Education enhances the knowledge and skills of the judiciary and, therefore, contributes to the administration of justice.  The Conference of County Court Judges of Florida is committed to the betterment of the judicial system of the state and the improvement of procedure and practice in the county courts.  The Conference’s Education Committee has developed this criminal bench book to aid the trial judge in basic procedures and techniques and to serve as a tool in the courtroom.

This bench book is divided into separate chapters - each with certain sections for ease of use.  A “key points” section sets forth the basic substantive and procedural law applicable to the chapter’s topic.  The “authorities” section lists all relevant criminal rules, Florida statutes and case law as of the date of the bench book’s printing.  The “tips/notes” section contains any helpful procedures and has a separate page and section for the judges to include any notations applicable to the chapter.  The “checklists/forms” section contains all checklists, forms and colloquies for the judge’s ready use.

Former chairs of the Education Committee were instrumental in the design and creation of the Criminal Law Bench Book including, Judge Terry Lewis, Chair 1994-1998, Judge Sandra Edwards-Stephens, Chair 1998, Judge Jeffrey Colbath, Chair 1998-1999, and Judge Beth Bloom, Chair 1999-2000.  The original contributors were Judge Mercedes Bach, Judge Beth Bloom, Judge Joel Lazarus, and Judge Lisa Kahn.  The original editors were Judge Thomas H. Bateman, III, Judge Beth Bloom, John Hogenmuller, Esquire, Elena Marlow, Esquire, Judge Mark King Leban and Judge Sandra Edwards-Stephens.

In the July, 2003 edition pertinent case summaries have been added to each of the chapters.  These case summaries have been excerpted from the The Florida Criminal Cases Notebook which is published by James Publishing, Inc., and authored by Kurt Erlenbach, Esquire. While the case summaries constitute copyrighted material, the publisher and the author have agreed to permit their inclusion in the Conference’s bench book.  Additional information about The Florida Criminal Cases Notebook and how to obtain a copy may be found in the advertisement included in this text. 

The July 2003 edition is also the first to be available on compact disk and on the Conference web site.  Judge Anne Kaylor is principally responsible for the electronic publication of the bench book in a manner that reduces publication costs and enhances the availability of the text.

The Education Committee views this bench book as a work in progress.  It is our intention to update this book periodically.  Our fellow judges, the users of this book, are welcome to contribute to that process through comments and suggestions.  These can be sent directly to the Office of the State Courts Administrator, Legal Affairs and Education, Supreme Court Building, 500 South Duval Street, Tallahassee, Florida 32399-1900.