[JustinK101]

My question involves criminal law for the state of: Florida

I was in Florida on vacation when I was assaulted in front of a bar. At the time of the assault I was quite intoxicated, but various witness attested that I was assaulted. I was taken to the Hospital via ambulance and treated for my head wounds.

I am originally from California. A few weeks later, I received some medical bills in the range of thousands. I did some research and applied for assistance from the State Of California Victims Fund. Everything was going well with the Victims Fund when they said I signed a non-prosecution affidavit at the scene, and thus was ineligible for assistance.

I was in shock, because I had no recollection of signing such a document. I contacted the Florida police department and they faxed over the non- prosecution affidavit. The thing had drops of blood all over it, and indeed was my signature, but to this day, I do not remember signing the document.

I had no intention of non-prosecution, but the officer I am sure did not want to follow up on the crime and had me sign it. I am sure I thought I was signing a police report or something, as I surely would have not agreed to non-prosecution.

So, I want to contact the Florida police department and try to have them declare the non-prosecution affidavit null, thus allowing me to continue the California Victims Fund application. What is the best way to approach this? Are there any cases or legal laws I can reference?

I found this short blurb:

“A contract is voidable when an intoxicated party cannot understand the nature and consequences of the transaction and the other party is aware of the intoxication.”

Thanks for the help.

[aardvarc]

How long ago did the incident occur?

Just out of curiousity, why file for compensation in California when the crime occurred in Florida? California IS one of the few states that allow you to do so, but things generally go smoother when you apply for compensation from the state of jurisdiction of the crime and in most cases any agency or advocate assisting with your application (if there was one) would make this recommendation.

Next, part of the process of eligiblity for compensation rests on "cooperating reasonably with a law enforcement agency in the apprehension and conviction of a criminal committing the crime". Your case is going to hang on the "reasonable cooperation" part.

Was an actual police report ever filed, or was there ONLY your non-prosecution affidavit? Do you know if any statements were ever taken from other witnesses? California is likely rejecting your application on the grounds that if you had followed up AFTER you sobered up to be aware if a report was filed or not, this affidavit fiasco would have been discovered early on in the case - early enough to give police another shot at trying to get a good, sober, statement from you, and at least a fighting chance at investigating the crime.

You are certainly on a reasonable track in thinking that such a statement signed while intoxicated is likely voidable, but my fear for you is that unless you made SOME sort of other sober effort after the fact to get the case on the right track, you might be out of luck. (In other words, if that affidavit were to somehow go away, is there already a police report ready to "kick in" and move the case forward?)

This is not something you'll likely be able to challenge on your own without the assistance of an attorney, but you can always contact the police department in Florida that responded to the scene - find out if they have a victim advocate on staff, and if so, talk to them about any process available to you to rescind the affidavit (they probably won't know the answer at the moment they're on the phone with you, but they can certainly do the legwork on your behalf to find out any options or procedures you might have).

[JustinK101]

How long ago did the incident occur?).

It has been almost a year. I waited a few months before submitting the original application and it took forever for them to give me my first denial because of the non-prosecution affidavit. I am now on appeal.

Just out of curiousity, why file for compensation in California when the crime occurred in Florida? California IS one of the few states that allow you to do so, but things generally go smoother when you apply for compensation from the state of jurisdiction of the crime and in most cases any agency or advocate assisting with your application (if there was one) would make this recommendation.

I filed in California because I assumed that was the proper place, they confirmed that it is not a problem that the crime happened in Florida. I do not have any assistance via an agency or advocate.

Next, part of the process of eligiblity for compensation rests on "cooperating reasonably with a law enforcement agency in the apprehension and conviction of a criminal committing the crime". Your case is going to hang on the "reasonable cooperation" part.

Right, that is exactly what they said and the reason for my denial, but my argument is that I wasn’t even aware of the non-prosecution affidavit until I submitted my claim to them.

Was an actual police report ever filed, or was there ONLY your non-prosecution affidavit? Do you know if any statements were ever taken from other witnesses? California is likely rejecting your application on the grounds that if you had followed up AFTER you sobered up to be aware if a report was filed or not, this affidavit fiasco would have been discovered early on in the case - early enough to give police another shot at trying to get a good, sober, statement from you, and at least a fighting chance at investigating the crime.

The following was filed: Non-Criminal Complaint Form, Vehicle Property Form, and Non-Prosecution Affidavit. I do not think any official witness statements were taken. I to this day do not remember the exact details of what happened, but multiple people stated that I was assaulted. I know I should have followed up, but I had no idea about the non-prosecution affidavit and that I would even be filling for compensation from the victims fund. Therefore, there is nothing I can do, but in retrospect I certainly should have followed up when I sobered up and made sure a police report was filed and the non-prosecution affidavit nullified.

You are certainly on a reasonable track in thinking that such a statement signed while intoxicated is likely voidable, but my fear for you is that unless you made SOME sort of other sober effort after the fact to get the case on the right track, you might be out of luck. (In other words, if that affidavit were to somehow go away, is there already a police report ready to "kick in" and move the case forward?)

That is my fear as well, they are going to say I did not make an effort to follow up and continue prosecution. Again, I had no idea I was even going to be filling for compensation and needing to do so. I think the fact though that the officer had me sign the non-prosecution affidavit in my state; intoxicated and with head trauma, caused this entire fiasco though.

This is not something you'll likely be able to challenge on your own without the assistance of an attorney, but you can always contact the police department in Florida that responded to the scene - find out if they have a victim advocate on staff, and if so, talk to them about any process available to you to rescind the affidavit (they probably won't know the answer at the moment they're on the phone with you, but they can certainly do the legwork on your behalf to find out any options or procedures you might have

Yeah that is the basis of my question; I need to have the non-prosecution affidavit rescinded and a police report filed. I know they will not catch the person, but if that were to happen, I can then come back to the victim’s fund.

Basically though, when I call the Florida police department what exactly do I say? Is there some law or code about when officers are supposed to make victims sign legal documents (non-prosecution affidavit) and the condition of the victim at the time of signing such documents.