State ex rel. Clarkson v. Philips

70 So. 367, 70 Fla. 340
CourtSupreme Court of Florida
DecidedNovember 18, 1915
StatusPublished
Cited by51 cases

This text of 70 So. 367 (State ex rel. Clarkson v. Philips) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Supreme Court of Florida primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
State ex rel. Clarkson v. Philips, 70 So. 367, 70 Fla. 340 (Fla. 1915).

Opinions

Whitfield, J.

The alternative writ of mandamus issued from this court alleges that the relator, Edward H. Clarkson, is a citizen and resident of the State of Florida, and has been such for more than five years last past; that by virtue of Section 25 of Chapter 6535 Acts of 1913, any person who has been a bona fide resident of the State of Florida for one year then passed, may procure a hunter’s license for himself or herself by filing his or her affidavit with the county judge of the county in which he or she resides, stating his or her age, place of residence, postoffice address, color, color of his or her hair and eyes and the fact whether her or she can write his or her name, and by paying one dollar to said county judge; that petitioner on October 15, 1915, filed his affidavit with the county judge in and for Duval county, Florida, the county in which he resides, stating his age, place of residence, postoffice address, color, color of his hair and eyes, and stating that he could write his name, and had been a bona fide resident of the State for fifteen years, and tendered to the county judge one dollar and demanded a hunter’s license, and was by virtue of said section 23 of Chapter 6535 entitled to have a hunter’s license issued to him, giving him the privilege of' hunting in and throughout Duval county, Florida; that the county judge refused to issue said license to petitioner, and assigned as a reason therefor that under and by virtue of Section 19 of Chapter 6969 Acts of 1915, he [344]*344was not authorized or empowered to grant a hunter’s license under the laws of 1913, and that the affidavit filed did not show that petitioner was and had been a resident of Duval County,Florida, for six months then last past, that Chapter 6969 Acts of 1915, pretending to repeal Chapters 6534 and 6535 Acts of 1913, is null and void and inoperative by reason of the fact that said act was intended for. the protection and prevention of the game of Florida, whereas, because of the unconstitutionality of Sections 19, 20 and 22 of Chapter 6969 Acts of 19x5, and of sections 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32 and 38 of said Chapter, as alleged in the writ, Chapter 6969 does not afford any protection to< the game of the State or accomplish in any way such purpose, but is wholly without force, that is to say, sections 19, 20 and 22 violate section 20 of Article 3 of the State Constitution in that it ís a criminal statute and is not uniform in, its operation; section 22 unjustly discriminates in that it permits resident confederate veterans, pensioners, to hunt without licenses; that under and by virtue of section 19, that if .•a person desiring- to. hunt had been born and raised in a county in the State of Florida, but moved out of that county to an adjoining county three months before the hunting season opened, under said Chapter 6969 he could not be granted a license, not having a six months residence in the county, and under and by virtue of section 20 a discrimination is made in that a person is allowed to obtain a license in a county other than that in which he has lived, six months by getting a certificate of the county judge of the county in which the applicant resides, that he is a bona fide resident of the county and State of Florida, and paying the judge a fee of $3.00; that under section 20 of said act a. person who has been twelve months [345]*345in the State may procure a license in any county in the State other than that in which he is a resident, and cannot procure a license in the county in which he lives unless he has resided there for six months previous to his application for a license, and is discriminatory and gives an advantage to one citizen that is not possessed by a citizen residing in the State for twelve months, but' who has not resided in the county in which he desires a license for six months, if that county be the county of his residence; that sections 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32 and 38 all relate to- the game warden and his compensation and duties, and -that the entire act taken in connection with the sections mentioned show that said game warden is an officer and is given the powers of a sheriff, whereas he is neither elected by the people nor appointed by the Governor, and there can be, constitutionally, no officers except those appointed by the Governor or elected by the people. The -command of the writ is that the respondent do- receive from the relator one dollar tendered by him, and to- issue to him a county hunter’s license under Section 25, Chapter 6535 A-cts of 1913, or show cause for not doing so-.

A demurrer to the alternative writ, having the effect of a motion to quash the writ, challenges the right of the relator on this writ to assail the Act of 1915 as being unconstitutional, and asserts the validity of the Act and of the sections assailed.

A court will not listen to- an objection made to the constitutionality of an act by a party whose right it does not affect and who has therefore no interest in defeating it. Cooley’s Const. Limitations (6th ed.) 196; Supervisors v. Stanley, 105 U. S. 305; Clark v. Kansas City, 176 U. S. 114, 20 Sup Ct. Rep. 284. A person who does [346]*346not belong to a class alleged to- be unlawfully discrim1inated against by a statute, cannot in judicial proceedings be heard to assail the constitutionality of the statute as it affects the class. See Mutual Film Corporation of Missouri v. Hodges, Governor, 236 U. S. 248, Sup. Ct. Rep. ; 6 R. C. L. 90; Hampton v. St. Louis, I. M. & S. R. Co., 227 U. S. 456, text 469, 33 Sup. Ct. Rep. 263.

One cannot raise an objection to the constitutionality of a part of a statute, unless- his rights are in some way injuriously affected by the statute, or unless the constitutional feature renders the entire act void. Gherna v. State, Arizona , 146 Pac. Rep. 494.

The constitutionality of a provision of a statute cannot be tested by a party whose rights or duties are not affected by it, unless the provision is of such a nature that it renders invalid a provision of the statute that does affect the party’s rights or duties. Stinson v. State, 63 Fla. 42, 58 South. Rep. 722.

“Chapter 6969, Acts of 1915.

“An Act Declaring the 'Ownership- of Game and Birds in the Several Counties of the State; to Provide for the P'rotection of same; Providing Open and. Closed Seasons; Providing for Hunter’s Licenses, and for Game Wardens, and Repealing Chapters 6534 and 6535, Acts of 1913, Relating to the Same Subjects.

“Section 1. Ownership and -Title. — The ownership and title to all wild birds and game in the State of Florida are hereby vested in the respective counties of the State, for the purpose of regulating -the use and disposition of the same.”

“Sec. 19. Any person who has been a bona fide resident of the State for twelve months'and of the county [347]*347for six months, then last past, may procure a license hereby designated as “Resident County License,” by filing application with the County Judge of the county in which the applicant resides, stating applicant’s place of residence and postoffice address, age, color, sex, color of hair and eyes, and, paying to such County Judge the sum of one ($1.00) dollar.

“Sec. 20.

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Bluebook (online)
70 So. 367, 70 Fla. 340, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/state-ex-rel-clarkson-v-philips-fla-1915.