State v. Daniel, 75--784
| Decision Date | 03 October 1975 |
| Docket Number | No. 75--784,75--784 |
| Citation | 319 So.2d 582 |
| Parties | STATE of Florida, Appellant, v. Julie DANIEL, Appellee. |
| Court | Florida District Court of Appeals |
Philip S. Shailer, State's Atty., and Jon H. Gutmacher, Asst. State's Atty., Fort Lauderdale, for appellant.
Warner S. Olds, Public Defender, and William W. Herring, Asst. Public Defender, Fort Lauderdale, for appellee.
Appellant, State of Florida, takes this interlocutory appeal from an order entered by the trial court granting a motion to suppress evidence filed by appellee, Julie Daniel. We reverse.
On Februrary 6, 1975, Deputy Jorge Fonte of the Broward County Sheriff's Office entered the Triangle Bar in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. The Triangle Bar was well known to law enforcement authorities in the Broward County area as a 'shooting gallery'; a place where drug users inject illicit drugs into the bodies. Deputy Fonte's purpose in the bar that evening was to investigate whether any illegal drug activities were taking place on the premises. While conducting his investigation, Deputy Fonte checked the men's restroom. Nothing of an illegal nature was found therein. Deputy Fonte then proceeded to the women's restroom. When a knock on the women's restroom door produced no response, Deputy Fonte pushed open the door, entered the restroom, and observed appellee, Julie Daniel, in possession of narcotic paraphernalia. The appellee was arrested and the paraphernalia was seized.
Thereafter, appellee was charged by information with possession of narcotic paraphernalia. Prior to trial, appellee moved the trial court to suppress the narcotic paraphernalia seized as evidence by Deputy Fonte. After hearing argument on the motion, the court entered an order granting appellee's motion to suppress. It is from said order that the state files this interlocutory appeal.
The question presented for our determination on this appeal is whether the narcotic paraphernalia seized by Deputy Fonte from the appellee was secured by virtue of an unreasonable search and seizure.
Section 12 of the Declaration of Rights of the 1968 Florida Constitution, F.S.A., preserves the right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers and effects against unreasonable searches and seizures. A search is generally accepted to be an inspection or examination of places closed from public or general view, and requires some measure of force or intrusion. State v. Ashby, 245 So.2d 225 (Fla.1971). However, observation by a police officer of an object in plain view when the officer has a legal right to be in the position to have that view is not a search and said object may be properly seized by the officer and introduced into evidence in a criminal proceeding. State v. Ashby, supra; State v. Parnell, 221 So.2d 129 (Fla.1969); Sheff v....
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