BRUCE KOZEROWITZ, APPELLANT,
v.
FLORIDA REAL ESTATE COMMISSION AND A. J. STACK, APPELLEES
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The Florida Supreme Court reversed its prior holding in Kozerowitz v. Stack and declared Florida Statutes Section 475.30(1) unconstitutional as applied to administrative license revocation proceedings. The statute violated petitioner's Fifth Amendment self-incrimination rights by requiring him to file a sworn answer to charges before the Florida Real Estate Commission.
The statute is unconstitutional to the extent that it requires a defendant in a discipline proceeding before the Real Estate Commission to respond to charges against him, as the Fifth Amendment's proscription against self-incrimination applies to administrative proceedings of a penal character, not merely criminal proceedings.
[1] A statute requiring a licensee to file a sworn answer to charges in a license revocation proceeding may violate the licensee's constitutional right against self-incrimina…
[2] Administrative proceedings that are penal in character are subject to the proscription against self-incrimination.
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“the proscription against self-incrimination also applies to any administrative proceeding of a 'penal' character”
Establishes the Court's expanded interpretation of Fifth Amendment protections beyond criminal proceedings to include penal administrative proceedings
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Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligenceThe Florida Real Estate Commission filed an information against Kozerowitz seeking license revocation or suspension. Kozerowitz refused to file a swor…
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CARLTON, Chief Justice:
This case was filed in this Court as an appeal from an order of the District Court of Appeal, Third District, which denied a petition for writ of certiorari to the Florida Real Estate Commission. This Court does not have appellate jurisdiction of the case. Florida Constitution, Article V, Section 3(b)(1), F.S.A.; Florida Constitution, Article V, Section 4(2) (1968). However, while this case was pending here, we decided State ex rel. Vining v. Florida Real Estate Commission, 281 So. 2d 487 (Fla. 1973), which directly conflicts with the decision here sought to be reviewed. We, therefore, treat the appeal as a petition for writ of certiorari. Florida Constitution, Article V, Section 3(b)(3); Florida Constitution, Article V, Section 4(2) (1968); see Florida Constitution, Article V, Section 2(a).
The Florida Real Estate Commission filed an information against petitioner in a proceeding for license revocation or suspension. Petitioner moved to quash the information, in part, on the ground that Florida Statutes, Section 475.30(1), F.S.A., violated his constitutional rights against self-incrimination by prohibiting him from defending against the information without first filing a sworn answer thereto. The motion to quash was denied, and petitioner sought certiorari in the District Court. The District Court found that the challenged statute was not unconstitutional, but it certified the question to this Court. This Court also upheld the statute in Kozerowitz v. Stack, 226 So. 2d 682 (Fla.1969).
Petitioner still refused to file a sworn answer to the information. Therefore, pursuant to statute, the allegations in the information were taken as true and the Florida Real Estate Commission entered a final order revoking petitioner’s registration. Petitioner again sought certiorari review in the District Court, contending once more that Florida Statutes, Section 475.-30(1), F.S.A., was unconstitutional. This statutory certiorari was denied by the District Court on the authority of our opinion in Kozerowitz v. Stack, supra. The District Court, therefore, held once again that the statute was constitutional, since it found no departure from the essential requirements of the law. This decision, when' made, was certainly correct in view of Kozerowitz v. Stack, supra; however, the decision now conflicts with our holding in State ex rel. Vining v. Florida Real Estate Commission, supra, in which we receded from -our earlier Kozerowitz opinion.
' In Vining, we explained that Kozerowitz was based upon the premise that the self-incrimination clause of the Fifth Amendment extended only to proceedings criminal in nature. Our Vining opinion, however, concluded that the proscription against self-incrimination also applies to any administrative proceeding of a “penal” character. We held that a revocation or suspension hearing before the Florida Real Estate Commission is a proceeding of this nature, and we specifically held that Florida Statutes, Section 475.30(1), F. S.A., was unconstitutional to the extent that it required a defendant in a discipline proceeding before the Real Estate Commission to respond to the charges against him.
Therefore, certiorari is granted in this cause and the decision of the District Court of Appeal, Third District, is reversed. This cause is remanded to the District Court with directions that it be further remanded to the Florida Real Estate Commission for any proceedings the Commission may now wish to commence in conformance with our opinion herein and in State ex rel. Vining v. Florida Real Estate Commission, supra.
It is so ordered.
ROBERTS, ERVIN, ADKINS, BOYD, McCAIN and DEKLE, JJ., concur.
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Whittemore v. Dade Cnty., 292 So. 2d 363 (Fla. 1974)…of the law. If the conflicting decision is correct, the District Court’s denial or dismissal of certiorari is an abuse of discretion. We granted certiorari on the same basis in the recent case of Kozerowitz v. Florida Real Estate Commission et al., 289 So. 2d 391. That is the exact posture of the instant case, and the only basis upon which I can find conflict. The severance was granted by the trial court pursuant to Fla.Stat. § 455.06, F.S.A. We held in Surette that such is a departure from the essential re…
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K.D. Edwards v. Dep't of Hwy. Safety & Motor Vehicles, 470 So. 2d 9 (Fla. 1st DCA 1985)…tive interview were impermissibly compelled by the threat of disciplinary action, and that the statements therefore should not have been considered at the hearing before the Career Service Commission. In Kozerowitz v. Florida Real Estate Commission, 289 So. 2d 391 (Fla.1974), a case involving the revocation of a licensee’s registration, it was indicated that the privilege against compelled self-incrimination applies in administrative proceedings of a “penal” character. Accord, Vining v. Florida Real Estate Co…
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THE Florida BAR v. White, 384 So. 2d 1266 (Fla. 1980)…: Spevack v. Klein, 385 U.S. 511, 87 S.Ct. 625, 17 L.Ed.2d 574 (1967) Shapiro v. U.S., 335 U.S. 1, 68 S.Ct. 1375, 92 L.Ed. 1787 (1947) [*1267] Wilson v. U.S., 221 U.S. 361, 31 S.Ct. 538, 55 L.Ed. 771 (1910) Kozerowitz v. Florida State Commission, 289 So. 2d 391 (Fla. 1974) State ex rel. Vining v. Florida Real Estate Commission, 281 So. 2d 487 (Fla. 1973) The referee then said: It is recommended that the Motion to Dismiss be denied on the authority of Shapiro v. U.S.. The Supreme Court of Florida in the…
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Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligenceAuthorities Cited
- State of Fla. ex rel. J. Bruce Vining v. Fla. Real Est. Comm'n, 281 So. 2d 487 (Fla. 1973)
- Kozerowitz v. A. J. Stack & the Fla. Real Est. Comm'n, 226 So. 2d 682 (Fla. 1969)