JOSAPHAT J. CELESTIN, APPELLANT,
v.
FLORIDA ELECTIONS COMMISSION, APPELLEE

Fla. 3d DCA | 2003-11-05
No. 3D02-2542
Before GERSTEN, GODERICH and FLETCHER, JJ.
858 So. 2d 382 Florida District Court of Appeal, Third District (2003) Positive Treatment
Cited by 2 cases

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.

Synopsis

Josaphat Celestin appeals an FEC order imposing a $15,000 monetary sanction for campaign finance violations. The court affirmed the finding of willful violations but reversed and remanded the penalty determination, holding that the FEC failed to properly consider statutory factors including the gravity of individual violations and the appellant's financial circumstances.


Holding

The court affirmed the FEC's finding that Celestin willfully violated Chapter 106, but reversed and remanded the penalty determination. The FEC erred by imposing a general fine without establishing the gravity of each violation and without considering Celestin's financial situation as required by statute.


Headnotes

[1] A person willfully violates campaign finance laws when they commit an act while knowing it is prohibited, or show reckless disregard for whether the act is prohibited or…

[2] A financial sanctions order for campaign finance violations may be reversed and remanded if the enforcing commission fails to consider the financial resources of the pena…

Previewing 2 of 4 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

Key Quotes

“It appears that instead of establishing the gravity of each act or omission and then determining a fine for each count, the FEC elected to impose a general fine. This was error.”

Establishes the core holding that the FEC's methodology for calculating the fine was improper and violated statutory requirements.

Previewing 1 of 3 key quotes on this case — the court’s exact language, pinpointed for members.

Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligence

Facts & Procedural History

Celestin served as his own campaign treasurer and does not dispute that his campaign report contained errors in violation of Chapter 106, Florida Stat…

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.


Opinion of the Court
PER CURIAM.

PER CURIAM.

Josaphat Celestin (“Celestin”) appeals the Florida Elections Commission’s (“FEC”) order imposing monetary sanctions for campaign funds and/or accounting violations. Celestin does not dispute that there were errors in his campaign report. Instead, he alleges that his conduct was not willful and that the FEC erred in failing to consider his financial condition before imposing monetary sanctions against him. We affirm in part, and reverse and remand in part.

Celestin acted as his own campaign treasurer and does not dispute that his conduct does not comply with the requirements of Chapter 106, Florida Statutes (1999). Therefore, we need not go into detail as to the underlying charges against him. We accept the FEC’s findings of fact and affirm the FEC’s order finding that Celestin willfully violated Chapter 106. See § 106.37 Fla. Stat. (1999) 1; Pasquale v. Florida Elections Comm’n, 759 So. 2d 23 (Fla. 4th DCA 2000).

While we conclude that the FEC properly found that Celestin violated chapter 106, we find their sanction was inappropriate. Celestin alleges that he was not given the opportunity to offer mitigating circumstances, i.e., his financial affidavit, at the informal hearing he requested before the FEC. The FEC imposed a $15,000.00 fine, for his violations of Chapter 106. However, there is nothing in the record to indicate how the FEC came up with this particular amount.

It appears that instead of establishing the gravity of each act or omission and then determining a fine for each count, the FEC elected to impose a general fine. This was error. See McGann v. Florida Elections Comm’n, 803 So. 2d 763 (Fla. 1st DCA 2001); § 106.265(l)(a) Fla. Stat. (1999).

Section 106.265 lists several factors to be considered regarding the setting of fines. One of the factors to be considered is the gravity of the act or omission. See § 106.265(l)(a) Fla. Stat. (1999). Another factor to be considered is the appropriateness of such a penalty to the financial resources of the person. See § 106.265(l)(c), Fla. Stat. (1999); Diaz de la Portilla v. Florida Elections Comm’n, 2003 WL 22082173 (Fla. 3d DCA September 10, 2003).

Here, Celestin’s financial situation was not taken into consideration and there is nothing in the record to indicate that this was an appropriate sanction. Therefore, we conclude there must be a new hearing on the issue of the penalty. Accordingly, we reverse and remand for a new hearing, with instructions for the FEC to take into account Celestin’s financial situation.

Affirmed in part, and reversed and remanded in part.

. Under Section 106.37, a person willfully violates a provision of this chapter if the person commits an act while knowing that, or showing reckless disregard for whether, the act is prohibited under this chapter, or does not commit an act while knowing that, or showing reckless disregard for whether, the act is required under this chapter. A person knows that an act is prohibited or required if the person is aware of the provision of this chapter which prohibits or requires the act, understands the meaning of that provision, and performs the act that is prohibited or fails to perform the act that is required. A person shows reckless disregard for whether an act is prohibited or required under this chapter if the person wholly disregards the law without making any reasonable effort to determine whether the act would constitute a violation of this chapter. § 106.37, Fla. Stat. (1999)(Emphasis added).


Cases With Similar Vibessemantic neighbors from the corpus


Citator

Cited By

  • Fla. Elections Comm'n v. Davis, 44 So. 3d 1211 (Fla. 1st DCA 2010)
    …eturned to the Commission from the Division of Administrative Hearings, and after due deliberation concerning “the gravity of each act or omission” found by the administrative law judge to constitute a violation. Celestin v. Florida Elections Com’n, 858 So. 2d 382, 383 (Fla. 3d DCA 2003). See also McGann v. Florida Elections Com’n, 803 So. 2d 763, 766 (Fla. 1st DCA 2001). The amendment to section 106.25(5) that chapter 2007-30, section 48 enacted changed this procedure without mentioning penalties. Both befo…

Authorities Cited

Full citator, related cases, and AI research tools

Open in FLexlaw