STATE OF FLORIDA, PETITIONER,
v.
DEBORAH JANE FRY, RESPONDENT
AI-generated. These summaries, headnotes, and key points are machine-generated and may contain errors or omissions. Always verify against the full opinion text below. Not legal advice.
The Florida Supreme Court's Second District Court of Appeal reviewed whether a circuit court properly exercised appellate jurisdiction to affirm a county court's suppression of intoxilizer test results. The court held that the circuit court had jurisdiction under state statute to hear the appeal and reversed the circuit court's decision, remanding for determination of whether the suppression order constituted reversible error.
The circuit court had jurisdiction under Florida Statute § 924.071(1) to review the county court's suppression order because that statute permits appeals from pretrial orders suppressing evidence 'however obtained.' The appellate standard is reversible error, not the certiorari standard. The court remanded for the circuit court to apply the correct standard.
[1] The Florida Constitution vests the legislature with the authority to define the appellate jurisdiction of circuit courts through general law.
[2] Appellate jurisdiction of Florida's district courts of appeal is established by the Florida Supreme Court's rules, not by legislative enactment.
Previewing 2 of 6 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 legislature by general law has defined those appeals that may be taken by the state in criminal cases.”
Establishes that the legislature, not the courts, determines circuit court appellate jurisdiction
Previewing 1 of 3 key quotes on this case — the court’s exact language, pinpointed for members.
Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligenceThe state appealed a county court's order suppressing intoxilizer test results in a DUI case. The circuit court affirmed the suppression order using t…
The full statement of facts, procedural history, and disposition for this case are member content.
Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligence© FLexlaw, Inc. — AI-generated enrichments are proprietary. All rights reserved.
Explore caselaw by topic → Browse Non-Final Order cases and more on FLexlaw
PER CURIAM.
Pursuant to a petition for a writ of certiorari, the state has asked us to review the circuit court’s order affirming the county court’s order suppressing the results of intoxilizer tests.
The state contends that the circuit court erred in applying the certiorari standard of review, i.e., departure from the essential requirements of law, rather than the less stringent standard of reversible error. Our standard of review is no different. Combs v. State, 436 So. 2d 93 (Fla.1983). The state’s contention is linked to the premise that only the legislature may determine the appellate jurisdiction of the circuit courts.
We agree and quash the circuit court’s order noting that the record before us contains only that order. The Florida Constitution establishes the jurisdiction of Florida’s courts. Art. V, §§ 1, 3-6, Fla. Const. It provides that the district courts of appeal may review interlocutory orders from trial courts “to the extent provided by rules adopted by the supreme court.” Art. V, § 4(b)(1), Fla. Const.
In contrast, the circuit courts’ appellate jurisdiction exists “when provided by general law.” Art. V, § 5(b), Fla. Const.1 At least one judge has noted this distinction. See State v. Alvarez, 600 So. 2d 49 (Fla. 3d DCA 1992) (Cope, J., concurring).
The legislature by general law has defined those appeals that may be taken by the state in criminal cases.
Sections 924.-07, 924.071, Fla.Stat. (1991). These statutes have been declared unconstitutional insofar as they attempt to establish the jurisdiction of the district courts of appeal to review nonfinal orders of the circuit court. State v. Smith, 260 So. 2d 489 (Fla.1972). We have found no constitutional provision or judicial decision, however, that renders these statutes invalid as to nonfi-nal appeals from the county to the circuit court. In State v. Pettis, 520 So. 2d 250, 252 (Fla.1988), the court followed Smith in holding that review of nonfinal orders is controlled by court rule. In Pettis and Smith the court was concerned only with the review of nonfinal orders of the circuit court by the district court of appeal.
The supreme court, however, has promulgated rules designed to apply to review of nonfinal orders by the circuit courts. See Fla.R.App.P. 9.130(a)(1) and (2). Rule 9.140(c) enumerates the appeals permitted the state in criminal cases. Considering the lack of authority in the supreme court to establish the circuit court’s appellate jurisdiction, a matter, as we have noted, committed by the constitution to the legislature, we must look to general law.
Section 924.071(1), Florida Statutes (1991), permits appeals from pretrial orders suppressing evidence “however obtained.” In both Townsend and Gemignani this court interpreted rule 9.140(c)(1)(B), which purports to permit appeals from orders suppressing evidence “obtained by search and seizure.” We conclude that the phrase “however obtained,” unlike the phrase “obtained by search and seizure,” permits a direct appeal from an order of the county court suppressing evidence of intoxilizer results.
Accordingly, we grant the petition for writ of certiorari and remand this matter to the circuit court to determine whether the county court committed reversible error in suppressing the evidence.
Petition granted.
FRANK, C.J., and PARKER and PATTERSON, JJ., concur. . The Third District has recently certified conflict with State v. Townsend, 479 So. 2d 306 (Fla. 2d DCA 1985), and State v. Gemignani, 545 So. 2d 929 (Fla. 2d DCA 1989), in Blore v. Fierro, 618 So. 2d 762 (Fla. 3d DCA 1993).
Apparently, the difference between the two constitutional provisions was not brought to the courts' attention in those cases. In any event, those cases involved the jurisdiction of the district court to review county court orders certifying matters of great public importance. In keeping with the constitution, rule 9.030(b)(4)(B) sets forth the jurisdiction of the district court of appeal to review nonfinal orders of the county court. The problem with rule 9.030(b)(4)(B) arises in determining what is "otherwise appealable to the circuit court.” The constitution requires that general law, rather than court rule, flesh out the appellate jurisdiction of the circuit court.
Cases With Similar Vibessemantic neighbors from the corpus
Citator
Authorities Cited
- Combs v. State, 436 So. 2d 93 (Fla. 1983)
- State v. Pettis, 520 So. 2d 250 (Fla. 1988)
- State v. Smith, 260 So. 2d 489 (Fla. 1972)
- Mendonsa v. Abel J. Mendonsa, 479 So. 2d 306 (Fla. 2d DCA 1985)
- State v. Gino J. Gemignani, 545 So. 2d 929 (Fla. 2d DCA 1989)
- Blore v. Hon. Eugene J. Fierro, 618 So. 2d 762 (Fla. 3d DCA 1993)
- Sanford v. State, 600 So. 2d 49 (Fla. 3d DCA 1992)