SB 1838 Florida Senate · 2025 Regular Session

Tampering With, Harassing, or Retaliating Against Court Officials

Summary

Tampering With, Harassing, or Retaliating Against Court Officials; Providing criminal penalties for persons who knowingly and willfully threaten specified court personnel; providing criminal penalties for persons who knowingly and willfully harass specified court personnel with certain intent; providing criminal penalties for persons who intentionally harass court officials when such harassment has a specified outcome; providing criminal penalties for persons who retaliate against court officials for their participation in official investigations or proceedings, etc.

Issues: ✓ Criminal Justice

Bill status in committee 1 of 4 stages cleared

Introduction

Mar 2025

Committee Review

Floor Vote

Governor

Introduced Mar 10, 2025 Last action Apr 24, 2025

Maddy AI version diff · 2 comparisons

What changed between versions

S 1838 c1 → S 1838 c2 · 6 edits

MODERATE

This bill updates Florida's laws protecting court officials from threats, harassment, and retaliation by clarifying definitions, expanding protected personnel categories, and establishing tiered criminal penalties based on the severity of the underlying case. The changes strengthen protections for court employees and create more specific consequences for tampering with or interfering with official investigations and proceedings.

Scope change

The bill expands the scope of protected personnel to include additional court roles and clarifies that attorneys acting in their professional capacity are exempt from certain provisions. It also adds specific applicability language and updates related statutes to reference the new tampering and harassment provisions.

DEFINITION

Added new definitions for 'misleading conduct' and 'physical force' to clarify what actions constitute tampering or harassment of court officials.

ENFORCEMENT

Created new Section 918.12 with tiered felony penalties for tampering with court officials, where penalties escalate based on the severity of the underlying case (from third-degree felonies for minor matters to life felonies for capital cases).

Added Section 918.125 establishing criminal penalties for retaliating against court officials who participate in official investigations or proceedings, with enhanced penalties if bodily injury results.

ELIGIBILITY

Added an applicability provision stating that the new tampering and harassment provisions do not apply to attorneys acting in the performance of their professional duties.

REQUIREMENT

Updated related statutes (772.102, 895.02, and 921.0022) to include references to the new tampering, harassment, and retaliation provisions in their definitions of criminal activity and racketeering activity.

TIMELINE

Set the effective date of the act to October 1, 2025.

S 1838 Filed → S 1838 c1 · 7 edits

MODERATE

This bill was revised from a draft version to a committee substitute version, significantly reorganizing the statute structure and expanding protections. The primary change is moving threat and harassment provisions from the new 918.125 section to the existing 836.12 section, while creating a new 918.115 section for definitions. The bill now includes broader definitions of protected personnel and clarifies penalties based on the severity of the underlying case.

Scope change

The bill's scope expanded to include administrative assistants, judicial assistants, and law enforcement officers as protected personnel under threat and harassment provisions. The statute structure was reorganized to consolidate definitions and create clearer distinctions between tampering, harassment, and retaliation offenses.

DEFINITION

Added new definitions for administrative assistant, judicial assistant, law enforcement officer, misleading conduct, official investigation, official proceeding, and physical force to clarify who is protected and what constitutes prohibited conduct.

REQUIREMENT

Created new section 918.115 to establish comprehensive definitions for all related statutes, replacing the previous scattered definitions.

Changed the state of mind requirement for tampering offenses, removing the need to prove intent to obstruct justice in certain circumstances while maintaining strict liability for the act itself.

ENFORCEMENT

Reorganized threat and harassment provisions from the new 918.125 section to existing 836.12 section, establishing clearer misdemeanor and felony penalties based on whether the underlying case involves misdemeanors, felonies, or life/capital felonies.

Added enhanced penalties for retaliation offenses that result in bodily injury, upgrading from third-degree felony to second-degree felony.

SCOPE

Expanded protected personnel to include administrative assistants, judicial assistants, and law enforcement officers under threat and harassment provisions, not just court officials.

TECHNICAL

Updated references to Florida Statutes sections and renumbered sections to conform with legislative formatting standards and committee substitute requirements.

Floor votes

How they voted

No floor votes recorded yet.

Full legislative history

Actions timeline

Total actions

Key actions

Committee

Apr 22, 2025

Upper · Passed

Pending reference review -under Rule 4.7(2) - (Committee Substitute)

upper

Apr 17, 2025

Upper · Passed

On Committee agenda-- Fiscal Policy, 04/22/25, 11:00 am, 412 Knott Building

upper

Apr 15, 2025

Upper · Passed

Favorable by Appropriations Committee on Criminal and Civil Justice; YEAS 9 NAYS 0

upper

Apr 10, 2025

Upper · Passed

On Committee agenda-- Appropriations Committee on Criminal and Civil Justice, 04/15/25, 12:30 pm, 37 Senate Building

upper

Mar 20, 2025

Upper · Passed

Now in Appropriations Committee on Criminal and Civil Justice

upper

Mar 20, 2025

Upper · Passed

Pending reference review under Rule 4.7(2) - (Committee Substitute)

upper

Mar 13, 2025

Upper · Passed

On Committee agenda-- Criminal Justice, 03/18/25, 3:30 pm, 37 Senate Building

upper

Mar 10, 2025

Introduced

upper

Mar 7, 2025

Committee

Referred to Criminal Justice; Appropriations Committee on Criminal and Civil Justice; Fiscal Policy

upper

1 primary · 0 co-sponsors