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Eighth Judicial Circuit Administrative Order 4.16 (Circuit-Wide Criminal Alternative Sanctions): 99 operative paragraphs verbatim from the order as the circuit publishes it.
Eighth Judicial Circuit — all counties of the circuit. Administrative orders are amended and rescinded by later orders; the circuit's own index controls (the index lists it as a current instrument on 2026-09-14). Procedural information only; not legal advice.
• This program is for alleged “low risk” and “moderate risk” violations. • ELIGIBILITY To be eligible for the program, offenders must be placed on probation or community control by the Court, be under the supervision of the Department of Corrections, have strong community ties, and have a stable residence in a county within the Eighth Judicial Circuit. • The program is offered only to those offenders who have committed “low risk” and “moderate risk” violations, as defined in section 948.06, Florida Statutes, and as addressed in the Alternative Sanctions Program Violation/Sanction Matrix included in Section III of this order. • The offender’s threat to public safety is the most important factor in determining his/her eligibility. • A probationer or offender on community control is eligible for an alternative sanction unless excluded pursuant to section 948.06(9)(d), Florida Statutes. • Additionally, the following offenders are not eligible for participation in the alternative sanctions program: (1) offenders with a lengthy or violent criminal history, including sex offenders; (2) offenders who have committed new law violations, are absconders, or have violated a “no contact” condition of supervision; and, (3) offenders having three or more previous violations. • III. QUALIFYING “LOW RISK” AND “MODERATE RISK” VIOLATIONS AND APPROVED SANCTIONS The following matrix lists the specific qualifying “low risk” and “moderate risk” violations that may be addressed through the Alternative Sanctions Program process. • Each “low risk” and “moderate risk” violation includes a list of sanctions determined and approved by the Court for the probation officer to select from when reporting these violations, based on the individual offender’s circumstances at the time of the violation. • An offender’s participation in the Alternative Sanctions Program and completion of any alternative sanction(s) does not alter or reduce an offender’s obligation to complete all other conditions of probation or community control imposed by the Court. • ALTERNATIVE SANCTIONS PROGRAM VIOLATION/SANCTION MATRIX VIOLATION APPROVED LIST OF SANCTIONS Condition (1): Reported late; failed to report as instructed (Probation and DOP Cases). • Condition (2): Failed to pay Cost of Supervision (COS). • Condition (3): Failed to report changes in residence or employment without first procuring the officer’s consent (or notifying immediately if evicted from residence or laid off from job). • No recreational travel 90 days. 2. 20 hours community service within 60 days. • Condition (3): Failed to request permission prior to leaving the county. • Condition (6): Found to be associating with person(s) engaged in criminal activity. • 1. Curfew from 10 p.m. – 6 a.m. for 90 days (probation officer can modify for treatment/work purposes). 2. 20 hours community service within 60 days. • Condition (7): Positive drug test for non- prescribed drugs (first occurrence). • 1. Drug evaluation and successfully complete treatment determined necessary. • 2. Re-evaluation to determine if more intensive treatment including residential is recommended. • Condition (8): Failure to maintain employment and failure to comply with adequate job searches. • 1. Mandatory registration and participation in employment agency programs. 2. 20 hours community service weekly until employed. • Condition (9): Failure to follow instructions. • Condition (10): Failure to pay restitution or court costs (monetary obligations). • 2. Successfully complete budgeting and finance classes. • Condition (11): Failure to submit to random testing as directed. • Special Condition (1): Failure to attend treatment evaluation or treatment session as scheduled. • Curfew from 10 p.m. – 6 a.m. until evaluation completed (probation officer can modify for treatment/work). • 3. AA/NA daily and weekly drug testing until in compliance. • Special Condition (8): Failure to complete community service hours as instructed. • 1. Curfew from 10 p.m. - 6 a.m. until full compliance (probation officer can modify for treatment/work). • Special Condition (9): Failure to remain at residence during curfew period. • Special Condition of Electronic Monitoring 1. • Community Control Condition (16): Failure to maintain approved schedule – unapproved absence from required location (negligence in getting home late, stopping at store on way home without permission). • In addition to the sanctions listed above, a probation officer may also select any sanction listed in section 948.06, Florida Statutes, for a: i. First or second “low risk violation” committed by a probationer; and, ii. • First “moderate risk violation” committed by a probationer or an offender on community control. • The probation or community control officer shall inform offenders who have committed violations enumerated in Section III that they may participate in the Alternative Sanctions Program for administrative disposition of the violation. • No offender is required to participate in the program and may opt for a formal violation of probation or community control hearing in Circuit Court. • If the offender admits the “low risk” or “moderate risk” violation, agrees to accept the administrative sanction(s) recommended by the probation officer, and agrees to waive a formal violation hearing to modify his/her sentence, the probation officer will prepare an “Alternative Sanctions Program Technical Violation Notification,” which will provide details of the circumstances of the violation that occurred and the probation officer’s recommended sanction, based on the sanctions listed in the approved matrix and/or section 948.06, Florida Statutes. • If the offender agrees to participate in the Alternative Sanctions Program, he/she will sign the second section of the form entitled “Alternative Sanctions Program Waiver of Formal VOP/VOCC Hearing, Admission of Violation, and Acceptance of Sanctions,” which will be submitted to the Court once it has been signed and dated by the probation officer. • An offender’s prior admission to a “low risk” or “moderate risk” violation may not be used as evidence in subsequent proceedings. • The judge shall review the “Alternative Sanctions Program Technical Violation Notification” and waiver form submitted and, if the judge agrees that the “low risk” or “moderate risk” violation should be addressed via the Alternative Sanctions Program and agrees with the recommended sanction, the judge will sign the “Order - Alternative Sanctions Program.” • If the judge does not support the sanction recommended by the probation officer or does not agree that the “low risk” or “moderate risk” violation should be addressed via the Alternative Sanctions Program, the judge shall include further instructions on the order. • Upon approval by the Court, the probation officer will instruct the offender on the sanction imposed by the Court and instruct the offender to take the actions necessary to ensure that the sanction is completed immediately. • Furthermore, the probation officer shall inform the offender that failure to complete the imposed sanction as instructed will result in a violation report, affidavit, and warrant being submitted to the Court on the underlying violation. • Failure to complete the imposed sanction(s) shall not constitute additional grounds for violation. • No sentencing points will be assessed by virtue of entering into or failing to complete the Alternative Sanctions Program. • The Criminal Alternative Sanctions Program shall be administered by the Circuit Court and the Florida Department of Corrections. • EFFECTIVE DATE The effective date of this Order is February 19, 2024. • This Order replaces and supersedes Administrative Order 4.16(v4), “Circuit-wide Criminal Alternative Sanctions Program,” dated February 10, 2023.
This program is for alleged “low risk” and “moderate risk” violations.
Reviewer note: Composed 2026-09-14 from BenchPath's custody copy (file 311f3f8db156.pdf; 312,590 bytes, 6 page(s), native text layer): the index lists it as a current instrument on 2026-09-14 (https://circuit8.org/eighth-judicial-circuit-court/administrative-orders/); the operative paragraphs after the ORDERED marker are quoted whole, whitespace normalised only; signature block, page markers and stamps dropped. Effective date from the order's own date line where present, else the index date. [text debris fixed 2026-09-21: U+FFFE line-break hyphen artifacts restored to hyphens; benchpath-tx-corpus0920-p4-2026-09-21] [Rebuilt 2026-09-27: the published text had been cut at line and page breaks (99 fragments, many beginning or ending mid-sentence); it now publishes the 49 whole sentences those fragments belong to, verbatim from the rule's own source (custody (sha256-matched, 1 document)), with printed page markers and running headers removed.]
9 verbatim requirements from 4th Circuit Administrative Order 1997-10.
6 verbatim requirements from 4th Circuit Administrative Order 1997-13.