Florida Statutes 932.61 – Transfer of county or municipal charge to court providing trial by jury
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A person charged in a court with a violation of a county or municipal ordinance for which no jury trial is provided may, when the violation of a county or municipal ordinance is also a violation of a state law, cause the transfer of the violation to the appropriate court in which a trial by jury is provided, in the following manner:
(1) Prior to the commencement of the trial in the court not providing trial by jury, the person charged, or his or her attorney, shall file a petition requesting transfer to the appropriate court providing trial by jury. The original petition shall be filed with the court where the charge is docketed and pending, and copies shall be furnished to the court where jury trial is provided and to the prosecuting authority of both courts.
(2) The petition shall be signed by the defendant or the defendant’s attorney and shall contain:
(a) The defendant’s name, age, and address;
Terms Used In Florida Statutes 932.61
- Answer: The formal written statement by a defendant responding to a civil complaint and setting forth the grounds for defense.
- Bail: Security given for the release of a criminal defendant or witness from legal custody (usually in the form of money) to secure his/her appearance on the day and time appointed.
- Defendant: In a civil suit, the person complained against; in a criminal case, the person accused of the crime.
- Jurisdiction: (1) The legal authority of a court to hear and decide a case. Concurrent jurisdiction exists when two courts have simultaneous responsibility for the same case. (2) The geographic area over which the court has authority to decide cases.
- person: includes individuals, children, firms, associations, joint adventures, partnerships, estates, trusts, business trusts, syndicates, fiduciaries, corporations, and all other groups or combinations. See Florida Statutes 1.01
- Trial: A hearing that takes place when the defendant pleads "not guilty" and witnesses are required to come to court to give evidence.
(b) A description and citation of the charges filed against the defendant;
(c) A citation indicating that these charges also constitute a violation of state law;
(d) The date and amount of bond set, if any;
(e) An agreement to appear, answer, and attend the court to which the charge may be transferred;
(f) The date of incarceration, if incarcerated at the time of the making of the petition; and
(g) The demand for trial by jury.
(3) The judge of the court in which the person is charged shall entertain defendant’s petition forthwith and shall, upon finding the petition to be correct in all its allegations of fact, order by written endorsement on the petition the transfer of defendant’s cause to the appropriate court providing criminal jury trial jurisdiction.
(4) The clerk of the court not providing trial by jury, upon receipt of the judge’s order directing transfer, shall within 3 days transmit to the clerk of the court providing criminal jury trial jurisdiction all the original record materials, including bond and the petition to transfer, filed in the petitioner’s cause, certifying that they are all the original papers filed in the cause and kept by the clerk. The clerk of the court not providing trial by jury shall also transmit copies of all the record materials to the prosecuting attorney of the court providing jury trial jurisdiction to which defendant’s cause is being transferred. The clerk shall also furnish notice of transfer to the surety or bail bond agent, if there is one. Upon the entry of the order transferring the cause, it shall be the duty of the police authority of the court from which the cause is being transferred to transfer a complete and exact duplicate of all reports, records, and other papers relating to the cause to the prosecuting attorney of the court to which the cause is transferred.