City of Miami v. Aronovitz
| Decision Date | 16 September 1959 |
| Citation | 114 So.2d 784 |
| Parties | CITY OF MIAMI, an incorporated municipality of and in Dade County, Florida; the City Commission of the City of Miami, Florida, and Robert King High, the Mayor of the City of Miami, and the individual commissioners, including Otis Shiver, George W. DuBreuil, B. E. Hearn, Sr., and James W. High; Walter Headley, the Chief of Police of said city, and E. A. Evans, as city manager of said city, Appellants, v. Abe ARONOVITZ, Appellee. |
| Court | Florida Supreme Court |
William L. Pallot, Jack R. Rice, Jr., and Vivion B. Rutherford, Miami, for appellants.
Aronovitz, Aronovitz & Haverfield and Franks & Gordon and H. H. Eyles, Miami, for appellee.
Smathers, Thompson & Dyer, George F. Meister, Miami, Fla., Charles C. Collins, Ross D. Netherton, Jr., Washington, D. C., and Joseph H. Braun, Hugh Neill Johnson and Robert G. Corbett, Chicago, Ill., amici curia, American Automobile Ass'n, Inc.
The appellants here who were defendants below seek reversal of an order temporarily restraining them from systematically stopping automobiles for the purpose of checking drivers' licenses.
The principal question for determination is whether a municipal police department can operate a 'road block' or similar system for the purpose of checking automobile drivers' licenses.
Appellee Aronovitz, a resident and former mayor of Miami, while operating his automobile on a public street in the nighttime was intercepted by a police officer. He was directed to proceed in a line of traffic and was subsequently requested to exhibit his state driver's license. There is no claim that his vehicle was searched. There is no claim of any violation of the law by appellee. Upon exhibiting his license Mr. Aronovitz was sent on his way by the inspecting police officer. Rebelling against the procedure, Aronovitz filed a complaint against the City and individual appellant officials. He sought declaratory and related relief. He alleged that the practice of setting up a road block for the purpose of inspecting automobile drivers' licenses was an unconstitutional invasion of his rights to use the public ways. His complaint alleged that when he was intercepted and delayed for a period of time the action of the police officer constituted an arrest. He maintained that it amounted to an illegal search and seizure contrary to amendments IV, V, and XIV to the Constitution of the United States, and Section 1, and Section 22, of the Declaration of Rights of the Constitution of Florida, F.S.A. The complaint alleged further that the practice of the officers in demanding the production of the driver's license was a mere subterfuge to invade the right of the driver to be free from unreasonable and unwarranted interception and was employed primarily to enable the officers to search the vehicles. On the application for a temporary restraining order the Chancellor agreed with the appellee Aronovitz. He issued a temporary injunction restraining the appellants and all officers, agents, servants, and employees of the city
'* * * from interfering with, detaining, arresting or otherwise impeding the use of the city's roads, highways and other similar means of traverse by the use of 'Road Blocks,' or other scheme, plan or method of enforcing the laws against the plaintiff, Abe Aronovitz, or any other person, citizen or resident unless said defendants or their officers, agents, servants or employees should observe or have probable cause to believe that said Abe Aronovitz, or any person, citizen or resident has committed or aided in the commission of a crime.'
The restraining order was supplemented by an opinion of the Chancellor in which he expressed the view that the conduct of the municipal police department, although carried on in good faith, was repugnant to the Federal and State Constitutions and was, therefore, an illegal exercise of governmental power. By interlocutory notice of appeal the appellants now seek reversal of the injunctive order.
It is the contention of the appellants that the practice which has been followed in the instant case is a reasonable exercise of the police power aimed ultimately at the orderly control of traffic and the prevention of traffic injuries and fatalities by apprehending and eliminating automobile drivers whose licenses have been revoked or suspended because of prior traffic offenses.
As he contended in the trial court, the appellee here contends, that the stopping of his vehicle and the interference with his travel without probable cause to believe that a crime had been committed constituted an illegal invasion of his rights under the State and Federal Constitutions.
By Chapter 322, Florida Statutes, F.S.A., the operator of a motor vehicle on the highways of this State is required to obtain a license to drive. Section 322.03 Florida Statutes, F.S.A., prohibits a person from driving a motor vehicle unless he has a valid license as an operator. There are some exceptions which we need not notice.
The part of the statute which generated the instant dispute is Section 322.15, Florida Statutes, F.S.A., which reads as follows:
The Chancellor, upon the insistance of the appellee apparently took the position that the quoted statute merely required the driver of an automobile to have his license available for identification purposes in the event of a collision or some similar circumstance.
It should be recalled that Mr. Aronovitz, along with numerous other citizens, was intercepted on a public way by the municipal police officer who was making a systematic check of licenses. He does not allege that he was subjected to any other type of search or seizure. He contends that he was placed under formal arrest when the officer intercepted him and ordered him to produce his driver's license. This record fails to sustain any conclusion that the interception of Mr. Aronovitz was a mere subterfuge to search his automobile or otherwise to abuse or exploit the power granted by statute to check his driver's license.
The appellee takes the position that he has an inherent right as a citizen to enjoy the use of the public highways. For support he refers us to Florida Motor Lines, Inc. v. Ward, 102 Fla. 1105, 137 So. 163. While the cited decision does mention a citizen's 'inherent right' to use a public way, it further recognizes that such right necessarily remains subject to reasonable regulations in the interest of the public welfare.
We have expressly decided that the requirement of obtaining a driver's license and the exercise of the privilege of driving over the public highways, together with the correlative loss of the privilege under certain conditions, is a reasonable regulation of an individual right in the interest of the public good. In Thornhill v. Kirkman, Fla.1953, 62 So.2d 740, we aligned this Court with those which hold that acquisition of a driver's license is a reasonable requirement and that the privilege granted by it remains subject to suspension or revocation for cause. The owner of such a license exercises the privilege granted by it subject to reasonable regulations in the use of the highways common to all citizens. These requirements do not disregard the constitutional guaranties upon which the instant appellee relies. We are committed to the view that so long as the regulations themselves are reasonable and are reasonably executed in the interest of the public good, the courts should not interfere. Thornhill v. Kirkman, supra; Smith v. City of Gainesville, Fla.1957, 93 So.2d 105.
We judicially know that as originally contemplated the drivers' license requirement was enacted primarily as a source of revenue to finance the maintenance of the State Department of Public Safety. Time has proven, however, that because of the severe penalties attendant upon serious traffic violations, including suspension or revocation of drivers' licenses, this requirement has become an essential segment of our laws for the control and prevention of traffic accidents and fatalities. The public records reveal that during the first six months of the current calendar year over two and onehalf million...
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