JIMMY SULLIVAN, AS SHERIFF OF DADE COUNTY, FLORIDA,
v.
JOHN CHARLES DECERB

Fla. | 1945-10-26
BROWN, BUFORD, THOMAS, ADAMS and SEBRING, JJ., concur., TERRELL, J., dissents.
156 Fla. 496 Florida Supreme Court (1945) Caution
Also reported at: 23 So. 2d 571
Cited by 14 cases

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Holding

The Court held that the Act regulating the practice of photography was unconstitutional as it lacked a sufficient relation to the public welfare and constituted an invalid exercise of the police power.


Facts & Procedural History

John Charles DeCerb was charged with violating Florida's Act regulating the practice of photography. He challenged the Act's constitutionality via hab…

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Opinion of the Court
CHAPMAN, C. J.:

CHAPMAN, C. J.:

A warrant issued by a Justice of the Peace of Dade County, Florida, charged the appellee, John Charles DeCerb, with the violation of Chapter 478, Fla. Stats. 1941 (FSA), being a codification of Chapter 19317, Laws of Florida, Acts of 1939. The purpose of the Act was to regulate and control the practice of photography in the State of Florida, largely upon the theory that it was such a business as was connected with the public interest and was subject to regulation and control under the police power of the Constitution.

Section 478.01, swpra, defines photography and the practice thereof. Section 478.02 made it unlawful for a person to sell, offer for sale, or solicit orders for any product of photography unless the person was duly registered or the employee of such a registered person. Section 478.03 (FSA), requires non resident photographers to take an examination prior to transacting business in the State of Florida. Section 478.05 (FSA) exempts enumerated persons from the terms of the Act.

Section 478.06 (FSA) creates the State Board of Photographic Examiners consisting of five members to be appointed by the Governor and each residing in Florida. Each member shall have had at least five years’ experience as a photographer. Section 478.07 authorizes the Board to promulgate, adopt and enforce such rules, orders and regulations as are *498necessary for the enforcement of the several provisions of the Act.

Section 478.10 (FSA) authorizes the Board to hold examination and investigate the qualifications of all applicants desiring to practice photography in the State of Florida. It has the power to charge and collect fees of applicants desiring to take the examination. If the Board as a result of the examination, is satisfied that examinees are qualified, then a certificate of registration and license to practice photography are issued by the Board. Section 478.15 (FSA) requires licensees maintaining an established business in Florida, and who are not employees of an established place of business, to pay an annual license fee of five dollars.

Section 478.16 (FSA) authorizes the Board to revoke the license of any licensee failing to pay an' annual' license fee required by the terms of the Act, but procedure for revocation of licenses and reinstatement thereof is set out by the terms of Act. Section 478.22 (FSA) provides that any person violating any of the terms of the Act as defined therein shall be guilty of a misdemeanor and upon conviction be fined not less than $50.00 nor more than $250.00, etc. John Charles DeCerb, when taken into custody, by habeas corpus proceedings, challenged the constitutionality of the Act in the Circuit Court of Dade County and there his several contentions were sustained-' and by an appropriate order was discharged from custody. An-appeal was taken to this Court as provided by Statute.

Counsel for the appellee contend that the practice of photography has no relation to the public welfare and does not affect the public interest. That the terms and provisions of the challenged Act attempting regulation have the effect of depriving the appellee of fundamental rights vouchsafed by our State and Federal Constitutions and for these reasons the Act is void, invalid and unenforceable. Counsel for appellant contend that it was competent for the Legislature to define photography; to declare that its practice had a relation to the general welfare; to provide standards of efficiency; to issue certificates to those found qualified; to collect license *499fees, and enact rules and regulations for the practice of photography so as to insure high standards of those engaging in this business and serving the general public.

Counsel for appellant point out that architects, public accountants, engineers, real estate agents, dry cleaning and laundry businesses have a relation to the general welfare and public interest, and, by the same token, photography should fall within the same classification. The answer to the contention is that the line of demarkation between these several businesses, while frequently difficult to do, must be drawn at some point. It is quite true that convincing arguments can be made to the effect that the business of a blacksmith, cobbler, cook, jeweler, chauffeur, bootblack, farmer, dairyman, stenographer, teamster, and many other businesses, affect the public interest, but reputable authorities to support these several contentions are difficult to find. Persons actively engaged in a business highly regulated by a legislative enactment necessarily enjoy benefits and advantages flowing therefrom not enjoyed by those of the public who for different reasons are unable to conform with the existing regulations. It is possible for such measures to possess the essentials or elements of a monopoly.

It is settled law that a legislative declaration to the effect that a certain business is impressed with a public interest and necessitates regulation under the police power of our Constitution is by no means conclusive or binding upon the courts, but the declarations, regulations, findings, and the entire Act of the Legislature are at all times subject to judicial review. See Miami Laundry Co. v. Florida Dry Cleaning & L. Bd., 134 Fla. 1, 183 So. 759.

An examination of the applicable cases from other jurisdictions disclose that statutes similar to the one now before us are invalid and unenforceable. Different reasons are assigned for the conclusions reached. Some hold that such a statute violates the equal protection and due process clauses of the. State and Federal Constitutions — while others hold that such a statute has no relation to the general welfare and does not ■ affect the public interest and therefore an *500invalid exercise of the police power. See Buehman v. Bechtel, 57 Ariz. 363, 114 Pac. (2nd) 227, 134 A.L.R. 1381; Bramley v. State, 187 Ga. 826, 2 S.E. (2nd) 647; State v. Lawrence, 213 N.C. 674, 197 S.E. 586, 116 A.L.R. 1366; State v. Harris, 216 N.C. 746, 6 S.E. (2nd) 854, 128 A.L.R. 658, 11 Am. Jr. 1147-53, par. 366-339.

Affirmed.

BROWN, BUFORD, THOMAS, ADAMS and SEBRING, JJ., concur.

TERRELL, J., dissents.


Cases With Similar Vibessemantic neighbors from the corpus


Citator

Cited By

  • Junco v. State Bd. OF Accountancy, 390 So. 2d 329 (Fla. 1980)
    …ants simply have not satisfied present statutory requirements. The state’s authority to regulate professions is derived from its police powers and may be exercised to promote the public health, safety, morals or general welfare. Sullivan v. DeCerb, 156 Fla. 496, 23 So. 571 (1945). Regulation of the practice of public accounting by a certification requirement for those who wish to practice as certified public accountants in Florida has been upheld as a legitimate exercise of the police power. Mercer v. Hemm…
  • Godshalk v. The City OF Winter Park, 95 So. 2d 9 (Fla. 1957)
    …iness of a title contractor, which is not affected with the public interest and bears no real or substantial relationship to any of the legitimate objectives of the police power.. Appellant relies, for example, upon Sullivan v. DeCerb, 156 Fla. 496, 23 So. 2d 571, wherein we held invalid an act seeking to regulate and control the practice of photography. But .this issue is not ripe .for our determination in the case before us because of the position taken by the appellant in. the trial court. Indeed appel-le…
  • Sandlin v. Crim. Just. Standards & Training Comm'n, 518 So. 2d 1292 (Fla. 1st DCA 1987)
    …or restrict any business, trade, or occupation is a well-recognized exercise of its police powers in order to protect the public health, morals, or general welfare. See Amos v. Gunn, 84 Flá. 285, 94 So. 615 (1922); Sullivan v. DeCerb, 156 Fla. 496, 23 So. 2d 571 (1945); Junco v. State Board of Accountancy, 390 So. 2d 329 (Fla.1980). Its authority to so act is, however, not unlimited. Among other things, the guaranty of equal protection of the laws may act to circumscribe the exercise of such powers, Blitch…

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