SB1004/HB0247 TALKING POINTS - EXPANDED VERSION

1. In his State of the Union address to Congress and the Nation on February 2, 2005, President George W. Bush said: "Because one of the main sources of our national unity is our belief in equal justice, we need to make sure Americans of all races and backgrounds have confidence in the system that provides justice. In America we must make doubly sure no person is held to account for a crime he or she did not commit...." SB1004/HB0247 is an important step towards making sure Floridians have confidence in the legal system in our state because it will help prevent wrongful prosecutions and convictions.

2. SB1004/HB0247 addresses an important and dangerous loophole in Florida law. Currently, law enforcement personnel (including individuals and the various police agencies and state's attorney's offices which employ them) who step outside the law and knowingly manipulate or fabricate evidence in order to send the wrong person to prison enjoy immunity from civil lawsuits. SB1004/HB0247 sends a clear message that such illegal activity by trusted public servants will not be tolerated by making such persons and their agencies liable to civil damages.

3. SB1004/HB0247 is PRO-Law enforcement, because it discourages the few "bad apples" in the law enforcement community from engaging in illegal activity which, when discovered, is embarrassing and damaging to the public perception of those who work in law enforcement.
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4. SB1004/HB0247 is PRO-Law enforcement because it makes clear to the public the fact that those in law enforcement will be held accountable if they abuse the power that is entrusted to them. SB1004/HB0247 enhances public confidence in the system that provides justice.

5. SB1004/HB0247 does NOT apply to law enforcement personnel who make mistakes. Clear and convincing evidence that an accused law enforcement officer or state's attorney has willfully "fabricated or deceptively manipulated" evidence must be presented in a court of law, and found to be credible, before any damages may be assessed. Courts will be very reluctant to rule against law enforcement personnel unless there is absolute proof of willful misconduct that has resulted in the wrong person being convicted of a crime.

6. SB1004/HB0247 will help ensure that the real perpetrator of crimes is continuously sought until captured. On the rare occasions when police or prosecutors fabricate or deceptively manipulate evidence in order to send the wrong person to prison, the real guilty party is still free to commit more crimes.

7. SB1004/HB0247 does NOT provide for criminal sanctions against rogue law enforcement officers and prosecutors. Under this law only civil damages may be sought.

8. SB1004/HB0247 does NOT open the door to frivilous lawsuits by persons of dubious intent. ONLY persons who have been formally exonerated in a court of law may seek damages, and ONLY when a civil court agrees that evidence was fabricated or deceptively manipulated in order to secure a conviction against an innocent person.