State v. Peters
Decision Date | 15 November 1988 |
Docket Number | No. 87-652,87-652 |
Citation | 13 Fla. L. Weekly 2517,534 So.2d 760 |
Parties | , 13 Fla. L. Weekly 2517 The STATE of Florida, Appellant, v. Donna Lynn PETERS and Joy Ivy Shupnick, Appellees. |
Court | Florida District Court of Appeals |
Robert A. Butterworth, Atty. Gen., and Nancy C. Wear, Asst. Atty. Gen., for appellant.
Michael S. Kaufman, for appellee Peters.
No appearance for appellee Shupnick.
Before BASKIN and DANIEL S. PEARSON and JORGENSON, JJ.
This is an appeal from an order of the county court invalidating a City of North Miami ordinance regulating the ownership of pit bull dogs. Pursuant to Florida Rule of Appellate Procedure 9.160, the county court certified that its order passed upon a question of great public importance. We
accept jurisdiction, 1 Fla.R.App.P. 9.160(e)(2), uphold the ordinance, and reverse and remand for further proceedings.
The ordinance in question, City of North Miami Ordinance No. 422.5, regulates the ownership of pit bulls by requiring their owners to carry insurance, post a surety bond, or furnish other evidence of financial responsibility in the amount of $300,000 to cover any bodily injury, death or property damage that may be caused by the dog. The ordinance also requires that owners register their pit bulls with the City and confine the dogs indoors or in a locked pen. The ordinance defines pit bulls by reference to characteristics of the breed established by the American Kennel Club (AKC) and the United Kennel Club (UKC):
The defendants, Donna Lynn Peters and Joy Ivy Shupnick, were charged with violating the pit bull ordinance. They moved to dismiss the charges on the grounds that the ordinance violates equal protection and due process, and on the ground that the ordinance's definition of a pit bull is on its face unconstitutionally vague. 2 , 3 The county court granted the motion, concluding in pertinent part:
The defendants claimed below and claim here that the ordinance violates the equal protection clauses of the federal and state constitutions in two ways. First, it irrationally differentiates between owners of pit bulls and owners of other breeds of dogs 4; second, it fails to include within the pit bull definition half-breed pit bulls--dogs popularly regarded as pit bulls--which may be as vicious as purebred pit bulls.
The defendants' claim overlooks that the constitutional guarantee of equal protection of the laws does not guarantee that all dog owners will be treated alike; at most, the only guarantee is that all owners of defined pit bulls will be treated alike. It is well established that a law is not constitutionally defective simply because it contains classifications which are underinclusive--that is, which "do not include all who are similarly situated with respect to a rule, and thereby burden less than would be logical to achieve the intended government end." L. Tribe, American Constitutional Law § 16-4, at 1447 (1988). 5 Courts must give legislatures great leeway in creating classifications:
Williamson v. Lee Optical, 348 U.S. 483, 489, 75 S.Ct. 461, 465, 99 L.Ed. 563, 573 (1955) (citations omitted).
See also Semler v. Oregon State Board of Dental Examiners, 294 U.S. 608, 610, 55 S.Ct. 570, 571, 79 L.Ed. 1086, 1089 (1935) (). Thus, a law which punishes males for statutory rape but does not punish females does not violate equal protection. Michael M. v. Superior Court, 450 U.S. 464, 101 S.Ct. 1200, 67 L.Ed.2d 437 (1981) (plurality). In response to the contention that the rape statute must be broadened to include females as well as males, the plurality in Michael M. stated that the relevant inquiry "is not whether the statute is drawn as precisely as it might have been, but whether the line chosen by the ... Legislature is within constitutional limits." Id. at 473, 101 S.Ct. at 1206, 67 L.Ed. at 445. See also Liberta v. Kelly, 839 F.2d 77 (2d Cir.1988) ( ).
It follows, then, that only rarely do courts strike down under-inclusive laws as being unconstitutionally arbitrary. L. Tribe, supra § 16-4, at 1447 n. 4. Where there is no fundamental right or suspect class at issue--as here, where the classification concerns animals--courts will usually
uphold the constitutionality of the law. Thus, it has been held that there is no equal protection violation in a law which gives preference to cattle but not to sheep in grazing on government lands, Omaechevarria v. Idaho, 246 U.S. 343, 38 S.Ct. 323, 62 L.Ed. 763 (1918), or prohibits the ownership of dogs but permits the ownership of cats in public housing, Bogan v. New London Housing Authority, 366 F.Supp. 861 (D.Conn.1973), or gives greater compensation for the destruction of some types of cattle than for others, Burt v. Arkansas Livestock and Poultry Commission, 278 Ark. 236, 644 S.W.2d 587 (1983), or schedules quarterhorses to race in parimutuel races at less favorable times than thoroughbred horses, Idaho Quarterhorse Breeders Association, Inc. v. Ada County Fair Board, 101 Idaho 339, 612 P.2d 1186 (1980). Additionally, the Florida Supreme Court has held that there was no equal protection violation when the Legislature imposed strict liability for injuries caused by dogs, but not those caused by livestock. Selby v. Bullock, 287 So.2d 18 (Fla.1973). Still more to the point are recent pit bull cases upholding the right of the legislative body to regulate only pit bulls. In Starkey v. Township of Chester, 628 F.Supp. 196, 197 (E.D.Pa.1986), a federal district court rejected the contention that an ordinance regulating only pit bulls violated equal protection: "The Township does not have to regulate every dangerous animal at the same time in the same way to pass constitutional muster." Similarly, a New Mexico court recently upheld a law which entirely banned the ownership of pit bulls, stating that a
Garcia v. Village of Tijeras, No. 9424, slip op. at 10 (N.M.Ct.App. Oct. 11, 1988) (citations omitted).
Therefore, since the City of North Miami had no obligation to regulate all dogs when it regulated some dogs, the determinative issue is whether the North Miami City Council had a rational basis for regulating pit bulls. The federal district court in Starkey v. Township of Chester, 628 F.Supp. at 197, found that "[t]he Township could reasonably determine, as it did, that Pit Bulls are dangerous." See also Garcia v. Village of Tijeras, No. 9424 (N.M.Ct.App. Oct. 11, 1988) ( ). Likewise, in the present case, there is ample evidence to support the City's conclusion that pit bulls should be controlled. The ordinance itself states:
To continue reading
Request your trial-
McNeely v. US
...peculiar and drastic police regulations by the State without depriving their owners of any federal right."); cf. State v. Peters, 534 So.2d 760, 763-64 (Fla.Dist.Ct.App.1988) ("Where there is no fundamental right or suspect class at issue — as here, where the classification concerns animals......
-
Hearn v. City of Overland Park
...American Pit Bull Terriers or American Staffordshire Terriers." 108 N.M. at 118-19, 767 P.2d at 357-58. Similarly, in State v. Peters, 534 So.2d 760 (Fla.Dist.App.1988), the court rejected a similar vagueness challenge to a local ordinance regulating pit bull dog ownership. The Florida cour......
-
Michigan Wolfdog Ass'n, Inc. v. St. Clair County, 00-40370.
...1, 566 N.E.2d 190 (1990); Garcia v. Village of Tijeras, 108 N.M. 116, 767 P.2d 355, 358 (App.1988). But see State v. Peters, 534 So.2d 760, 766 n. 10 (Fla.Dist.Ct.App.1988) (assuming, arguendo, that the relevant party had standing because she admitted that her dog was a pit bull but did not......
-
Colorado Dog Fanciers, Inc. v. City and County of Denver By and Through City Council
...75 S.Ct. 461, 465, 99 L.Ed. 563 (1955); People v. Elliott, 186 Colo. 65, 69, 525 P.2d 457, 459 (1974); see also State v. Peters, 534 So.2d 760, 764 (Fla.Dist.Ct.App.1988), review denied, 542 So.2d 1334 (Fla.1989); McQueen v. Kittitas County, 115 Wash. 672, 198 P. 394 (1921). Thus, the ordin......