WILLIAM DOOLEY, PETITIONER,
v.
STATE OF FLORIDA, RESPONDENT

Fla. 5th DCA | 1986-12-18
No. 86-1290
ORFINGER and SHARP, W., JJ., concur.
501 So. 2d 18 Florida District Court of Appeal, Fifth District (1986) Positive Treatment
Cited by 16 cases

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Holding

The circuit court deviated from essential requirements of law by substituting its factual determinations for those of the county court.


Facts & Procedural History

Dooley moved to suppress evidence from his DUI arrest, and the county court granted the motion, finding no probable cause and rejecting the officer's …

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Opinion of the Court
COBB, Judge.

COBB, Judge.

Edward Dooley, Jr., has petitioned for certiorari review of an appellate opinion of the circuit court which reversed an order of suppression entered by the county court. We find that the circuit court deviated from essential requirements of law by substituting its factual determinations for those of the county court; therefore, we grant certiorari and quash the circuit court’s decision. See Combs v. State, 436 So. 2d 93 (Fla.1983).

Dooley, charged with driving while impaired by alcohol, chemical substances or controlled substances, moved to suppress intoxilizer results, statements and other evidence flowing from his arrest. After hearing, the county court judge granted the motion and suppressed the evidence on the basis of his finding that the arresting officer did not have probable cause to arrest Dooley. The court specifically rejected as unreliable the testimony of the officer relating to the physical indicia of the defendant’s impairment. This factual determination was the exclusive province of the trial judge. See City of Tallahassee v. Florida Public Service Commission, 433 So. 2d 505 (Fla.1983); State v. Garcia, 431 So. 2d 651 (Fla. 3d DCA 1983); State v. Melendez, 392 So. 2d 587 (Fla. 4th DCA 1981); Echols v. State, 201 So. 2d 89 (Fla. 2d DCA 1967).

Pursuant to an appeal of the suppression order, the circuit court, en banc, issued an opinion dated March 5, 1985, wherein it recited, as established fact, the testimony of the police officer relating to the defendant’s physical appearance and impediments at the time of arrest. This testimony was rejected as unreliable by the finder of fact, and it could not be revived by an appellate panel.

Accordingly, we grant certiorari, and quash the opinion of the circuit court dated March 5, 1986.

QUASHED.

ORFINGER and SHARP, W., JJ., concur.


Cases With Similar Vibessemantic neighbors from the corpus


Citator

Cited By

  • Gonzalez v. State, 578 So. 2d 729 (Fla. 3d DCA 1991)
    …at 15). The trial court, however, in denying the motion to suppress necessarily accepted the police testimony on this point, and we are bound by this implicit finding. See Harvey v. State, 502 So. 2d 1305, 1306 (Fla. 1st DCA 1987); Dooley v. State, 501 So. 2d 18, 18-19 (Fla. 5th DCA 1987); State v. Stephens, 441 So. 2d 171, 171 (Fla. 3d DCA 1983); State v. Garcia, 431 So. 2d 651, 651 (Fla. 3d DCA 1983). . The above-stated officer so testified below (R.348). Mrs. Gonzalez, on the other hand, gave a differen…
  • State v. Carrillo, 506 So. 2d 495 (Fla. 5th DCA 1987)
    …Carrillo drove the car led Trooper Tindel to believe he was driving while impaired — as Tindel testified at the hearing. In other words, the credibility of that testimony is not at issue, and it was accepted by the trial judge. Cf., Dooley v. State, 501 So. 2d 18 (Fla. 5th DCA 1986). Section 901.15(1), Florida Statutes (1985), authorizes an officer to arrest a person who commits a misdemeanor in his presence. Driving a vehicle while under the influence of alcohol is a misdemeanor per section 316.193, Florida…
  • State v. Brown, 592 So. 2d 308 (Fla. 3d DCA 1991)
    …d 729 (Fla. 3d DCA 1991); State v. Belcher, 520 So. 2d 303 (Fla. 3d DCA), review denied, 529 So. 2d 695 (Fla.), cert. denied, 488 U.S. 912, 109 S.Ct. 270, 102 L.Ed.2d 258 (1988); Harvey v. State, 502 So. 2d 1305 (Fla. 1st DCA 1987); Dooley v. State, 501 So. 2d 18 (Fla. 5th DCA 1986); State v. Guerra, 455 So. 2d 1046 (Fla. 3d DCA 1984), review denied, 461 So. 2d 114 (Fla.1985); State v. Garcia, 431 So. 2d 651 (Fla. 3d DCA 1983); State v. Favaloro, 424 So. 2d 47 (Fla. 3d DCA 1982); State v. Melendez, 392 So. 2…

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