Doe v. City of Palm Bay

169 So. 3d 1211, 2015 Fla. App. LEXIS 10846, 2015 WL 4366622
CourtDistrict Court of Appeal of Florida
DecidedJuly 17, 2015
DocketNo. 5D13-3876
StatusPublished

This text of 169 So. 3d 1211 (Doe v. City of Palm Bay) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court of Appeal of Florida primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Doe v. City of Palm Bay, 169 So. 3d 1211, 2015 Fla. App. LEXIS 10846, 2015 WL 4366622 (Fla. Ct. App. 2015).

Opinion

EVANDER, J.

John Doe I filed a nine-count amended complaint against the City of Palm Bay (“the City”) seeking a determination that Palm Bay City Ordinance 2005-76 (“the Ordinance”) is unconstitutional. The Ordinance prohibits registered sexual predators and registered sexual offenders from making deliveries to or performing work at any residence, including the curtilage thereof, any designated private or public school facilities or grounds, including school bus stops, or any day-care center, library, after-care center, park, playground, hospital, hospice facility, nursing home, adult day-care center, dwelling, domicile, or other place where children or vulnerable adults may reside or regularly congregate. The Ordinance also makes it unlawful for a business owner, manager, supervisor, or other employer to allow, direct, dispatch, or instruct a known sexual predator and/or sexual offender who has been convicted, of or found to have committed, or has pled nolo contendere or guilty to, regardless of adjudication, any violation or attempted violation of a sex-related crime or a violation of a similar law or of another jurisdiction, when the victim of the offense was a minor or vulnerable adult, to enter into or upon any of the aforestated locations. (The Ordinance is set forth in the Appendix to this opinion.) The trial court rejected Doe’s arguments and entered summary final judgment in favor of the City. We conclude that the expansive reach of the Ordinance resulting from the use of the word “may” in the phrase “or other place where children or vulnerable adults may reside nr regularly congregate,” violates the ex post facto clause of the United States Constitution.1 However, we also conclude that the word “may” can be properly severed so as to enable the Ordinance to survive Doe’s ex post facto argument. We reject the other constitutional challenges to the Ordinance raised by Doe.

Doe is a registered plumber holding a valid occupational license with the Florida Department of Business and Professional Regulation. He owns his own plumbing business and maintains an office in Palm Bay. Doe is also a registered sex offender pursuant to section 943.0435, Florida Statutes (2005), as a result of a sexual battery charge to which he entered a nolo conten-[1215]*1215dere plea in 1999. He contends that he has become subject to a substantial loss of income as a result of the City’s adoption of the Ordinance.

On appeal, Doe challenges the Ordinance on six grounds. We will address each argument separately.2

Procedural Due Process

Doe first argues that the Ordinance violates his procedural due process rights because he was not afforded the opportunity to prove that he does not pose a danger to the community. We find this argument to be without merit. In Connecticut Department of Public Safety v. Doe, 538 U.S. 1, 4, 123 S.Ct. 1160, 155 L.Ed.2d 98 (2003), the United States Supreme Court rejected a similar challenge to Connecticut’s sex offender registration law. The Court held that the fact the registered sex offender attempted to prove that he was currently not dangerous was “of no consequence” under Connecticut’s law. Id. at 7, 123 S.Ct. 1160. The offender’s conviction for one of the applicable enumerated crimes was the determining factor and, as the Supreme Court observed, the offender had already been afforded procedural safeguards to contest the underlying charge(s). Id. at 7-8, 123 S.Ct. 1160; see also Milks v. State, 894 So.2d 924, 927-28 (Fla.2005) (holding that procedural due process did not require evidentiary hearing to determine whether individuals subject to sexual predator classification presented danger to community).

Equal Protection

Doe next argues that the Ordinance violates his equal protection rights because there is no rational basis for him to be treated differently than other similarly situated persons who provide plumbing services in locations where children or vulnerable adults may be present. We disagree. Indeed, in McKune v. Lile, 536 U.S. 24, 33, 122 S.Ct. 2017, 153 L.Ed.2d 47 (2002), the United States Supreme Court stated that sex offenders constitute a serious threat in this nation and that once “convicted sex offenders reenter society, they are much more likely than any other type of offender to be rearrested for a new rape or sexual assault.” Thus, the imposition of restrictions to limit contact between sexual predators and/or sexual offenders and children or vulnerable adults is rationally related to a government’s interest in protecting its citizens from criminal activity. Doe v. Moore, 410 F.3d 1337, 1346-49 (11th Cir.2005) (holding that Florida’s sexual offender registration/notification laws were reviewed under rational basis test and that such laws were rationally related to state’s strong interest in preventing future sexual offenses and alerting local law enforcement and citizens to whereabouts of those that could reoffend).

Separation of Powers

It is Doe’s position that the Ordinance violates the separation of powers doctrine because it is the role of the judiciary, not a local government, to determine if a convicted person poses a “danger” to the community. We conclude that this argument is unpersuasive. The power to regulate sexual predators and sexual offenders has not been assigned exclusively to the judiciary. See Milks, 894 So.2d at 929 (holding that Florida’s Sexual Preda[1216]*1216tors Act imposing registration and public notice requirements does not violate separation of powers doctrine; Act is exercise of Legislature’s public-policy-making function).

Preemption by State Licensing Laws

Because he has been licensed as a plumber by the state, Doe contends that a local government cannot restrict his ability to freely practice his trade as a plumber. We reject this argument. There are two ways that a local government ordinance can be inconsistent with state law and therefore unconstitutional. Phantom of Brevard, Inc. v. Brevard Cnty., 3 So.3d 309, 314 (Fla.2008). First, a local government cannot legislate in a field where the Legislature reserves that topic for regulation exclusively by the Legislature. Id. “Second, in a field where both the State and local government can legislate concurrently, a county cannot enact an ordinance that directly conflicts with a state statute.” Id.

Here, the Legislature has not reserved the regulation of licensed contractors exclusively to the State. Indeed, the Legislature has expressly provided for local government regulation:

Section 489.131 Applicability
(1) This part applies to all contractors, including, but not limited to, those performing work for the state or any county or municipality....
[[Image here]]
(3) Nothing in this part limits the power of a municipality or county:
(a) To regulate the quality and character of work performed by contractors through a system of permits, fees, and inspections which is designed to secure compliance with and aid in the implementation of state and local building laws.
(b)

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Related

John Doe v. James T. Moore
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170 U.S. 189 (Supreme Court, 1898)
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Kennedy v. Mendoza-Martinez
372 U.S. 144 (Supreme Court, 1963)
United States v. Ward
448 U.S. 242 (Supreme Court, 1980)
McKune v. Lile
536 U.S. 24 (Supreme Court, 2002)
Connecticut Department of Public Safety v. Doe
538 U.S. 1 (Supreme Court, 2003)
Smith v. Doe
538 U.S. 84 (Supreme Court, 2003)
Phantom of Brevard, Inc. v. Brevard County
3 So. 3d 309 (Supreme Court of Florida, 2008)
Shere v. State
742 So. 2d 215 (Supreme Court of Florida, 1999)
State v. Williams
343 So. 2d 35 (Supreme Court of Florida, 1977)
Cramp v. BOARD OF PUBLIC INSTRUCTION OF ORANGE
137 So. 2d 828 (Supreme Court of Florida, 1962)
Chamberlain v. State
881 So. 2d 1087 (Supreme Court of Florida, 2004)
Milks v. State
894 So. 2d 924 (Supreme Court of Florida, 2005)

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Bluebook (online)
169 So. 3d 1211, 2015 Fla. App. LEXIS 10846, 2015 WL 4366622, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/doe-v-city-of-palm-bay-fladistctapp-2015.