While no blatant conflicts in the minor's testimony leap off the pages of the transcript, the inconsistencies were apparent and corroborative of the credibility determination made by the circuit judge—whose vantage point affords her the ability to assess the demeanor of the witness and detect visual and verbal cues that might bear upon the veracity of the testimony being offered. See In re Doe, 204 So. 3d 175, 176 (Fla. 1st DCA 2016) ("Our review on appeal is highly deferential to the circuit court, due, in large part, to the confidential, non-adversarial nature of the proceeding below. The circuit court sits in a far better position to assess a minor's demeanor and credibility than this Court can upon review of the transcribed hearing.
It mentions only a process for judicial waiver—a function that the Legislature has by general law assigned exclusively to the circuit courts to perform. The Legislature in turn authorized by general law district courts to hear appeals after a circuit court has considered a petition for judicial waiver, and only when a circuit court denies such a petition, In re Doe, 204 So. 3d 175, 176 (Fla. 1st DCA 2016) ("Notably, only a denied petition may be reviewed on appeal; a petition that is granted is not subject to appellate review."). [4, 5] But when it authorized an appeal to the district courts, the Legislature did not and could not give district courts any new power or allow us to perform a function of any other branch of government.
The Legislature in turn authorized by general law district courts to hear appeals after a circuit court has considered a petition for judicial waiver, and only when a circuit court denies such a petition. In re Doe, 204 So.3d 175, 176 (Fla. 1st DCA 2016) ("Notably, only a denied petition may be reviewed on appeal; a petition that is granted is not subject to appellate review.").
She had done Google searches and reviewed a pamphlet (that she and a family member got from their visit to a medical clinic) to gain an understanding about her medical options and their consequences. Cf.In re Doe , 204 So. 3d 175, 177 (Fla. 1st DCA 2016) (Makar, J., concurring) (affirming denial of judicial waiver where the "minor did not know what the medical procedure involved"). The trial court noted that the minor "acknowledges she is not ready for the emotional, physical, or financial responsibility of raising a child" and "has valid concerns about her ability to raise a child."
This placed her credibility in question. The court stated both at the hearing and in its written order that it did not find some of Doe's testimony credible, and "[t]he circuit court sits in a far better position to assess a minor's demeanor and credibility than this [c]ourt can upon review of the transcribed hearing," In re Doe, 204 So. 3d 175, 176 (Fla. 1st DCA 2016). We do note that this court is not insensitive to the difficult situation Doe finds herself in where the statute requires notice to and the consent of her parents while at the same time her parents may not be available to accompany her and provide such consent.