THE STATE OF FLORIDA, APPELLANT,
v.
LARRY RICHARD DIGMAN, APPELLEE

Fla. | 1974-03-20
No. 44250
ADKINS, C. J., and ROBERTS and BOYD, JJ., concur., ERVIN and McCAIN, JJ., dissent.
294 So. 2d 325 Florida Supreme Court (1974) Positive Treatment
Cited by 22 cases

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Holding

The court held that the statute relating to grand juries, Ch. 57-550, Laws of Florida 1957, remains valid and was not repealed by implication, nor converted into an invalid special act or ordinance.


Headnotes

[1] Statutes relating to courts are considered general laws of the state, even if they affect a particular county or counties, and are not converted into county ordinances.

[2] Repeals by implication are disfavored, and courts must attempt to harmonize statutes to give effect to both if possible.

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Facts & Procedural History

Appellee was indicted by a grand jury drawn under Ch. 57-550, which differed from the general statute. The trial court found Ch. 57-550 void. Amendmen…

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Opinion of the Court
DEKLE, Justice.

DEKLE, Justice.

This cause presents yet again the issue of the constitutional validity of Ch. 57-550, Laws of Florida 1957, relating to grand juries.1 The trial court expressly held this statute to be void and of no effect, thus giving rise to a direct appeal to this Court.2 Art. V, § 3(b)(1), Fla.Const., F. S.A. Appellee was indicted by a grand jury drawn pursuant to Ch. 57-550 as amended. The method of grand jury selection provided by this act differs from that provided by F.S. § 905.01(1), F.S.A. (which incorporates F.S. Ch. 40, F.S.A.), which statute would control absent Ch. 57-550. Thus, if Ch. 57-550 is void, as was held below, the grand jury which indicted appellant was improperly drawn.

The instant cause presents a different attack on the validity of the act not previously considered, namely, that later amendments to the act converted it into an invalid special act or, alternatively, invalidly attempted to make it an ordinance of Dade County. This attack, like its predecessors, fails.

Briefly, Ch. 57-550 created a 10-member Grand Jury Commission for all counties of more than 450,000 population, provided for qualifications of grand jurors, and set out the method of their selection. Ch. 71-29, Laws of Florida 1971, repealed a vast number of general' laws of local application, Ch. 57-550 being named within Ch. 71-29, but § 3(1) of this act providing that such repealed acts “relating to courts” were to become general laws of the state. Of course the grand jury “relates to courts,” in fact is an “arm of the court.” Section 3(2) provided that the repealed laws affecting a particular county or counties should become ordinances of the affected counties. On Oct. 1, 1972, present § 905.01(1) was enacted, providing that the provisions governing the drawing, summoning and procurement of petit jurors would apply to grand jurors.

Grand juries have historically been considered to be arms of the courts; they not only relate to courts, but are inextricably bound up with them. State ex. rel. Worthington v. Cannon, 181 So. 2d 346 (Fla.1966); State ex rel. Gerstein v. Baker, 243 So. 2d 464 (Fla.App.3d, 1971). Although Ch. 57-550 does affect a particular county or counties which § 3(2) of Ch. 71-29 would otherwise convert into an ordinance, it also “relates to courts,” and hence is governed by that general statutory exception in § 3(1). Since § 3(1) governs, Ch. 57-550 became a general law of the state by the express terms of the statute, rather than a Dade County ordinance.

Appellee contends that the enactment of F.S. § 905.01(1), F.S.A. impliedly repealed Ch. 57-550; that the two provisions are irreconcilable. We do not think so. Repeals by implication are not favored, and are found to exist only where the two statutes are irreconcilable; furthermore, it is the duty of this Court to uphold the constitutional validity of a statute where possible. Thus, we must attempt to harmonize these statutroy provisions to give effect to both, if possible.

It is recognized that the provisions of the two acts vary in several respects, and that F.S. § 905.01(1), F.S.A., the later enacted of the two statutes, states that the provisions of F.S. Ch. 40, F.S.A. shall apply to grand jurors. In the absence of an express repeal of Ch. 57-550, however, it is our duty to uphold the validity of both acts, if possible. This may be done by construing the provisions of Ch. 57-550 as alternative and cumulative to the provisions of F.S. Ch. 40, F.S.A. as applied to grand juries by F.S. § 905.01(1), F.S.A. In this manner, the provisions of both acts are given effect and we so rule.

Accordingly, the order of the trial court granting appellee’s motion to dismiss on the basis of the manner in which the grand jury which indicted appellee was drawn and its members qualified was erroneous, and is hereby reversed and the cause is remanded to the Circuit Court of the Eleventh Judicial Circuit, in and for Dade County, which shall permit the defendant to be tried on the reinstated indictment, pursuant to F.S. § 924.37(1), F.S.A. It is só ordered.

ADKINS, C. J., and ROBERTS and BOYD, JJ., concur. ERVIN and McCAIN, JJ., dissent.

. This same chapter was involved in our recent decisions in Seay v. State, 286 So. 2d 532 (Fla.1973) ; Silva v. State, 286 So. 2d 532 (Fla.1973) ; Rojas v. State, 288 So. 2d 234 (Fla.1973) ; and Dykman v. State, 294 So. 2d 633 (Fla.1973). In each of those cases, the statute was upheld as constitutionally valid in the face of numerous and varied attacks.

. In deference to the learned judge below, it should be noted that his decision in the instant cause was rendered prior to our decisions in the cited cases, and additionally that it rested upon, grounds not present in our above-cited decisions.


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  • Whitehead v. State, 498 So. 2d 863 (Fla. 1986)
    …ining the continued viability of the habitual offender statute in light of the subsequently enacted sentencing guidelines, we recognize that we must attempt to preserve both statutes by reconciling their provisions, if possible. See State v. Digman, 294 So. 2d 325 (Fla.1974). We find that we cannot do so. In order to retain the habitual offender statute, we would have to conclude that either the sentencing guidelines are not applicable to “statutory” habitual offenders (i.e., those defendants whom the state s…
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  • Washington v. State, 296 So. 2d 9 (Fla. 1974)
    …PER CURIAM. Affirmed. State v. Digman, 294 So. 2d 325 (Fla.1974). See also: Rojas v. State, 288 So. 2d 234 (Fla.1973); Dykman v. State, 294 So. 2d 633 (Fla.1973); and Seay v. State, Silva v. State, 286 So. 2d 532 (Fla.1973). ADKINS, C. J., and ROBERTS, BOYD, McCAIN and DEKLE, JJ., concur. ERVIN, j.,…
  • Flo-Sun, Inc. v. Kirk, 783 So. 2d 1029 (Fla. 2001)
    …ter 403 supersedes chapter 823, we would be required to conclude that chapter 403 does so impliedly. To that end, the general rule applicable here is that implied repeals are not favored and will not be upheld in doubtful cases. See State v. Digman, 294 So. 2d 325 (Fla.1974). Moreover, before making a determination that a subsequent statute has impliedly repealed one previously enacted, there should appear either a positive repugnancy between the two statutes or a clear legislative intent that the later act p…

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