WILLIAM CLARENCE HURLEY, APPELLANT,
v.
STATE OF FLORIDA, APPELLEE

Fla. | 1975-10-15
No. 46174
ADKINS, C. J., ROBERTS, BOYD, OVERTON and SUNDBERG, JJ., and FERRIS, Circuit Judge, concur.
322 So. 2d 506 Florida Supreme Court (1975) Positive Treatment
Cited by 18 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

William Hurley appealed his traffic offense charges, arguing that prosecution by traffic ticket rather than information violated Florida law and that the authorizing statute was unconstitutional. The Florida Supreme Court affirmed, holding that the statute properly authorized prosecution by traffic ticket and did not unconstitutionally delegate prosecutorial authority to police.


Holding

The statute was valid and constitutional. Traffic Rule 6.07 authorizes prosecution by uniform traffic complaint, and the legislature may prescribe the format for such tickets. Section 316.018 does not unconstitutionally delegate prosecutorial authority because the police official merely issues the ticket; judicial proceedings commence when the ticket is deposited with the court, and the state attorney actually prosecutes the case.


Headnotes

[1] Prosecution for traffic violations may proceed by uniform traffic complaint as prescribed by statute or by affidavit, information, or indictment.

[2] A statute authorizing prosecution for traffic violations by uniform traffic ticket is not repealed by a subsequent enactment that eliminates a specific form but allows fo…

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Key Quotes

“Rule 6.07 authorizes prosecution on the basis of a traffic ticket prepared by a police officer. It merely recognizes, however, that the Legislature may prescribe a uniform format for traffic tickets in Florida.”

Establishes that traffic ticket prosecution is authorized by court rule and statute

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Facts & Procedural History

Hurley was arrested and charged with failing to drive in a single lane and driving while intoxicated based on a traffic ticket issued by law enforceme…

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Opinion of the Court
ENGLAND, Justice.

ENGLAND, Justice.

This case is here on direct appeal from an order of the Duval County Court which denied appellant’s motion to dismiss two traffic offense charges. The county court expressly upheld the constitutionality of Section 316.018, Florida Statutes, thereby giving us jurisdiction under Article V, Section 3(b)(1) of the Florida Constitution.

Appellant was arrested and charged with failing to drive in a single lane, and driving while intoxicated. Following the disposition of procedural matters not pertinent here,1 appellant moved to dismiss the charges lodged against him, which motion was denied. In the written order -of denial the court directly ruled on the validity of Section 316.018. Appellant then pled no contest to the charges against him and was appropriately sentenced by the county judge.

Appellant contends that the court lacked jurisdiction to prosecute him on the basis of a traffic ticket rather than an information, and in the alternative that Section 316.018 is unconstitutional. The gist of appellant’s first argument is that the statute which formerly allowed prosecution for traffic violations on the basis of uniform traffic tickets

was repealed by a subsequent enactment of the same Legislature.3 Appellant couples this argument with the mandate of Florida Traffic Rule 6.07, promulgated by this Court, which requires prosecution for traffic violations by way of affidavit, information or indictment in the absence of statutory authority for prosecution by way of uniform traffic citation.

Rule 6.07 provides:

“All prosecutions for traffic violations by law enforcement officers shall be by uniform traffic complaint as prescribed for in Florida Statutes 316.018 or other applicable statutes, or by affidavit, information or indictment as provided for in the Florida Rules of Criminal Procedures.”

Appellant’s first contention is without merit. Rule 6.07 authorizes prosecution on the basis of a traffic ticket prepared by a police officer. It merely recognizes, however, that the Legislature may prescribe a uniform format for traffic tickets in Florida. The second statute to which appellant refers, read in conjunction with the first,4 does not eliminate the authorization for prosecution by traffic ticket. It merely eliminates a specific form set forth in the text of the prior statute in order to allow the Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles to prescribe a new format. Appellant has no vested right under the Constitution of the laws of this State to require a state attorney or a grand jury to pass upon probable cause for the commission of a traffic offense.5

Appellant argues in the alternative that Section 316.018 is an unconstitutional delegation of prosecutorial authority to a police official. This contention is also without merit. Sections 316.018(2) and (3) direct the deposit of all traffic offense tickets with the appropriate court, after which judicial proceedings commence. A state attorney or his assistant actually prosecutes these matters on behalf of the state. The issuing police official is not the prosecutor. The order of the Duval County Court is affirmed.

ADKINS, C. J., ROBERTS, BOYD, OVERTON and SUNDBERG, JJ., and FERRIS, Circuit Judge, concur. . Appellant filed a suggestion for writ of prohibition in this Court which was denied after hearing, without prejudice to his right to raise appropriate issues in the trial court. Hurley v. Olliff, Case No. 45,660. (July 2, 1974).

. Chapter 71-135, Laws of Florida.

. Chapter 71-321, Laws of Florida.

. Tamiami Trail Tours, Inc. v. Tampa, 159 Fla. 287, 31 So. 2d 468 (1947).

. Art. I, § 15(a), Fla.Const. (1968).


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Citator

Cited By

  • Maddox v. State, 923 So. 2d 442 (Fla. 2006)
    …(l)(a). The statute provides that the accused “must sign and accept a citation indicating a promise to appear.” Id. § 318.14(2). Finally, they can serve as charging documents before the traffic court. See Fla. R. Traf. Ct. 6.165(a); Hurley v. State, 322 So. 2d 506 (Fla.1975). While the Legislature has not stated its reasons for relegating citations to a purely procedural role, I can think of three. First, excluding citations from evidence ensures that the officer who witnessed the alleged traffic offense wil…
  • Blannie Mae Spears v. State, 337 So. 2d 977 (Fla. 1976)
    …State, 332 So. 2d 15 (Fla., 1976); Allen v. State, 326 So. 2d 419 (Fla. 1975) (reh. den. 1976); Kelly v. State, 323 So. 2d 565 (Fla. 1975); Baker v. State, 323 So. 2d 556 (Fla. 1975); Singletary v. State, 322 So. 2d 551 (Fla. 1975); Hurley v. State, 322 So. 2d 506 (Fla. 1975). This is not the first time Section 847.05 has been challenged in this Court as an unconstitutional, abridgement of the freedom of speech, guaranteed by the First and Fourteenth Amendments to the United States Constitution. The appellan…
  • Wooten v. State, 332 So. 2d 15 (Fla. 1976)
    …This appeal is taken from a judgment of conviction entered in the County Court of Hillsborough County. The prosecution began with the filing of Florida Uniform Traffic Citation 862-714K, in accordance with the procedure approved in Hurley v. State, 322 So. 2d 506 (Fla.1975). Appellant Wooten was originally charged with driving while under the influence of alcoholic beverages, in violation of Fla.Stat. § 316.028(1) (1974 Supp.) but on her motion the charge was reduced at trial to driving with an “unlawful blo…

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