CHARLES LANDRAU, APPELLANT,
v.
STATE OF FLORIDA, APPELLEE
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Appellant challenges the facial constitutionality of Florida's statute elevating battery upon a law enforcement officer from misdemeanor to felony status, arguing it violates equal protection under the rational basis test. The Florida Supreme Court affirms, holding that the statute satisfies rational basis review and that the severity of sanctions does not determine whether affected interests are fundamental.
Section 784.07 does not violate equal protection under the rational basis test. The statute satisfies rational basis review as a rational relationship exists between the statutory classification and the legislative objective. The severity of sanctions prescribed by a classification does not indicate whether affected interests are fundamental.
[1] A statute reclassifying an existing crime from a misdemeanor to a felony, altering only the prescribed sanction, is subject to the rational basis test for equal protectio…
[2] The severity of a sanction prescribed by a statutory classification does not determine whether the affected interests are fundamental.
Previewing 2 of 3 headnotes on this case. FLexlaw’s editorially structured points of law — every proposition, pinpointed — are reserved for members.
Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligence“The statute merely reclassifies the crime of battery upon a law enforcement officer from a misdemeanor to a felony, an alteration of the sanction prescribed for conduct already prohibited.”
Establishes that the statute does not create new prohibited conduct but only increases the penalty for existing prohibited conduct
Previewing 1 of 3 key quotes on this case — the court’s exact language, pinpointed for members.
Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligenceAppellant was charged under Section 784.07, Florida Statutes (1977), which reclassifies battery upon a law enforcement officer as a felony rather than…
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PER CURIAM.
Appellant challenges the facial constitutionality of Section 784.07, Florida Statutes (1977), on the ground that the statute is violative of the equal protection clauses found in the United States and Florida Constitutions. He argues that the “compelling state interest” test is the burden which the State must sustain in order to uphold the statute at issue because felons suffer attendant inflictions from their classification as such which deprive them of fundamental rights. We recently upheld Section 784.07, Florida Statutes, against an equal protection challenge in Soverino v. State, 356 So. 2d 269 (Fla.1978), finding that a rational basis existed between the statutory classification and the object of the legislation. We reaffirm our implicit determination in that case that the constitutionality of the instant statute should be measured pursuant to the “rational basis” test and find appellant’s argument to be without merit. The statute merely reclassifies the crime of battery upon a law enforcement officer from a misdemeanor to a felony, an alteration of the sanction prescribed for conduct already prohibited. See Section 775.08, Florida Statutes (1977); Chapman v. Lake, 112 Fla. 746, 151 So. 399 (1932). The severity of the sanction prescribed by a classification does not indicate whether the affected interests are fundamental. Dor-rough v. Estelle, 497 F. 2d 1007, 1011 (5th Cir. 1974), rev’d on other grounds 420 U.S. 534, 95 S.Ct. 1173, 43 L.Ed.2d 377 (1975).
Accordingly, the order of the trial judge denying appellant’s motion to dismiss and upholding the constitutional validity of the statute is affirmed.
It is so ordered.
OVERTON, C. J., and ADKINS, BOYD, ENGLAND, SUNDBERG, HATCHETT and ALDERMAN, JJ., concur.
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Citator
Cited By
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Terence A. Baker v. State, 466 So. 2d 1144 (Fla. 3d DCA 1985)…o. 2d 900 (Fla.1980) (Section 784.07, Florida Statutes, making battery upon a law enforcement officer a felony, does not violate equal protection clause by the special treatment it gives to police officers as victims of batteries); Landrau v. State, 365 So. 2d 695 (Fla.1978) (same); Soverino v. State, 356 So. 2d 269 (Fla.1978) (same). Again, where the victim of a killing is a law enforcement [*1146] officer on active duty, that fact is properly considered an aggravating circumstance supporting the imposition…
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Gluesenkamp v. State, 391 So. 2d 192 (Fla. 1980)…ly related to a legitimate state interest.” Jackson v. Marine Exploration Co., 583 F. 2d 1336, 1346 (5th Cir. 1978). Under the Florida Constitution, the same principle applies. Ordinarily, the test is the “rational basis” test. See Landrau v. State, 365 So. 2d 695 (Fla.1978). Acts of the legislature are presumed valid, and the burden is on the challenger to show that a legislative classification violates principles of equality. A legislative classification will be upheld where the distinction drawn rests on…
Authorities Cited
- Estelle v. Dorrough, 420 U.S. 534 (U.S. 1975)
- Carmelos Soverino v. State, 356 So. 2d 269 (Fla. 1978)
- Chapman v. Forrest Lake, 112 Fla. 746 (Fla. 1932)
- Dorrough v. Estelle, 497 F.2d 1007 (5th Cir. 1974)