Brown v. City of Jacksonville, M--488
| Citation | 236 So.2d 141 |
| Decision Date | 09 June 1970 |
| Docket Number | No. M--488,M--488 |
| Parties | Hugh BROWN, Jimmy Lee Smith, Henry Edward Heath, Margaret Papachristou, Betty Jean Calloway, Eugene E. Melton, Leonard Johnson and Thomas Campbell, Petitioners, v. CITY OF JACKSONVILLE, Respondent. |
| Court | Court of Appeal of Florida (US) |
Datz & Jacobson, Jacksonville, for petitioners.
William L. Durden, Special Counsel, and David U. Tumin, Asst. Counsel, for respondent.
By petition for writ of certiorari, eight petitioners seek review of an order of the Circuit Judge affirming their convictions in the Jacksonville Municipal Court for violation of the vagrancy ordinance, to wit:
Sec. 26--57. Vagrants.
'Rogues and vagabonds, or dissolute persons who go about begging, common gamblers, persons who use juggling or unlawful games or plays, common drunkards, common night walkers, thieves, pilferers or pick-pockets, traders in stolen property, lewd, wanton and lascivious persons, keepers of gambling places, common railers and brawlers, persons wandering or strolling around from place to place without any lawful purpose or object, habitual loafers, disorderly persons, persons neglecting all lawful business and habitually spending their time by frequenting houses of ill fame, gaming houses or places where alcoholic beverages are sold or served, persons able to work but habitually living upon the earnings of their wives or minor children, shall be deemed vagrants and, upon conviction in the Municipal Court shall be punished as provided for class D offenses.' (Code 1942, ch. 33, § 42; Code 1953, § 27--48).
The several appeals were consolidated in the Circuit Court where the constitutionality of the ordinance was the only issue for the right petitioners, except that Petitioner Brown also raised the issue as to whether he had a right to resist arrest. The Circuit Judge found the ordinance constitutional, relying upon Johnson v. State, 202 So.2d 852 (Fla.1967), and affirmed the convictions.
Petitioners' contention is based primarily upon Lazarus v. Faircloth, 301 F. Supp. 266 (S.D.Fla.1969). They contend that this federal decision has in effect overruled the Florida Supreme Court's decision in Johnson v. State, supra, which upheld the constitutionality of Section 856.02, Florida Statutes, since the subject ordinance is in all material respects identical in verbiage to the statute. A decision of a Federal District Court, while persuasive if well reasoned, is not by any means binding on the courts of a state. The Supreme Court of Florida is the apex of the judicial system of the State of Florida, and its...
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