Opinion
No. 2D11–62071.
2011-12-15
J.F., Appellant/Petitioner(s), v. Steve WHIDDEN, Sheriff Of Hendry County, Appellee/Respondent(s).
BY ORDER OF THE COURT.
The petition for writ of habeas corpus is granted. Steve Whidden, as the Sheriff of Hendry County, shall immediately release J.F. from the Hendry County jail. The truancy court order entered on December 12, 2011, in circuit court case number 11–11DT, which sentenced J.F. to ten days in county jail after he was held in indirect criminal contempt for failing to attend school daily since the entry of a truancy order, is hereby quashed. Pursuant to section 984.09(2)(b), Florida Statutes (2011), the circuit court may place J.F. in a staff-secure shelter or a staff-secure residential facility, or, if such placement is not available, an appropriate mental health facility or substance abuse facility for assessment. In such instance, J.F. shall be given credit for the time spent in county jail.
This court will issue an opinion in the near future in appellate case number 2D11–4944, a case involving a child who was sentenced to secure detention after being held in indirect criminal contempt for failing to attend school daily since the entry of a truancy order. The basis for our decision in this case will be explained therein. See also N.M.R. v. State, 711 So.2d 145 (Fla. 5th DCA 1998).