CONDUCT OF TRIAL

F.S. Ch. 918
in effect

F.S. 918.03 Procedure when offense committed outside state.

When a court determines that it does not have jurisdiction because the offense charged was committed outside this state, the court may discharge the defendant or direct the clerk to communicate the location of the defendant to the chief executive of the state, territory, or district where the offense was committed. The court may commit the defendant to custody or admit him or her to bail for a reasonable period of time to await a requisition for his or her extradition. If a requisition is not received within the time set by the court, the defendant shall be discharged. If the defendant has been admitted to bail, the court shall order the bond canceled and any deposit of money or bonds returned.

F.S. 918.04 Procedure when offense committed in another county.

When a court determines that it does not have jurisdiction because the offense charged was committed in another county of this state, the defendant shall be committed to custody or admitted to bail for a reasonable time to await a warrant for his or her arrest from the proper county. The clerk shall notify the prosecuting attorney of the proper county of the location of the defendant. If the defendant is not arrested on a warrant from the proper county within the time set by the court, he or she shall be discharged. If the defendant has been admitted to bail, the court shall order the bond canceled and any deposit of money or bonds returned.

F.S. 918.05 View by jury.

When a court determines that it is proper for the jury to view a place where the offense may have been committed or other material events may have occurred, it may order the jury to be conducted in a body to the place, in custody of a proper officer. The court shall admonish the officer that no person, including the officer, shall be allowed to communicate with the jury about any subject connected with the trial. The jury shall be returned to the courtroom in accordance with the directions of the court. The judge and defendant, unless the defendant absents himself or herself without permission of court, shall be present, and the prosecuting attorney and defense counsel may be present at the view.

F.S. 918.06 Separation and detention of jurors; admonition by court.

The court shall admonish the jury that it is their duty not to converse among themselves or with anyone else on a subject connected with the trial or to form or express an opinion on a subject connected with the trial until the cause is submitted to them. When the jurors leave the jury box, the court may direct that the jury be kept together in the charge of a proper officer or allow them to separate. If the court permits the jurors to separate, it shall admonish them not to view the place where the offense appears to have been committed.

F.S. 918.07 Admonition to officer in charge of jurors.

When the jury is committed to the charge of an officer, the officer shall be admonished by the court to keep the jurors together in the place specified and not to permit any person to communicate with them on any subject except with the permission of the court given in open court in the presence of the defendant or the defendant’s counsel. The officer shall not communicate with the jurors on any subject connected with the trial and shall return the jurors to court as directed by the court.

F.S. 918.10 Charge to jury; request for instructions.

(1) At the conclusion of argument of counsel, the court shall charge the jury. The charge shall be only on the law of the case and must include the penalty for the offense for which the accused is being charged. (2) All charges to the jury shall be delivered orally and shall be taken by the court reporter, transcribed, and filed. (3) At or after the close of the evidence, a party may file written requests that the court instruct the jury on the law as stated in the requests. The court shall inform counsel of its proposed action on the requests before their arguments to the jury.

F.S. 918.12 Tampering with or harassing a court official.

(1) TAMPERING WITH A COURT OFFICIAL. — (a) A person who knowingly commits any of the following acts with the intent to cause or induce any court official to obstruct the administration of justice or affect the outcome of an official investigation or official proceeding commits the crime of tampering with a court official: 1. Uses intimidation or physical force; 2. Threatens any person or attempts to do so; 3. Engages in misleading conduct toward any person; or 4. Offers pecuniary benefit or gain to any person. (b) A person who violates paragraph (a) commits: 1. A felony of the third degree, punishable as provided in s. 775.082, s. 775.083, or s. 775.084, if the offense level of the affected official investigation or official proceeding is indeterminable. 2. A felony of the third degree, punishable as provided in s. 775.082, s. 775.083, or s. 775.084, if the official investigation or official proceeding affected involves the investigation or prosecution of a misdemeanor or noncriminal matter pending in county court. 3. A felony of the second degree, punishable as provided in s. 775.082, s. 775.083, or s. 775.084, if the official investigation or official proceeding affected involves the investigation or prosecution of a felony of the third degree or noncriminal matter pending in circuit court. 4. A felony of the first degree, punishable as provided in s. 775.082, s. 775.083, or s. 775.084, if the official investigation or official proceeding affected involves the investigation or prosecution of a felony of the second degree. 5. A felony of the first degree, punishable by a term of years not exceeding life or as provided in s. 775.082, s. 775.083, or s. 775.084, if the official investigation or official proceeding affected involves the investigation or prosecution of a felony of the first degree or a felony of the first degree punishable by a term of years not exceeding life. 6. A life felony, punishable as provided in s. 775.082, s. 775.083, or s. 775.084, if the official investigation or official proceeding affected involves the investigation or prosecution of a life or capital felony. (2) HARASSING A COURT OFFICIAL. — (a) A person who intentionally harasses a court official and thereby hinders, delays, prevents, or dissuades, or attempts to hinder, delay, prevent, or dissuade, a court official from performing any of the following acts commits the crime of harassing a court official: 1. Attending an official proceeding; 2. Rendering a fair verdict based solely upon the evidence produced at an official proceeding and upon the law; or 3. Following the rules of juror behavior and deliberation as set forth by the judge. (b) A person who violates paragraph (a) commits: 1. A misdemeanor of the first degree, punishable as provided in s. 775.082 or s. 775.083, if the official investigation or official proceeding affected involves the investigation or prosecution of a misdemeanor or noncriminal matter pending in county court. 2. A felony of the third degree, punishable as provided in s. 775.082, s. 775.083, or s. 775.084, if the offense level of the affected official investigation or official proceeding is indeterminable. 3. A felony of the third degree, punishable as provided in s. 775.082, s. 775.083, or s. 775.084, if the official investigation or official proceeding affected involves the investigation or prosecution of a felony of the third degree or any noncriminal matter pending in circuit court. 4. A felony of the second degree, punishable as provided in s. 775.082, s. 775.083, or s. 775.084, if the official investigation or official proceeding affected involves the investigation or prosecution of a felony of the second degree. 5. A felony of the first degree, punishable as provided in s. 775.082, s. 775.083, or s. 775.084, if the official investigation or official proceeding affected involves the investigation or prosecution of a felony of the first degree. 6. A felony of the first degree, punishable by a term of years not exceeding life or as provided in s. 775.082, s. 775.083, or s. 775.084, if the official investigation or official proceeding affected involves the investigation or prosecution of a felony of the first degree punishable by a term of years not exceeding life or a prosecution of a life or capital felony. (3) APPLICABILITY. — This section does not apply to the actions of an attorney acting in the performance of his or her duties.

F.S. 918.13 Tampering with or fabricating physical evidence.

(1) It is unlawful for any person, knowing that a criminal trial, proceeding, or investigation by a duly constituted prosecuting authority, law enforcement agency, grand jury, or legislative committee of this state is pending or is about to be instituted, to: (a) Alter, destroy, conceal, or remove any record, document, or other item with the purpose to impair its verity or availability in such proceeding or investigation; or (b) Make, present, or use any record, document, or other item, knowing it to be false. (2)(a) Except as provided in paragraph (b), a person who violates subsection (1) commits a felony of the third degree, punishable as provided in s. 775.082, s. 775.083, or s. 775.084. (b) A person who violates subsection (1) relating to a criminal trial, proceeding, or investigation that relates to a capital felony commits a felony of the second degree, punishable as provided in s. 775.082, s. 775.083, or s. 775.084.

F.S. 918.015 Right to speedy trial.

(1) In all criminal prosecutions the state and the defendant shall each have the right to a speedy trial. (2) The Supreme Court shall, by rule of said court, provide procedures through which the right to a speedy trial as guaranteed by subsection (1) and by s. 16, Art. I of the State Constitution, shall be realized.

F.S. 918.016 Trial of remaining defendants after grant of continuance to others.

When a continuance is granted to one or more of several defendants, the court may proceed with the trial of the defendants who have not been granted a continuance.

F.S. 918.16 Sex offenses; testimony of person under age 16 or who has an intellectual disability; testimony of victim; courtroom cleared; exceptions.

(1) Except as provided in subsection (2), in the trial of any case, civil or criminal, if any person under the age of 16 or any person with an intellectual disability as defined in s. 393.063 is testifying concerning any sex offense, the court shall clear the courtroom of all persons except parties to the cause and their immediate families or guardians, attorneys and their secretaries, officers of the court, jurors, newspaper reporters or broadcasters, court reporters, and, at the request of the victim, victim or witness advocates designated by the state attorney’s office. (2) If the victim of a sex offense is testifying concerning that offense in any civil or criminal trial, the court shall clear the courtroom of all persons upon the request of the victim, regardless of the victim’s age or mental capacity, except that parties to the cause and their immediate families or guardians, attorneys and their secretaries, officers of the court, jurors, newspaper reporters or broadcasters, court reporters, and, at the request of the victim, victim or witness advocates designated by the state attorney may remain in the courtroom.

F.S. 918.19 Closing argument.

As provided in the common law, in criminal prosecutions after the closing of evidence: (1) The prosecuting attorney shall open the closing arguments. (2) The accused or the attorney for the accused may reply. (3) The prosecuting attorney may reply in rebuttal. The method set forth in this section shall control unless the Supreme Court determines it is procedural and issues a substitute rule of criminal procedure.

F.S. 918.115 Definitions; ss. 918.12 and 918.125.

As used in ss. 918.12 and 918.125, the term: (1) “Administrative assistant” means a court employee assigned to the office of a specific general or special magistrate or a child support enforcement hearing officer. (2) “Bodily injury” means a cut, an abrasion, a bruise, a burn, or a disfigurement; physical pain; illness; impairment of the function of a bodily member, an organ, or a mental faculty; or any other injury to the body, regardless of how temporary. (3) “Court official” means any judge, justice, general magistrate, special magistrate, grand juror, petit juror, clerk of the court, deputy clerk of the court, judicial assistant, administrative assistant, attorney, child support enforcement hearing officer, bailiff, or court deputy. (4) “Harass” means to engage in a course of conduct directed at a specific person which causes substantial emotional distress in that person and serves no legitimate purpose. (5) “Judicial assistant” means a court employee assigned to the office of a specific judge or justice responsible for providing administrative, secretarial, or clerical support to the assigned judge or justice. (6) “Misleading conduct” means any of the following: (a) Knowingly making a false statement. (b) Intentionally omitting information from a statement and thereby causing a portion of such statement to be misleading, or intentionally concealing a material fact and thereby creating a false impression by such statement. (c) With the intent to mislead, knowingly submitting or inviting reliance on a writing or recording that is false, forged, altered, or otherwise lacking in authenticity. (d) With the intent to mislead, knowingly submitting or inviting reliance on a sample, specimen, map, photograph, boundary mark, or other object that is misleading in a material respect. (e) Knowingly using a trick, scheme, or device with the intent to mislead. (7) “Official investigation” means any investigation instituted by a law enforcement agency or prosecuting officer of the state or a political subdivision of the state or by the Commission on Ethics. (8) “Official proceeding” means any proceeding before a judge or court or a grand jury. (9) “Physical force” means physical action against another person and includes confinement of a person.

F.S. 918.125 Retaliating against a court official.

(1) A person who, with the intent to retaliate against a court official for his or her participation in an official investigation or official proceeding, commits any of the following acts commits a felony of the third degree, punishable as provided in s. 775.082, s. 775.083, or s. 775.084: (a) Knowingly engages in any conduct that threatens to cause bodily injury to another person; or (b) Damages the tangible property of another person or threatens to do so. (2) If the conduct described in subsection (1) results in bodily injury, such person commits a felony of the second degree, punishable as provided in s. 775.082, s. 775.083, or s. 775.084.

F.S. 918.0155 Expeditious disposition of particular criminal cases involving a child under age 16.

Every criminal case prosecuted under chapter 782, chapter 784, chapter 787, chapter 794, chapter 796, chapter 800, chapter 827, or chapter 847 which involves the abuse of a child or unlawful sexual contact or acts performed in the presence of, with, or upon a child under the age of 16 shall be heard and disposed of as expeditiously as possible.

F.S. 918.0157 Right to trial by jury.

In each prosecution for a violation of a state law or a municipal or county ordinance punishable by imprisonment, the defendant shall have, upon demand, the right to a trial by an impartial jury in the county where the offense was committed, except as to any such prosecution for a violation punishable for a term of imprisonment of 6 months or less, if at the time the case is set for trial the court announces that in the event of conviction of the crime as charged or of any lesser included offense a sentence of imprisonment will not be imposed and the defendant will not be adjudicated guilty, unless a right to trial by jury for such offense is guaranteed under the State or Federal Constitution.
Source: FL Statutes (Official Site)URL: https://www.flsenate.gov/Laws/Statutes/2025/Chapter918/AllFetched: 7/8/2026

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