JOHN H. WHITEHEAD, SHERIFF OF UNION COUNTY, FLORIDA, APPELLANT,
v.
WILLIE ROGERS, APPELLEE
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The Florida Supreme Court upheld a Circuit Court decision granting habeas corpus to a hunter arrested for hunting mourning doves on Sunday in violation of a state firearms statute. The court held that the Game and Fresh Water Fish Commission's constitutional authority to set hunting seasons, which included Sundays, supersedes a 19th-century statute prohibiting firearm use on Sundays.
The court held that the regulation of Sunday hunting is within the exclusive control of the Game and Fresh Water Fish Commission, not the Legislature. Because the Commission's order did not specifically exclude Sundays from the open season, § 855.04 does not apply, and Rogers' hunting was lawful.
“The rule of the Game and Fresh Water Fish Commission is controlling.”
Establishes that the Commission's regulatory authority takes precedence in hunting matters.
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Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligenceWillie Rogers was arrested on November 3, 1968, while hunting mourning doves on a Sunday under authority of a valid 1968 hunting license. The Commissi…
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Appellee while hunting mourning doves was arrested by appellant, John H. Whitehead, Sheriff of Union County, Florida, on Sunday, November 3, 1968, on the charge of violation of § 855.04, Florida Statutes, F.S.A., relating to the use of firearms on Sunday. He was brought before the Circuit Court on a writ of habeas corpus alleging that the acts with which he was charged were done by him pursuant to a valid 1968 hunting license issued pursuant to Order No. 165 (68-28) promulgated by the Game and Fresh Water Fish Commis*331sion on July 12, 1968, which provided, inter alia, for an open season on mourning doves between the period of October 5, 1968 and November 3, 1968, inclusive. The petition for writ of habeas corpus was granted, the Circuit Court holding that the application of § 855.04, Fla.Stat., F.S.A. was inconsistent, null and void, and thereupon this appeal was prosecuted.
The point for determination is whether Order No. 165 (68-28), which provided for an open season each day between October 5, 1968 and November 3, 1968, governs the days one may hunt, including Sundays.
The rule of the Game and Fresh Water Fish Commission is controlling. Section 30, Article IV of the Constitution of 1885 which governs this case, vested the power to fix open and closed seasons, on a statewide, regional or local basis, as it may find to be appropriate. It has been held that when the Commission prescribes a reasonable rule for doing this it is not within the power of the legislature to change it. State ex rel. Griffin v. Sullivan, 158 Fla. 870, 30 So.2d 919, Fla.1947; and Beck v. Game and Fresh Water Fish Commission, 160 Fla. 1, 33 So.2d 594, Fla. 1948.
The constitutional mandate in establishing the Game and Fresh Water Fish Commission, states, “The Legislature may enact any laws in aid of, but not inconsistent with, the provisions of this amendment, and all existing laws inconsistent herewith shall no longer remain in force and effect.” Section 30(7), Article IV. Obviously § 855.04, Fla.Stat., F.S.A, first passed in 1859, is inconsistent with the rules promulgated under the authority of the later amendment and therefore must not apply in the case sub judice. While the discharge of firearms is a loud and noisy operation and not consistent with the quiet and peaceful observance of Sunday, the people by constitutional amendment placed in the hands of the Commission the responsibility to fix hunting seasons, which necessarily includes Sundays unless specifically excluded. Sundays were not excluded under Order No. 165 (68-28), thus the legislative enactment § 855.04 insofar as it applies to this case will not control.
In summary, we therefore hold that the regulating of Sunday hunting is within the exclusive control of the Game and Fresh Water Fish Commission and not the Legislature, so the judgment is hereby
Affirmed.
ROBERTS, Acting C. J., and DREW, CARLTON, ADKINS and BOYD, JJ., concur.
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Wakulla Commercial Fishermen's Ass'n, Inc. v. Fla. Fish & Wildlife Conservation Comm'n, 951 So. 2d 8 (Fla. 1st DCA 2007)…Appellee is vested with the exclusive legislative authority to adopt reasonable rules to regulate marine life in this state, and the legislature is constitutionally prohibited from adopting statutes in conflict with such rules. Whitehead v. Rogers, 223 So. 2d 330 (Fla.1969); State ex rel. Griffin v. Sullivan, 158 Fla. 870, 30 So. 2d 919 (1947); Price v. City of St. Petersburg, 158 Fla. 705, 29 So. 2d 753 (1947). Appel-lee’s rules come before the court with a strong presumption of validity and must be upheld…
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City OF Miramar v. Bain, 429 So. 2d 40 (Fla. 4th DCA 1983)…the Florida Administrative Code. A legislative enactment or municipal ordinance as we have here, if in conflict with the regulations of the Commission must give way to the Constitutional mandate establishing the Commission. See Whitehead v. Rogers, 223 So. 2d 330 (Fla. 1969). Rule 39-6.03(l)(c) provides: (1) Class I and II animals shall be caged in accordance with the following requirements: [*43] (e) A perimeter fence of sufficient height and strength to deter entry by the general public must be present ar…1 / 2
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Airboat Ass'n OF Fla., Inc. v. Fla. Game & Fresh Water Fish Comm'n, 498 So. 2d 629 (Fla. 3d DCA 1986)…d with exclusive legislative authority to adopt reasonable rules to regulate game and fresh water fishing in this state, and that the legislature is constitutionally prohibited from adopting statutes in conflict with such rules. Whitehead v. Rogers, 223 So. 2d 330 (Fla.1969); State ex rel. Griffin v. Sullivan, 158 Fla. 870, 30 So. 2d 919 (1947); Price v. City of St. Petersburg, 158 Fla. 705, 29 So. 2d 753 (1947). [*632] Plainly, then, this Commission is not a statutorily created administrative agency “as defi…
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- State v. HON. Jimmy Sullivan, 158 Fla. 870 (Fla. 1947)
- Beck v. Game & Fresh Water Fish Comm'n of the State of Fla., 160 Fla. 1 (Fla. 1948)