State v. Ell-Gee, Inc.

255 So. 2d 542, 1971 Fla. App. LEXIS 5619
CourtDistrict Court of Appeal of Florida
DecidedDecember 7, 1971
DocketNo. 71-463
StatusPublished
Cited by5 cases

This text of 255 So. 2d 542 (State v. Ell-Gee, Inc.) 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
State v. Ell-Gee, Inc., 255 So. 2d 542, 1971 Fla. App. LEXIS 5619 (Fla. Ct. App. 1971).

Opinion

SACK, MARTIN, Associate Judge.

This is an appeal by the State of Florida from an order dismissing an indictment and information.

The facts and reasoning of the trial court are fully set forth in the order appealed from:

“That on the 19th day of November, 1970, the Defendants were charged with violating various provisions of the City of Miami Beach Code of Ordinances. The Defendants, NANCY CHERYL FREEMAN, NORMAN PAUL MEARES, HUGH WASHINGTON WILLIAMS, JR., KAREN DE VRIES, CAROLE ANN HOLLENBECK, JOHN COPELAND, MARC BROCK, and LEROY GRIFFITH, were charged with violating Section 25-53 (a) (3) (2) of the Code of the City of Miami Beach, which reads as follows:
‘Knowing the content and character of the performance which was presented, he (she) produced, presented, directed or participated in an obscene performance or a portion thereof which is obscene or which contributed to its obscenity.’
The Defendants, KAREN DE VRIES, HUGH WASHINGTON WILLIAMS, JR., NANCY FREEMAN, CAROLE ANN HOLLENBECK, and NORMAN PAUL MEARES were charged with violating Section 25-52 of the Code of the City of Miami. Beach, which reads as follows:
‘Was found in a state of nudity in a public place in the city and made indecent exposure of his or (her) person and was guilty of indecent or lewd behavior.’
Additionally, the defendant, LEROY GRIFFITH was charged with violating Section 25-48 of the Code of the City of Miami Beach, which reads as follows:
‘Keeping a house of ill fame in the city resorted to for the purpose of lewdness.’
[544]*544All of these above charges arose as a result of the Defendants performance at the Roxy Theatre in the City of Miami Beach of the play known as FEAR OF LOVE. The date of the alleged violation for which all of the above Defendants were prosecuted in the City of Miami Beach was the performance of October 5, 1970.
Subsequently, on October 14, 1970, the Defendants were indicted by the Grand Jury for violating the Florida Statutes. Defendants NANCY FREEMAN, NORMAN PAUL MEARES, HUGH WASHINGTON WILLIAMS, JR., KAREN DE VRIES, CAROLE ANN HOLLENBECK, JOHN COPELAND, and MARC BROCK a/k/a BARRY BENNETT, were charged with lewd and lascivious behavior in violation of Section 798 of the Florida Statutes. Defendants, NANCY FREEMAN, NORMAN PAUL MEARES, HUGH WASHINGTON WILLIAMS, JR., KAREN DE VRIES, CAROLE ANN HOLLENBECK, JOHN COPELAND, and MARC BROCK a/k/a BARRY BENNETT were also charged with indecent exposure in violation of Section 800.03 of the Florida Statutes. Defendants ELL-GEE, INC., and LEROY GRIFFITH were charged with operating a building for lewdness in violation of Section 796.07(2) (a) of the Florida Statutes. On December 8, 1970, an Information was filed based on the foregoing Indictment charging all of the above Defendants with all of the aforementioned violations of State law. Both the Indictment and Information charged that all of the alleged violations under State law occured during the performance of a play, FEAR OF LOVE on the 7th day of September, 1970.
It is the opinion of this Court that the Defendants may not be tried on this Indictment and Information. Such a trial would violate the Defendants rights under the Fifth Amendment of the Constitution of the United States as interpreted by the Supreme Court of the United States in Waller v. Florida, [397 U.S. 387, 90 S.Ct. 1184, 25 L.Ed.2d 435] 7 CrL 3017 (Dec. April 6, 1970), and Ashe v. Swenson [397 U.S. 436, 90 S.Ct. 1189, 25 L.Ed.2d 469] 7 CrL 3030 (Dec. April 6, 1970).
This Court holds that a live play, performed in a theatre before an audience is entitled to the same protection under the First Amendment as motion pictures. Barrows v. Municipal Court of Los Angeles Jud. Dist., 1 Cal.3d 821, 83 Cal.Rptr. 819, 464 P.2d 483 (Sup.Ct. of California, En banc, 1970). Each performance of a play is in the opinion of this Court not a separate violation but rather, if in fact a play constitutes a violation of law, each performance constitutes a continuing violation of law.
All of the Defendants herein were tried in Municipal Court for essentially similar violations arising out of a performance of the play, FEAR OF LOVE, on October 5, 1970. It is inconceivable that the sovereigns of the State of Florida, and the City of Miami Beach could alternatively charge these Defendants with violations of law from the day the play started through October 5, 1970. Had the State chosen to indict for a performance that occured after October 5th, this Court’s ruling would be different. However, it is the opinion of this Court that for the aforementioned reasons, the State cannot prosecute these Defendants for a performance of the play that occurred on September 7, 1970, a date preceding the date on which they have already been tried and convicted in the City of Miami Beach Municipal Court.
IT IS THEREFORE, upon consideration ordered that the Indictment and Information filed herein be and is the same hereby dismissed.”

We disagree with the lower court and reverse for the reasons hereinafter set forth.

The Waller case is not applicable since the prosecutions in the Municipal Court [545]*545were for the performance of a play on October 5, while the instant State information concerned a performance of the play on September 7.

The lower court’s reliance on Barrows v. Municipal Court of Los Angeles Judicial District is misplaced, since the Supreme Court of Florida in Hoffman v. Carson, 250 So.2d 891, has held contrary to the basic premise of Barrows. The latter case was bottomed on the premise that live plays performed in any threatre before an audience are entitled to protection under the First Amendment, without qualification as to its lewd or obscene contents. Our Supreme Court, in Hoffman, has held that this is not so, and refused to follow the reasoning of the Supreme Court of California, In re Giannini, 69 Cal.2d 563, 72 Cal.Rptr. 655, 446 P.2d 535 (1968), cert. denied, 395 U.S. 910, 89 S.Ct. 1743, 23 L.Ed.2d 223, upon which Barrows was predicated. Instead our Supreme Court held:

“This assertion might be applicable in other circumstances, but we find that in relation to the performance as presented, it is without merit. Appellant loses sight of the distinction between speech and conduct. The statute is not directed at First Amendment rights of free expression, nor does it concern itself with obscenity as does Fla.Stat. Chapter 847, F.S.A. Rather, it is directed at the exposure of sexual organs and nudity, a matter of conduct thought to be a crime under the common law [e. g. Commonwealth v. Broadland, 315 Mass. 20, 51 N.E.2d 961 (1943); Noblett v. Commonwealth, 194 Va. 241, 72 S.E.2d 241

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Bluebook (online)
255 So. 2d 542, 1971 Fla. App. LEXIS 5619, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/state-v-ell-gee-inc-fladistctapp-1971.