STATE OF FLORIDA, APPELLANT,
v.
JOSEPH MICHAEL QUINN, APPELLEE

Fla. 4th DCA | 1988-01-20
No. 87-1302
DELL and GUNTHER, JJ., concur., GLICKSTEIN, J., concurs with opinion.
518 So. 2d 474 Florida District Court of Appeal, Fourth District (1988) Caution
Cited by 8 cases


Opinion of the Court
PER CURIAM.

PER CURIAM.

We affirm. We find that the trial court did not err in granting the Defendant’s motion to dismiss. No question of fact remains as to whether the firearm was concealed within the meaning of section 790.001(2), Florida Statutes (1985). The state acknowledged that the arresting officer immediately recognized the object as a firearm from his position outside the defendant’s car. Also, no evidence was offered to suggest that the officer’s training and experience contributed to his identification of the firearm. See Ensor v. State, 403 So. 2d 349, 354 (Fla.1981).

Furthermore, we decline to apply Russell v. Russell, 507 So. 2d 661 (Fla. 4th DCA 1987), to criminal cases.

AFFIRMED.

DELL and GUNTHER, JJ., concur. GLICKSTEIN, J., concurs with opinion.

Concurrence
GLICKSTEIN, Judge,

GLICKSTEIN, Judge,

concurring.

On the merits, I see enough similarity in this bare boned case to Mitchell v. State, 494 So. 2d 498 (Fla. 2d DCA 1986), to concur with the majority, although I am uncomfortable with the short notice given the state and the lack of authority discussed at the hearing on the motion to dismiss.

I use the phrase “bare boned” because the relevant facts relate to the officer’s probable cause affidavit and are briefly stated in the statement of the case and facts in the appellee’s answer brief, to which no demurrer was made by the state in its reply brief. The statement includes the following:

At the motion hearing the state based its argument on the probable cause affidavit of the arresting officer. This affidavit said the arresting officer noticed the gun sticking out from under a sheet which was being used as a seat cover and that the affiant “immediately recognized” the object as a firearm. The court said that the facts of the probable cause affidavit dispelled any issue of fact, since the affidavit said that the officer immediately recognized it as a gun.

The state argued that the facts were “subject to interpretation” and offered to subpoena the police officer to testify but the state needed a five day continuance to get the officer to court. The court asked the state why it must order an adjournment to take the officer’s testimony unless the officer was going to testify to something other than he swore in the affidavit.

The state agreed that the officer would not testify to anything contrary to the affidavit but again asked the court to grant a continuance to take the officer’s testimony, which was denied.

The sworn motion to dismiss says:

1. On December 21, 1986, Officer M. Beckman effected a traffic stop on Michael Joseph Quinn for defective equipment.

2. The officer noticed a firearm sticking out from under a cloth on the seat from his position outside the car. 3. The Defendant has a permit to carry a firearm issued by the State of Florida and follows all rules and regulations required by the division of licensing.

4. The Defendant was on his way home from work when the stop was effected.

5. The Defendant is employed as a security officer. It is helpful that the panel has held that Russell v. Russell, 507 So. 2d 661 (Fla. 4th DCA 1987), does not compel this court to dismiss the state’s appeal, pursuant to Florida Rule of Appellate Procedure 9.140(c)(1)(A), from an order which grants appellee’s motion to dismiss. In my view, Russell sets up needless barriers to appeal, and should be appropriately restricted if it is to be the law of the district.


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Citator

Cited By

  • Dorelus v. State, 747 So. 2d 368 (Fla. 1999)
    …vehicle, the discovery is made by the officer who has stopped the vehicle. Therefore, it is appropriate to ascertain what the officer has reported he or she observed. See, e.g., Carpenter, 593 So. 2d at 607; Hardy, 610 So. 2d at 41; State v. Quinn, 518 So. 2d 474, 474 (Fla. 4th DCA 1988). However, “magic words” from the arresting officer that he or she “immediately recognized” the object as a firearm are not the only method to resolve the issue of concealment as a matter of law. To the extent that Dorelus su…
  • State v. Nessim, 587 So. 2d 1343 (Fla. 4th DCA 1991)
    …STONE, Judge. We grant the state’s motion for rehearing en banc in order to maintain consistency with our prior opinion in State v. Quinn, 518 So. 2d 474 (Fla. 4th DCA 1988). The state has appealed a trial court order “granting defendant’s motion to dismiss” for outrageous governmental misconduct. The order did not discharge the defendant or contain language of “finality.” Therefore, it is facially…
  • Lane v. State, 567 So. 2d 1014 (Fla. 3d DCA 1990)
    …gun, readily recognizable as such, is visible in open view on the seat of a vehicle, it is not concealed within the meaning of the statute. See Cope v. State, 523 So. 2d 1270 (Fla. 5th DCA), review denied, 531 So. 2d 1355 (Fla.1988); State v. Quinn, 518 So. 2d 474 (Fla. 4th DCA 1988); Mitchell v. State, 494 So. 2d 498, 499-500 (Fla. 2d DCA 1986). The same analysis has been applied where the butt of a pistol was visible between the driver’s seat and the center part of the vehicle. See Taylor v. State, 552 So.…

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