§ 985.15, Fla. Stat. · Part III. CUSTODY AND INTAKE;INTERVENTION AND DIVERSION
Filing decisions.
Text — 2026 Florida Statutes
(1) The state attorney may in all cases take action independent of the action or lack of action of the juvenile probation officer and shall determine the action that is in the best interest of the public and the child. If the child meets the criteria requiring prosecution as an adult under s. 985.556, the state attorney shall request the court to transfer and certify the child for prosecution as an adult or shall provide written reasons to the court for not making such a request. In all other cases, the state attorney may:
(a) File a petition for dependency;
(b) File a petition under chapter 984;
(c) File a petition for delinquency;
(d) File a petition for delinquency with a motion to transfer and certify the child for prosecution as an adult;
(e) File an information under s. 985.557;
(f) Refer the case to a grand jury;
(g) Refer the child to a diversionary, pretrial intervention, arbitration, or mediation program, or to some other treatment or care program if such program commitment is voluntarily accepted by the child or the child’s parents or legal guardian; or
(h) Decline to file.
(2) In cases in which a delinquency report, affidavit, or complaint is filed by a law enforcement agency and the state attorney determines not to file a petition, the state attorney shall advise the clerk of the circuit court in writing that no petition will be filed thereon.
Notes and commentary — not statutory text
History
s. 25, ch. 2006-120; s. 150, ch. 2019-167.
Source of truth
- Edition
- 2026 Florida Statutes
- Official file
- https://www.leg.state.fl.us/Statutes/index.cfm?App_mode=Display_Statute&URL=0900-0999/0985/0985.html
- Text hash
- sha256 848e2431373626d0e7275d667d139407473c85f9e0ccdf8f63f15fbd8b92c9c5
- Composed by
- compose_v2.py 2026-10-04: the Legislature's structured HTML read in document order; verify_v2.py's independent reading agrees character for character
- composed from the Legislature's structured HTML (one source of text; no PDF extraction); a second, independent reading of the same bytes agrees character for character
This section cites
Provisions in this library that the text above cites, as it prints each citation. A range cited as “ss. 61.13-61.16” links its first and last provisions.
The Florida Statutes
- Fla. Stat. ch. 984CHILDREN AND FAMILIES IN NEED OF SERVICES;PREVENTION AND INTERVENTION FOR SCHOOL TRUANCYAND UNGOVERNABLE AND RUNAWAY CHILDRENPrinted as chapter 984
- § 985.556, Fla. Stat.Waiver of juvenile court jurisdiction; hearing.Printed as s. 985.556
- § 985.557, Fla. Stat.Direct filing of an information; discretionary criteria.Printed as s. 985.557
Cited by 3 provisions
Provisions in this library whose text cites § 985.15, Fla. Stat.. Each shows the citation as that text prints it.
Procedural information only. Not legal advice and not a substitute for the advice of an attorney. Confirm the current text with the official publisher before relying on it.