Judge Incorrectly Added House Arrest After Bond Was Already Set

In the case of Anthony Steffen versus the State of Florida, the prosecutor filed a motion asking the judge to revoke Mr. Steffen's bond and to put him in jail two months after Steffen had gone to his First Appearance Hearing where the conditions of his bond had been originally set. But instead of putting Steffen in jail, the judge who ruled on the prosecutor's motion decided to put him on house arrest.

Steffen appealed the judge's decision, and the court of appeals ruled that what the judge did was illegal because:

1. No new evidence was presented to the judge; and

2. No change of circumstances occurred during the two months that Steffen had been on bond that justified putting him on house arrest.