State v. Hanna

901 So. 2d 201, 2005 WL 672183
CourtDistrict Court of Appeal of Florida
DecidedMarch 24, 2005
Docket5D03-4109
StatusPublished
Cited by11 cases

This text of 901 So. 2d 201 (State v. Hanna) 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. Hanna, 901 So. 2d 201, 2005 WL 672183 (Fla. Ct. App. 2005).

Opinion

901 So.2d 201 (2005)

STATE of Florida, Appellant,
v.
Roxie Lynn HANNA, Appellee.

No. 5D03-4109.

District Court of Appeal of Florida, Fifth District.

March 24, 2005.
Rehearing Denied April 27, 2005.

*203 Charles J. Crist, Jr., Attorney General, Tallahassee, and Wesley Heidt, Assistant Attorney General, Daytona Beach, for Appellant.

Richard L. Wilson, Orlando, for Appellee.

Joel D. Prinsell, Senior Assistant County Attorney and Linda Brehmer Lanosa, Assistant County Attorney, Orlando, Amicus Curiae for State of Florida.

PER CURIAM.

The State of Florida charged Roxie Lynn Hanna in a fifty-two-count information with racketeering, conspiracy to commit racketeering, operating an organized scheme to defraud, filing a false or fraudulent tax return, grand theft, sale of obscene material, and, relevant to this appeal, four counts of operating an unlicensed adult book store.[1] The charges against Hanna arose from the operation of Jerry's General Store, which the State alleged was an unlicensed adult book store. Hanna moved to dismiss the charges, contending that the definition of "adult book store" in Orange County's *204 Adult Entertainment Code was unconstitutionally vague, and that the Code failed to provide for prompt judicial review in the event an application for an adult entertainment license was denied. Finding merit in those arguments, the trial court dismissed the four counts of operating an unlicensed adult book store. The State of Florida now appeals that order. For the reasons that follow, we reverse, and remand the matter with instructions that the dismissed charges be reinstated.

STANDARD OF REVIEW

The interpretation of a statute or an ordinance is a purely legal matter and is subject to de novo review. Racetrac Petroleum v. Delco Oil, Inc., 721 So.2d 376, 377 (Fla. 5th DCA 1998). Statutes and ordinances are presumed to be constitutional, and all reasonable doubts regarding the statute or ordinance must be resolved in favor of constitutionality. Wright v. State, 739 So.2d 1230, 1231 (Fla. 1st DCA 1999) (citing State v. Kinner, 398 So.2d 1360 (Fla.1981); Gammon v. Cobb, 335 So.2d 261 (Fla.1976)). "Accordingly, a defendant who challenges the constitutional validity of a statute bears a heavy burden of establishing its invalidity." Wright, 739 So.2d at 1231 (citing Milliken v. State, 131 So.2d 889 (Fla.1961)).

However, an exception to the general constitutional presumption enjoyed by statutes and ordinances exists respecting regulations affecting First Amendment rights. "Content-based prohibitions, enforced by severe criminal penalties, have the constant potential to be a repressive force in the lives and thoughts of a free people. To guard against that threat, the constitution demands that content-based restrictions on free speech be presumed invalid, ... and that the Government bear the burden of showing their constitutionality." Ashcroft v. Am. Civil Liberties Union, 542 U.S. 656, ___, 124 S.Ct. 2783, 2788, 159 L.Ed.2d 690 (2004) (internal citation omitted). By contrast, content neutral, time and place restrictions that incidentally impact First Amendment rights enjoy the presumption of constitutionality.

THE ADULT ENTERTAINMENT CODE

The Orange County Adult Entertainment Code is a comprehensive licensing, zoning and regulatory ordinance governing the ownership, operation and location of all adult entertainment businesses in the county. Section 3-26 of the Code requires that any person operating an adult entertainment business apply for and obtain an adult entertainment license from the Orange County tax collector:

Section 3-26. Required; classifications.
(a) Requirement. No adult entertainment establishment shall be permitted to operate without having been first granted an adult entertainment license by the tax collector under this chapter.

Orange County, Fla., Code § 3-26 (2002). It is a criminal offense to operate any adult entertainment business without the required license, as explained in section 3-127(1):

Section 3-127. Operation of establishment without valid adult entertainment license.
It shall be unlawful for any person to be an operator of an adult entertainment establishment where the person knows or should know:
(1) That the establishment does not have an adult entertainment license for any applicable classification.

Orange County, Fla., Code § 3-127 (2002).

Section 3-6 of the Code defines "adult bookstore" as follows:

*205 Adult bookstore shall mean an establishment where a substantial portion of the items, material, goods or products sold or rented, offered for sale or rent, displayed or exhibited constitutes adult material.
(1) For purposes of the definition of "adult bookstore," the term "substantial portion" means more than an insignificant or incidental portion. The term "substantial portion" does not necessarily mean a majority or predominant amount.
(2) Whether the adult material constitutes a "substantial portion" of the items sold, rented, offered for sale or rent, displayed, or exhibited at a commercial establishment does not depend upon a specific percentage or ratio.
(3) Whether the adult material that is "sold or rented, offered for sale or rent, displayed, or exhibited" constitutes a "substantial portion" may be determined by evidence relating to some, but not necessarily all, of the following factors:
a. The amount of floor space, wall space, or display area dedicated to adult material;
b. The amount of adult material sold or rented, offered for sale or rent, displayed, or exhibited in any category or type of product;
c. The visibility, prominence, or accessibility to customers of adult material;
d. The retail value of the adult material sold or rented, offered for sale or rent, displayed, or exhibited;
e. Whether minors are excluded from the establishment;
f. Any other fact, circumstance, or evidence which is relevant to demonstrate the type and quantity of merchandise that the establishment sells, rents, offers for sale or rent, displays or exhibits.
(4) Packages, boxes, containers, or the like, displaying photographs or text on the outside thereof that fall under the definition of adult material, shall be considered as a category or type of adult material separate and distinct from their contents (or former contents) that may likewise fall under the definition of adult material.

Orange County, Fla., Code § 3-6 (2002). Section 3-6 defines "adult material" as:

Adult material shall mean any one (1) or more of the following regardless of whether it is new or used:
(1) Books, magazines, periodicals or other printed matter, or photographs, films, motion pictures, videotapes, slides, computer digital graphic recordings or other visual representations, or compact disks, audio recordings, or other audio matter, which have as their primary or dominant theme matter depicting, illustrating, describing or relating to specified sexual activities or specified anatomical areas; or

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Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
901 So. 2d 201, 2005 WL 672183, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/state-v-hanna-fladistctapp-2005.