GAYLE LOUISE GUPTON, PETITIONER,
v.
DEPARTMENT OF HIGHWAY SAFETY, ETC., ET AL., RESPONDENT

Fla. 5th DCA | 2008-07-03
No. 5D08-631
PALMER, C.J. and COHEN, J., concur.
987 So. 2d 737 Florida District Court of Appeal, Fifth District (2008) Caution
Cited by 11 cases

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Synopsis

Gayle Gupton challenged the suspension of her driver's license following her refusal to submit to a breath test after a DUI arrest. She argued that the probable cause affidavit was facially invalid because the jurat failed to specify whether the attestor was a law enforcement officer or notary public. The court denied her petition, holding that minor technical defects in an affidavit do not render it invalid, and that either a notary or law enforcement officer could properly execute the document.


Holding

The court held that the affidavit was valid despite this technical defect. Minor technical defects in an affidavit do not render it a nullity if it substantially complies with statutory requirements or meets generally recognized criteria for affidavits. Because no notary seal was present, it was reasonable to conclude the attestor was a law enforcement officer, and either authority was competent to administer oaths under the circumstances.


Headnotes

[1] Minor technical defects in an affidavit do not render it a nullity, particularly when the document substantially complies with statutory requirements or meets generally r…

[2] Law enforcement officers are authorized to administer oaths when engaged in the performance of official duties.

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Key Quotes

“Florida courts have concluded that minor technical defects in an affidavit do not render it a nullity.”

Establishes the governing legal standard that technical defects alone do not invalidate affidavits

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Facts & Procedural History

Gupton was arrested for driving under the influence and refused to submit to a breath test. The Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles suspen…

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Opinion of the Court
ORFINGER, J.

ORFINGER, J.

Gayle L. Gupton seeks certiorari review of the circuit court’s order upholding the suspension of her driver’s license by the Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles (the “Department”), following an administrative hearing. Gupton contends that the probable cause affidavit admitted into evidence at the administrative hearing was facially invalid because the jurat did not indicate whether the attestor was a law enforcement officer or a notary public. We deny the petition.

Gupton was arrested for driving under the influence. After her arrest, she refused to submit to a breath test to determine the alcohol content in her blood. As a result, the Department suspended her driving privilege. At Gupton’s request, a formal review hearing was conducted and the suspension was upheld. Gupton then sought certiorari review in the trial court, which also upheld the suspension.

Our review of an order from a circuit court sitting in its appellate capacity is limited to determining whether the circuit court afforded procedural due process and applied the correct law. State Farm, Fla. Ins. Co. v. Lorenzo, 969 So. 2d 393 (Fla. 5th DCA 2007); Conahan v. Dep’t of Highway Safety & Motor Vehicles, 619 So. 2d 988 (Fla. 5th DCA 1993). Section 322.2615(2), Florida Statutes (2007), requires the arresting officer to submit to the Department an affidavit setting forth the officer’s basis to believe that the person arrested was driving or in actual physical control of a motor vehicle while under the influence of alcohol or some other intoxicating substance. The probable cause affidavit submitted in Gupton’s case was signed by the arresting officer and the attestor. Below the signature line for the attestor appeared the words “Notary/Law Enforcement Officer.” However, the attestor did not indicate whether the document was executed in the capacity of a notary, or as a law enforcement officer.1

Gupton argues that, because the attestor’s status was not specified, the document is not an “affidavit,” as required by section 322.2615(2). Gupton acknowledges that like a notary public, section 117.10, Florida Statutes, authorizes law enforcement officers to administer oaths when engaged in the performance of official duties. We believe the argument advanced by Gupton is an overly technical interpretation of the affidavit requirement. Florida courts have concluded that minor technical defects in an affidavit do not render it a nullity. See Dep’t of Highway Safety & Motor Vehicles v. McGill, 616 So. 2d 1212, 1213 (Fla. 5th DCA 1993) (holding that document was affidavit despite technical defects in notarization when notarization substantially complied with statute or met generally recognized criteria for affidavits and there was no genuine issue about its authenticity); Pepilus v. State, 554 So. 2d 667 (Fla. 2d DCA 1990) (holding that absence of attesting seal did not render search warrant affidavit fatally defective).2

If the attestor had been a notary public, the notary’s seal would have been affixed to the document. § 117.05(3)(a), Fla. Stat. (2007). Since no seal was on the document, it is not unreasonable to conclude that the attestor was a fellow law enforcement officer, a conclusion buttressed by common experience and the fact that the attestor indicated that the affiant was personally known to him. In the final analysis, it makes no difference if the attestor was a notary public or a law enforcement officer, as both are authorized to administer oaths under the circumstances presented here.

PETITION DENIED.

PALMER, C.J. and COHEN, J., concur. . Gupton does not challenge the authenticity of the document.

. We also note that the formalities with respect to the submission of evidence are somewhat relaxed in the context of administrative proceedings. See Dep't of Highway Safety & Motor Vehicles v. Anthol, 742 So. 2d 813, 814 (Fla. 2d DCA 1999); Castillo v. Dep’t of Mgmt. Servs., Div. of Ret, 633 So. 2d 531, 533 (Fla. 2d DCA 1994) (noting "relaxed standard for the admissibility of evidence in administrative proceedings”).


Cases With Similar Vibessemantic neighbors from the corpus


Citator

Cited By

  • Johnson v. Christiana Tr., 166 So. 3d 940 (Fla. 4th DCA 2015)
    …a signature on an affidavit be on the same page as the affiant’s signature. Even assuming such a requirement, “Florida courts have concluded that minor technical defects in an affidavit do not render it a nullity.” Gupton v. Dep’t of Highway Safety, 987 So. 2d 737, 738 (Fla. 5th DCA 2008). It appears that the trial court’s issue with the affidavits here would constitute a “technical defect,” and not provide grounds for rendering the affidavits null. Furthermore, as pointed out by appellant at the hearing and…
  • State v. Brown, 179 So. 3d 547 (Fla. 3d DCA 2015)
    …dural due process and [2] applied the correct law.” Dusseau v. Metro. Dade Cnty. Bd. of Cnty. Comm’ns, 794 So. 2d 1270, 1274 (Fla.2001) (quoting City of Deerfield Beach v. Vaillant, 419 So. 2d 624, 626 (Fla.1982)); Gupton v. Dep't of Highway Safety, 987 So. 2d 737, 738 (Fla. 5th DCA 2008) (“Our review of an order from a circuit court sitting in its appellate capacity is limited to determining whether the circuit court afforded procedural due process and applied the correct law.”). For our Court to grant seco…
  • Randall v. DHSMV (9th Cir. Ct. App. Div. 2009)
    …he arrest had occurred outside of the Maitland Police Department’s jurisdiction, it would nonetheless have been a lawful citizen’s arrest. Petitioner’s first claim is without merit. The Fifth District’s opinion in Gupton v. Dep’t of Highway Safety, 987 So. 2d 737 (Fla. 5th DCA 2008) is binding upon this Court. Petitioner in this case, like the petitioner in Gupton, argues that because the attestor’s status was not specified on the probable cause affidavit, the document is not an affidavit as required by sect…

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