Demings v. Orange County Citizens Review Board
15 So. 3d 604 (2009)
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Rule of Law:
A county charter provision creating a citizen review board with the power to independently investigate and subpoena a constitutional sheriff's deputies is unconstitutional because it conflicts with a state statute granting the sheriff the exclusive authority to conduct such investigations.
Facts:
- In 1986, Orange County adopted a charter form of government, retaining the Sheriff as an independent constitutional officer.
- In 1992, Orange County voters amended the charter to abolish the constitutional sheriff's office, create a county sheriff's department, and establish the Citizen’s Review Board (CRB) to investigate citizen complaints against deputies.
- In 1996, voters again amended the charter, re-establishing the Sheriff as an independent constitutional officer but leaving the CRB intact.
- On May 7, 2004, Deputy Steven Jenny arrested a juvenile, J.M., for a curfew violation.
- J.M. subsequently filed a complaint alleging that Jenny had used excessive force during the arrest.
- The Sheriff’s Professional Standards Division conducted an internal investigation and concluded that J.M.’s complaint was meritless.
- Following the internal investigation, the CRB initiated its own independent investigation and issued a subpoena to compel Deputy Jenny's testimony.
Procedural Posture:
- The Orange County Citizen's Review Board (CRB) issued a subpoena to Deputy Jenny, who contested it via a petition which was rejected on procedural grounds.
- The CRB issued a second subpoena, and in response, filed an action in the Orange County circuit court (trial court) to enforce it.
- Sheriff Demings filed a separate complaint in the same court seeking a declaratory judgment that the CRB lacked authority to investigate his deputies.
- The two cases were consolidated in the circuit court.
- The circuit court granted summary judgment in favor of Orange County and the CRB, upholding the CRB's authority and ordinance.
- Sheriff Demings and Deputy Jenny (appellants) appealed the circuit court's final summary judgment to the Florida Fifth District Court of Appeal.
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Issue:
Does a county charter provision creating a citizen's review board with the power to independently investigate and subpoena a constitutional sheriff's deputies conflict with state law and the Florida Constitution?
Opinions:
Majority - Lawson, J.
Yes. A county charter provision creating a citizen review board with independent investigative and subpoena power over a constitutional sheriff's deputies is unconstitutional. The court's reasoning is based on the plain meaning of Florida Statute § 112.533, part of the Law Enforcement Officer Bill of Rights, which designates the employing agency's internal investigation as the 'exclusive procedure' for investigating complaints against officers. The Orange County charter and ordinance creating the CRB establish an additional, conflicting procedure, which is 'inconsistent with general law' and therefore unconstitutional under Article VIII, Section 1(g) of the Florida Constitution. Furthermore, because the Sheriff is an independent constitutional officer, the county cannot transfer any of the Sheriff's duties, such as the power to investigate personnel, to another board without first abolishing the constitutional office entirely, as required by Article VIII, Section 1(d) of the Florida Constitution.
Analysis:
This decision significantly reinforces the autonomy of constitutional sheriffs in Florida, shielding their internal disciplinary processes from direct oversight by county-level civilian review boards with compulsory powers. It establishes that state law granting exclusive investigative authority to law enforcement agencies preempts local ordinances that attempt to create parallel or conflicting oversight mechanisms. The ruling clarifies that for a charter county to implement such civilian oversight, it must take the drastic step of abolishing the independent constitutional office of sheriff, thereby limiting local governments' options for police accountability reform.
