1,443 petitions for temporary ex-parte risk protection
orders were filed across 54 Florida counties from March 2018 through February
2019, according to a report obtained by County Examiner.
Prepared by the Florida Office of State Court Administrators
the document reveals Broward, Polk and Pinellas law enforcement topped the list
of counties reporting the filing of temporary firearm confiscation orders for
the above-mentioned period; 251, 248, and 202 respectively. Thirteen Florida
counties presumably filed zero firearm confiscation orders.
While a footnote specifies the statistics were provided to
OSCA by each Clerk of the Court and have not been audited for accuracy, examining
the number of motions filed to extend the ban on firearm
possession to one year raises additional questions about the origins and
motivations for the temporary ERPO filing in the first place.
For example, Miami-Dade County Clerk of the Courts
reported 88 petitions for temporary firearm confiscations and extended a one-year
ban on firearm possession in 43 of those situations. Does a one-year
ban on firearm ownership meet the definition of “temporary”?
Meanwhile the OSCA report reveals Broward, Polk and Pinellas
law enforcement, who together presumably filed 701 temporary firearm confiscation orders, ultimately
filed ZERO motions to extend the firearm ownership ban to one year. Does that equate
to successfully stopping a person before something bad happens?
You can view the OSCA
report here.
County Examiner previously
reported on a brief filed in Florida’s Second District Court of Appeals
challenging several provisions of Florida’s gun confiscation act, most notably due
process concerns, allowing admission of hearsay evidence and the unlawful
delegation of prosecutorial authority to law enforcement in violation of the
Florida Constitution.
You can view the court
docket here.
