State v. Patterson

• Decision Date: 29 July 1905
• Citation: 50 Fla. 127,39 So. 398
• Parties: STATE v. PATTERSON.
• Court: Florida Supreme Court

39 So. 398

50 Fla. 127

STATE v. PATTERSON.

Florida Supreme Court

July 29, 1905

In Banc. Error to Circuit Court, Duval County; Rhydon M. Call Judge.

Petition for habeas corpus by Andrew Patterson against the state of Florida. Petitioner was discharged, and the state brings error. Affirmed.

Syllabus by the Court

SYLLABUS

An act requiring street car companies to provide separate compartments in their cars for the Caucasian and African races, and that under penalties prohibits persons of either of said races from occupying the compartment of a car set apart for the other race, but with the proviso 'that the provisions of this act shall not apply to colored nurses having the care of white children or sick white persons,' violates section 1 of the fourteenth amendment to the federal Constitution, and is void.

The settled rule of statutory construction is that, if the obnoxious section or part is of such import that the other sections or parts, without it, would cause results not contemplated or desired by the Legislature, then the entire statute must be held inoperative.

COUNSEL W. J. Bryan, Co. Sol., and W. H. Ellis, Atty Gen., for the state.

Wetmore & Purcell, for defendant in error. The Florida Legislature, at its session of 1905, enacted the following statute:

'(Chapter 5420.)

'An act to require street car companies in this state to furnish separate cars or divisions in cars or other provisions for the separation of white and colored passengers; to require said companies to keep separate white and colored passengers; to give conductors and employés of said companies police powers, and to provide penalty for the violation of this act.

'Be it enacted by the Legislature of the state of Florida:

'Section 1. That all street car companies, persons, associations of persons, firms or corporations operating street car lines in this state shall furnish separate accommodations for white and colored passengers.

'Sec. 2. That every street car company or person operating a street car line in this state shall make provision, rules and regulations for the separation of white passengers from negro passengers by separate cars, or fixed divisions, or movable screens, or other method of division in the cars of such lines. A failure or refusal by such company or person to make such provision, rules and regulations shall be a misdemeanor, and upon conviction thereof it or he shall be punished by a fine not to exceed fifty ($50.00) dollars for each offense. Each day of such failure or refusal after July 1st, 1905, shall constitute a separate offense.

'Sec. 3. That when any street car is divided into divisions, the divisions set apart or provided for white and colored passengers, respectively, may be in space proportioned according to usual and ordinary volume of travel by white and colored passengers on the line on which the car is used.

'Sec. 4. That conductors or other employés in charge of such cars shall assign passengers to their respective car or division, provided by said companies under the provisions of this act, and such persons in charge of such cars are hereby invested with police powers to carry the provisions of this act into effect.

'Sec. 5. That any passenger wilfully occupying any car or division of car other than that to which he has been assigned, shall be guilty of a misdemeanor, and be punished by a fine not to exceed twenty-five ($25.00) dollars or by imprisonment not to exceed thirty days. Conductors and all other employés in charge of such cars or divisions of cars are hereby clothed with the power to eject from the car or cars any passenger who refuses to occupy such car or division to which he may be assigned.

'Sec. 6. If any employé having charge of any such car shall permit white and colored passengers to occupy the same car, in case separate cars be provided or division in case separate cars be not provided he shall be guilty of a misdemeanor and punishable by a fine of not exceeding fifty dollars or imprisonment of not exceeding thirty days or both in the discretion of the court.

'Sec. 7. That the provisions of this act shall not apply to colored nurses having the care of white children or sick white persons.

'Sec. 8. That nothing in this act shall be construed to prevent the running of extra, or special cars for the exclusive accommodation of either white or colored passengers, if the regular cars are operated as usual, as required by this act.

'Sec. 9. That all laws or parts of laws in conflict with this act are hereby repealed.

'Sec. 10. That this act shall take effect on the first day of July, 1905.

'Approved May 19, 1905.'

Under this law the defendant in error was arrested by the sheriff of Duval county and held in custody on a warrant and charge of refusing to ride in that portion of a street car designated and assigned to colored people, and in attempting to ride in that portion of said car assigned to white people. Upon being arrested and detained in custody the defendant filed his petition in the circuit court for Duval county for a writ of habeas corpus, in which he alleged that he was unlawfully deprived of his liberty and unlawfully held in custody upon said charge of violating said law; that said law is unconstitutional and void for the following reasons:

(1) Section 2 of said act is vague and uncertain.

(2) Said act is in violation of the fourteenth amendment of the Constitution of the United States of America, in that it denies...