State v. Mitchell

652 So. 2d 473, 1995 WL 123620
CourtDistrict Court of Appeal of Florida
DecidedMarch 24, 1995
Docket92-03168
StatusPublished
Cited by3 cases

This text of 652 So. 2d 473 (State v. Mitchell) 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. Mitchell, 652 So. 2d 473, 1995 WL 123620 (Fla. Ct. App. 1995).

Opinion

652 So.2d 473 (1995)

STATE of Florida, Appellant,
v.
Michael MITCHELL, Appellee.

No. 92-03168.

District Court of Appeal of Florida, Second District.

March 24, 1995.

*474 Robert A. Butterworth, Atty. Gen., Tallahassee, and Anne Y. Swing, Asst. Atty. Gen., Tampa, for appellant.

No appearance for appellee.

RYDER, Acting Chief Judge.

The State of Florida challenges the trial court's order dismissing the charges of discharging a destructive device in violation of section 790.161, Florida Statutes (1991), and declaring unconstitutional sections 790.001(4)-(5) and 791.01(4)(a), Florida Statutes (1991). The trial judge held the statutes unconstitutional on their face as vague and overbroad as they relate to the definition of destructive devices containing explosives, *475 and, further, as conceded by the state, held section 790.001(4) to be unconstitutional as an improper delegation of authority to the United States Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms (the "BATF") to define destructive device. We affirm in part, reverse in part, and remand for further proceedings.

Mitchell admitted setting off the devices at two locations. The explosions shattered windows and damaged property at a laundromat and a lounge. A patron of the lounge was injured by flying glass caused by that explosion. Mitchell testified that he and his girlfriend taped the devices to the businesses' windows as a joke and had not intended to hurt anyone. He further testified that the people who sold him the devices called them M-80's.

Mitchell moved to dismiss the charges, arguing that his devices and all others with explosives were "fireworks" under section 791.01(4). As such, he contended that they were not encompassed by chapter 790 because the definitions of "destructive device" and "explosives" in section 790.001(4)-(5) exclude fireworks as defined in chapter 791, and that the statutes were therefore unconstitutional. He also asked the trial court to declare section 790.001(4) unconstitutional as applied to him as an impermissible and unlawful delegation of legislative power to an administrative agency in violation of Article III, Section I of the Florida Constitution.

At a pretrial hearing, an agent of the BATF testified that the device set off by Mitchell was a destructive device, and was constructed and utilized as a weapon and explosive bomb to cause personal injury and property damage. The explosive utilized was a perchlorate explosive mixture called flash powder, a mix of potassium, perchlorate, sulfur and aluminum powder. The BATF agent considered it a most dangerous explosive but stated the same explosive is used in many firecrackers. The agent further testified that one of the devices seized contained 16.253 grams of flash powder. While an M-80 firecracker resembled the devices Mitchell set off here, the M-80 is much smaller in size and explosive force. The M-80, illegal since the 1960's, is available country-wide "under the counter." The M-80 normally contains from two to two-and-one-half grams of flash powder. Legal fireworks cannot contain more than two grains of flash powder. There are approximately fifteen grains in one gram.

We excerpt the following analysis from the trial judge's order holding the statute unconstitutional:

The constitutional complaint to be resolved centers on three assertions regarding Sections 790.001(4) and (5), 790.161, and 791.01(4)(a), Florida Statutes (1991). First, it is urged that these Sections fail to convey sufficient warnings of prescribed [sic] conduct when measured by common understanding and practice. Next, it is argued that they are vague and overbroad. Finally, the Defendant insists they violate the due process clause of both the State and Federal Constitutions.
The problem arises from a reading of the definitional subsections of 790.001 and 791.01, Florida Statutes (1991).
Specifically in 790.001(4), a "Destructive device" is defined as containing an explosive and includes any frangible container filled with an explosive which is designed or constructed to explode and is capable of causing bodily harm or property damage. The next subsection defines "Explosive" as follows:
(5) "Explosive" means any chemical compound or mixture that has the property of yielding readily to combustion or oxidation upon application of heat, flame, or shock, including but not limited to dynamite, nitroglycerine, trinitrotoluene, or ammonium nitrate when combined with other ingredients to form an explosive mixture, blasting caps, and detonators; but not including:
....
(b) Fireworks as defined in s. 791.01. (Emphasis supplied)
Section 791.01(4)(a), Florida Statutes (1991), provides that "`Fireworks' means and includes any combustible or explosive composition or substance or combination of substances or, except as hereinafter provided, any article prepared for the purpose of producing a visible or audible effect by combustion, explosion, deflagration, or detonation. *476 The term includes ... any fireworks containing explosives or flammable compound or any tablets or other device containing any explosive substance." (Emphasis supplied)
The syllogism created by the foregoing leads a statutory constructionist to one conclusion: In order to be a destructive device of the explosive variety, it must contain an explosive; if it contains an explosive it must by definition exclude fireworks as defined by statute. However this appears to be an impossibility since an integral part of the firework personality and definition is the characteristic of being a device containing any explosive substance. The definitions seem to turn in on themselves creating a situation of statutory cannibalism, each devouring one another. The exclusion created by s. 790.001(5)(b) acts to remove any device containing an explosive from the definition of a destructive device.
When Sections 790.001(4), and (5), and 791.01(4)(a), Florida Statutes (1991) are considered together, they contain ambiguities and result in denial of due process because there is no discernable rational definition of what a destructive device is or is not when fireworks are included within the statutory equation. Fireworks are capable of causing bodily harm or property damage. Furthermore, a person of ordinary intelligence cannot be expected to understand when an explosive device is a destructive device or merely a firework. The Statutes are vague and overbroad.

First, we disagree with the trial judge's holding that the statutes were unconstitutional as overbroad. Perhaps the trial judge employed the terms "overbroad" and "vague" interchangeably. However, the overbreadth doctrine applies only if the legislation is susceptible of application to conduct protected by the First Amendment. Southeastern Fisheries Ass'n, Inc. v. Dept. of Natural Resources, 453 So.2d 1351 (Fla. 1984). The activities of setting off or possessing destructive devices is not an activity protected by the First Amendment, and, therefore, the overbreadth doctrine is not appropriate here.

We next turn to the issue of whether the manner in which the statute defines "destructive device" and "explosive" to exclude "fireworks" operates to render the statute void for vagueness. A statute is accorded a strong presumption of validity. U.S. v. National Dairy Products Corp., 372 U.S. 29

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Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
652 So. 2d 473, 1995 WL 123620, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/state-v-mitchell-fladistctapp-1995.