement applies, the actions taken by the officer’s employing
87 agency must conform to the rules and procedures adopted by the
88 collective bargaining agreement.
89 Section 3. Section 112.536, Florida Statutes, is created to
90 read:
91 112.536 Requirements for maintaining a Brady identification
92 system.—
93 (1)(a) A prosecuting agency is not required to maintain a
94 Brady identification system and may determine, in its
95 discretion, that its obligations under the decision in Brady v.
96 Maryland, 373 U.S. 83 (1963), are better fulfilled through any
97 such procedure the prosecuting agency otherwise chooses to
98 utilize.
99 (b) The employing agency of a law enforcement officer or
100 correctional officer shall forward all sustained and finalized
101 internal affairs complaints relevant to s. 90.608, s. 90.609, or
102 s. 90.610 to the prosecuting agency in the circuit in which the
103 employing agency is located to assist the prosecuting agency in
104 complying with its obligations under the Brady decision. The
105 employing agency of a law enforcement officer or correctional
106 officer must notify the law enforcement officer or correctional
107 officer of any sustained and finalized internal affairs
108 complaints that are sent to a prosecuting agency as required
109 under this section. If the law enforcement officer or
110 correctional officer is no longer employed by the employing
111 agency, the employing agency must mail through United States
112 mail such notification to the officer’s last known address on
113 file with the employing agency.
114 (2) A prosecuting agency that maintains a Brady
115 identification system must adopt written policies that, at a
116 minimum, require all of the following:
117 (a) The right of a law enforcement officer or correctional
118 officer to receive written notice by United States mail or e
119 mail, which must be sent to the officer’s current or last known
120 employing agency before or contemporaneously with the
121 prosecuting agency including the name and information of the
122 officer in the Brady identification system, unless a pending
123 criminal case requires immediate disclosure or providing such
124 notice to the officer would jeopardize a pending investigation.
125 (b) The right of a law enforcement officer or correctional
126 officer to request reconsideration of the prosecuting agency’s
127 decision to include the name and information of the officer in a
128 Brady identification system and his or her right to submit
129 documents and evidence in support of the request for
130 reconsideration.
131 (3) If, after a request for reconsideration is made under
132 paragraph (2)(b), the prosecuting agency subsequently determines
133 that the law enforcement officer or correctional officer should
134 not be included in a Brady identification system, the
135 prosecuting agency must do all of the following:
136 (a) Remove such officer from the Brady identification
137 system.
138 (b) Send written notice by United States mail or e-mail to
139 the law enforcement officer or correctional officer at the
140 officer’s current or last known employing agency confirming that
141 the officer’s name has been removed from the Brady
142 identification system.
143 (c) If the name of a law enforcement officer or
144 correctional officer was previously included in a Brady
145 identification system and his or her name was disclosed in a
146 pending criminal case, notify all parties to the pending
147 criminal case of the officer’s removal from the Brady
148 identification system.
149 (4) If a prosecuting agency fails to comply with this
150 section, a law enforcement officer or correctional officer may
151 petition a court for a writ of mandamus to compel the
152 prosecuting agency to comply with the requirements of this
153 section. The court’s scope of review in such matter is limited
154 to whether the prosecuting agency acted in accordance with the
155 procedural requirements of this section and may not include a
156 judicial review of the evidence or merits that were the basis
157 for the inclusion of the officer’s name in a Brady
158 identification system. This section does not preclude a law
159 enforcement officer or correctional officer from pursuing any
160 other available administrative or judicial remedies.
161 (5) This section does not:
162 (a) Require a prosecuting agency to give notice to or
163 provide an opportunity for review and input from a law
164 enforcement officer or correctional officer if the information
165 in a Brady identification system is:
166 1. A criminal conviction that may be used for impeachment
167 under s. 90.610; or
168 2. A sustained and finalized internal affairs complaint
169 that may be used for impeachment under s. 90.608, s. 90.609, or
170 s. 90.610;
171 (b) Limit the duty of a prosecuting agency to produce Brady
172 evidence in all cases as required by the United States
173 Constitution, the State Constitution, and the Florida Rules of
174 Criminal Procedure and relevant case law;
175 (c) Limit or restrict a prosecuting agency’s ability to
176 remove the name and information of a law enforcement officer or
177 correctional officer from a Brady identification system if, at
178 any time, the prosecuting agency determines that the name and
179 information of the officer are no longer proper for
180 identification; or
181 (d) Create a private cause of action against a prosecuting
182 agency or any employee of a prosecuting agency, other than the
183 writ of mandamus authorized in subsection (4).
184 Section 4. This act shall take effect July 1, 2023.