80 So. 3d 999 - Del Valle v. State’s Empirical Analysis

Citation profile

32 state decisions

Most-quoted passages

The sentences later courts lift from this opinion, ranked by how many decisions quote each — the parts of the opinion doing the work. These counts are smaller than the citation total above because most of the 33 citing decisions cite the case generally; a passage count includes only decisions quoting that exact language verbatim.

1. “(1) [W]hether a trial court, before finding a violation of probation for failure to pay restitution, must inquire into the probationer’s ability to pay and determine whether the failure to pay was willful; and (2) whether the burden-shifting scheme of section 948.06(5), Florida Statutes (2011),[ 5 ] which places the burden on the probationer to prove his or her inability to pay by clear and convincing evidence, is constitutional.”

   2 later decisions quote this exact passage · from the majority
   e.g. Johnson v. State · 114 So. 3d 965 - Brooks v. State

2. “Although the standard for proving a probation violation is the preponderance of the evidence, the defendant is required to meet a heightened burden of clear and convincing evidence to establish inability to pay. This imbalance in the scales of justice is even more significant considering the following: (1) when imposing restitution, the trial court no longer (as of 1995) considers the financial resources of the defendant and must impose restitution unless there are “clear and compelling reasons” not to do so; and (2) in a civil enforcement action where incarceration is not at stake, the probationer is held only to a preponderance of the evidence standard to demonstrate his or her financial resources. We further consider that the Legislature has not amended section 948.06(5) with respect to placing the burden on the probationer to prove inability to pay by clear and convincing evidence since adding the requirement in 1984 — at which time the financial resources of the defendant were a factor that the trial court was required to consider at the time that restitution was assessed and imposed. [[Image here]] ... We conclude that imposing a burden of clear and convincing evidence on the probationer creates an impermissible risk that a person will be imprisoned simply because, through no fault of his or her own, he or she cannot pay the monetary obligation. Such an error is one of constitutional magnitude, “contrary to the fundamental fairness required by the Fourteenth Amendment” ”

   1 later decision quote this exact passage · from the majority
   e.g. Johnson v. State

3. “Affirmed. See Gonzales v. State, 909 So.2d 960, 960 (Fla. 3d DCA 2005) (“If the probationer’s defense is inability to pay, ‘it is incumbent upon the probationer or offender to prove by clear and convincing evidence that he or she does not have the present resources available to pay restitution or the cost of supervision despite sufficient bona fide efforts legally to acquire the resources to do so.’ § 948.06(5), Fla. Stat. (2004)”).”

   1 later decision quote this exact passage · from the majority
   e.g. 164 So. 3d 1208 - Kimberly Ann Miles v. Daniel Weingrad, M.D.