State v. Mayhew

288 So. 2d 243
CourtSupreme Court of Florida
DecidedDecember 19, 1973
DocketNo. 43575
StatusPublished
Cited by15 cases

This text of 288 So. 2d 243 (State v. Mayhew) 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 v. Mayhew, 288 So. 2d 243 (Fla. 1973).

Opinions

ROBERTS, Justice.

This cause is before us on direct appeal to review an order from the Circuit Court of Duval County granting appellee’s motion to dismiss an information charging him with violating Section 847.04, Florida Statutes, F.S.A. (1971), and Section 843.01 (1971), and holding Section 847.04 uncon[245]*245stitutional thereby vesting jurisdiction in this Court pursuant to Article V, Section 3(b)(1), Florida Constitution, as amended 1973, F.S.A.

Appellee was informed against for the use of profane, vulgar, and indecent language, to-wit: “mother f-,” in a public place so as to be heard by others, contrary to the provisions of Section 847.04, Florida Statutes, and for resisting arrest with violence contrary to the provisions of Section 843.01, Florida Statutes, F.S.A. Pursuant to Rule 3.190(b), Florida Rules of Criminal Procedure, 33 F.S.A. appellee moved the trial court for an order dismissing the first and second counts of the information and stated as grounds therefor that the allegations of the information are so vague and indefinite and provide so little notice of the offenses sought to be charged that defendant is denied due process of law and that the statutes upon which the first and second counts of the information are based are so vague and indefinite that they violate the due process provisions of the Constitutions of the State of Florida and of the United States.

Having heard oral argument, the trial judge entered an order granting appellee’s motion to dismiss the information charging him with violating Fla.Stat. § 847.04, F.S. A. (1971) and Fla.Stat. § 843.01, F.S.A. (1971). The trial court found Fla.Stat. § 847.04, F.S.A., which provides,

“Whoever, having arrived at the age of discretion, uses profane, vulgar and indecent language, in any public place; or upon the private premises of another, or so near thereto as to be heard by another, shall be guilty of a misdemeanor of the second degree, punishable as provided in § 775.082 or § 775.083; but no prosecution for any such offense shall be commenced after twenty days from the commission thereof.” e. s.

to be unconstitutional on its face as contrary to the guarantees of the First, Fifth and Fourteenth Amendments to the United States Constitution. The trial court stated in its order:

“Said statute by its language seeks only to punish spoken words. The statute can stand therefore only if it is limited in application to spoken words that have a direct tendency to cause acts of violence by the person to whom, individually, the words are addressed. See Chaplinsky v. New Hampshire, 315 U.S. 568 [, 62 S.Ct. 766, 86 L.Ed. 1031] (1942); Gooding v. Wilson, 40 U.S.L.W. 4329 [405 U.S. 518, 93 S.Ct. 1103, 31 L.Ed.2d 408] (March 23, 1972). To uphold a statute that does otherwise would invite law enforcement officials to suppress constitutionally protected conduct in the mistaken belief that such conduct is prohibited by the statute in question. The United States Supreme Court has consistently refused to uphold' a penal statute when conduct protected by the First Amendment may be deemed to fall within the terms of its proscription. See, Edwards v. South Carolina, 372 U.S. 229 [, 83 S.Ct. 680, 9 L.Ed.2d 697] (1963); Stromberg v. California, 283 U.S. 359 [, 51 S.Ct. 532, 75 L.Ed. 1117] (1931); Cox v. Louisiana, 379 U. S. 536 [, 85 S.Ct. 476, 13 L.Ed.2d 487] (1965); Thornhill v. Alabama, [sic] 310 U.S. 88 [, 60 S.Ct. 736, 84 L.Ed. 1093] (1940); Winters v. New York, 333 U.S. 507 [, 68 S.Ct. 665, 92 L.Ed. 840] (1948).
“Examples of clearly protected conduct which would appear to violate the statute in question may be readily imagined. Since Fla.Stat. § 847.04 (1971) purports to prohibit activity which merits First Amendment protection, it is invalid on its face.
“The crucial terms of Fla.Stat. § 847.04 (1971) — ‘Profane, Vulgar, and Indecent’ do not provide the fair warning to the public that due process requires.”

Relative to count two of the information, the trial court concluded:

“Defendant is charged with violating Fla.Stat. § 843.01 (1971) in that he resisted arrest for an alleged violation of Fla.Stat. § 847.04 (1971). Inasmuch as [246]*246this court holds that Fla.Stat. § 847.04 is unconstitutional it thus follows that defendant’s arrest was unlawful and he can not be held criminally liable for resisting an unlawful arrest. See, Russo v. State, 270 So.2d 428 (Fla. 4th DC A 1972); Roberson v. State, 43 Fla. 166, 29 So. 535 (1901); Waller v. City of St. Petersburg, 245 So.2d 685 (Fla.2d DCA 1971); 3 Fla.Jur., Arrest § 39.”

We disagree with the trial court and find that the statutory provision in question is neither impermissibly vague nor unnecessarily overbroad, nor does it violate the First Amendment to the Constitution of the United States. The right of free speech as guaranteed by the First Amendment to the Constitution of the United States is not an absolute right. Schenk v. United States, 249 U.S. 47, 39 S.Ct. 247, 63 L.Ed. 470 (1919); Whitney v. California, 274 U.S. 357, 47 S.Ct. 641, 71 L.Ed. 1095 (1927); Near v. Minnesota, 283 U.S. 697, 51 S.Ct. 625, 75 L.Ed. 1357 (1931); Dejonge v. Oregon, 299 U.S. 353, 57 S.Ct. 255, 81 L.Ed. 278 (1937); Cantwell et al. v. Connecticut, 310 U.S. 296, 60 S.Ct. 900, 84 L.Ed. 1213 (1940); Chaplinsky v. New Hampshire, 315 U.S. 568, 62 S.Ct. 766, 86 L.Ed. 1031 (1942).

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State v. Mayhew
288 So. 2d 243 (Supreme Court of Florida, 1973)

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288 So. 2d 243, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/state-v-mayhew-fla-1973.