THE STATE OF FLORIDA, APPELLANT,
v.
ROBERT CLEVELAND MALONE, APPELLEE

Fla. 3d DCA | 1969-11-12
No. 69-76
Before PEARSON, C. J., and CHARLES CARROLL and BARKDULL, JJ.
227 So. 2d 896 Florida District Court of Appeal, Third District (1969) 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

The State of Florida appealed the quashing of a criminal information charging Robert Malone with maintaining a gambling room under state statute, after he was previously acquitted of a related municipal ordinance violation. The court reversed, holding that prosecution under both a municipal ordinance and state statute for the same conduct does not constitute double jeopardy.


Holding

The court held that the mere fact that the same set of facts supports a charge under both a municipal ordinance and a state statute does not constitute double jeopardy. A defendant acquitted of violating a municipal ordinance may be prosecuted under the corresponding state statute for the same conduct.


Key Quotes

“The mere fact that the same set of facts will support a charge under a municipal ordinance, as well as a charge of violation of a State statute, does not constitute double jeopardy.”

The court's primary holding that identical underlying facts do not trigger double jeopardy protections when charged under different legal authorities.

Previewing 1 of 2 key quotes on this case — the court’s exact language, pinpointed for members.

Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligence

Facts & Procedural History

On March 17, 1967, Malone was arrested by Miami police and charged with violating a city ordinance prohibiting operation of a gambling room. He was tr…

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.

The State seeks review of an order quashing the information filed in the criminal court, on the grounds of former jeopardy. From the record, it appears that on March 17, 1967 the appellee was *897arrested by officers of the City of Miami and charged with violation of City Ordinance Ch. 2702, § 19-3, prohibiting operation of a gambling room. The appellee was tried by the Municipal Court in and for the City of Miami, and acquitted. Thereafter, on April 7, 1967, an information charging appellee with maintaining a gambling room in violation of § 849.01, Fla.Stat., F.S.A., was filed. This information was based on the same set of facts and circumstances giving rise to the arrest of March 17, 1967, and the prosecution in the municipal court. Thereafter, the defendant pleaded former jeopardy. The trial court quashed the information, finding that the filing of same constituted double jeopardy in light of the proceedings in the municipal court. We reverse.

The mere fact that the same set of facts will support a charge under a municipal ordinance, as well as a charge of violation of a State statute, does not constitute double jeopardy. State ex rel. Wilson v. Quigg, 154 Fla. 348, 17 So.2d 697; Waller v. State, Fla.App.1968, 213 So.2d 623; Hilliard v. City of Gainesville, Fla. 1968, 213 So.2d 689. Neither does the fact that the City of Miami had adopted, by ordinance, the State criminal statute and prosecuted for a violation of the ordinance. Orr v. Quigg, 135 Fla. 653, 185 So. 726; Cooper v. City of Miami, 160 Fla. 656, 36 So.2d 195; State ex rel. McFarland v. Roberts, Fla.1954, 74 So.2d 88; § 165.191, Fla.Stat., F.S.A., 9 Fla.Jur., Criminal Law, § 216; 23 Fla.Jur., Municipal Corporations, §§ 84, 94, 110.

The appellee’s point, that because this court previously dismissed an appeal from an oral ruling of the trial court precludes review of the order in the instant action, is without merit. The dismissal of the earlier appeal was on the ground that there was no jurisdiction in this court. State v. Shedaker, Fla.App.1966, 190 So.2d 429; State v. Malone, Fla.App.1968, 215 So.2d 892; Jenkins v. Lyles, Fla.1969, 223 So.2d 740. The effect of this ruling was to leave the matter still pending in the trial court until such time as a formal written order was duty entered.

Therefore, for the reasons above stated, the order here under review be and the same is hereby reversed, with directions to reinstate the information against the ap-pellee.

Reversed and remanded, with directions.


Cases With Similar Vibessemantic neighbors from the corpus


Citator

Cited By

  • Waller v. State, 270 So. 2d 26 (Fla. 2d DCA 1972)
    …1899, 41 Fla. 547, 26 So. 713; Southworth v. State, 1929, 98 Fla. 1184, 125 So. 345; and State v. Bowden, 1944, 154 Fla. 511, 18 So. 2d 478. With specific reference to violations of an ordinance and of a State law, see State v. Malone, Fla.App.1969, 227 So. 2d 896, and Smith v. State, Fla.App.1971, 251 So. 2d 153. And lastly, we admit that if the city conviction here had been upon charges included within the State charge of larceny the State prosecution would have been barred by double jeopardy. It was in eff…

Authorities Cited

Full citator, related cases, and AI research tools

Open in FLexlaw