29.27 UNLAWFUL DISCLOSURE OF THE LOCATION OF A CERTIFIED DOMESTIC VIOLENCE CENTER

To prove the crime of Unlawful Disclosure of the Location of a Certified Domestic Violence Center, the State must prove the following three elements beyond a reasonable doubt:

1. (Defendant) [disclosed] [or] [published, disseminated, or disclosed any descriptive information or image that may identify] the location of a domestic violence center.

2. (Defendant) did so maliciously.

3. At the time, the domestic violence center was certified by the Department of Children and Families pursuant to § 39.905, Florida Statutes.

Reclassification.

The first degree misdemeanor in § 39.9057, Fla. Stat., becomes a third degree felony upon a second or subsequent conviction. As of November 2021, it was unclear whether a conviction required an adjudication of guilt. It was also unclear whether the reclassification requires the state to prove the prior to the factfinder under the beyond a reasonable doubt standard or whether the prior can be considered a recidivist factor that can be proven to the sentencing judge under the preponderance of the evidence standard. If viewed as an element, give the following:

Now that you have found the defendant guilty of Unlawful Disclosure of the Location of a Certified Domestic Violence Center, you must further determine whether the State has proven beyond a reasonable doubt whether the defendant was previously convicted of Unlawful Disclosure of the Location of a Certified Domestic Violence Center.