Summary
In M.R.S. v. State, 478 So.2d 1166 (Fla. 1st DCA 1985), we considered and rejected the state's argument that an appeal taken by a child subsequent to a delinquency proceeding should be pursued in the manner prescribed by the appellate rules pertaining to adult criminal appeals, or in other words, pursuant to Rule 9.140.
Summary of this case from C.L.S. v. StateOpinion
No. BE-284.
November 27, 1985.
Petition for review from the Circuit Court, Alachua County, Stephan P. Mickle, J.
Michael E. Allen, Public Defender, and P. Douglas Brinkmeyer, Asst. Public Defender, Tallahassee, for appellant.
Jim Smith, Atty. Gen., and John W. Tiedemann, Asst. Atty. Gen., Tallahassee, for appellee.
Appellant seeks review of the trial court's order withholding an adjudication of delinquency and placing him on community control under the supervision of the Juvenile Alternative Services Project until he is able to complete ten more hours of community work service. We affirm.
Appellee initially argues that appellate review of the trial court's disposition is precluded since adjudication of delinquency was withheld. Appellee relies on D.S.K. v. State, 396 So.2d 730 (Fla. 5th DCA 1981) for its proposition that an appeal brought by a child pursuant to section 39.14(1), Florida Statutes (1983), shall be taken in the time and manner prescribed by the appellate rules pertaining to adult criminal appeals. We disagree. In State v. C.C., 476 So.2d 144 (Fla. 1985), the supreme court held that juvenile delinquency matters, though criminal in nature, are separate proceedings and controlled by chapter 39, Florida Statutes. In reaching its conclusion that the State does not have a right to appeal in juvenile cases, the supreme court reasoned that section 39.14, and not chapter 924, after which rule 9.140(b)(1) was fashioned, affords a juvenile defendant a right to appeal. Consequently, in light of C.C., appellee's argument herein lacks merit. This Court's jurisdiction is invoked not by rule 9.140(b) but by rule 9.110, Florida Rules of Appellate Procedure. Cf. Perritte v. State, 367 So.2d 1058 (Fla.1st DCA 1979).
Section 39.14(1) provides:
Any child, and any parent or legal custodian of any child, affected by an order of the court may appeal to the appropriate district court of appeal within the time and in the manner prescribed by the Florida Appellate Rules.
(b) Appeals by Defendant.
Appeals Permitted.
Turning, now, to the merits of the appeal, we hold that the record supports appellee's argument that its initial agreement not to file a petition of delinquency was abrogated by appellant's misrepresentation in the predispositional report. It was that misrepresentation which led to the initial recommendation that he be placed in the Juvenile Alternative Services Project as an alternative to appellee's filing a petition of delinquency. By that fraudulent representation, we hold that appellant failed to meet the condition foundational to the very bargain, i.e., that appellant was new to the area and had only recently met his codefendant. Cf. Flewellyn v. State, 308 So.2d 46 (Fla. 3d DCA 1975). Accordingly, the trial court's order is AFFIRMED.
BOOTH, C.J., and BARFIELD, J., concur.