State v. Short, 85-382
| Court | Court of Appeal of Florida (US) |
| Writing for the Court | DANAHY; RYDER, C.J., and FRANK |
| Citation | 10 Fla. L. Weekly 2410,483 So.2d 10 |
| Parties | 10 Fla. L. Weekly 2410 STATE of Florida, Appellant, v. John M. SHORT, Appellee. |
| Docket Number | No. 85-382,85-382 |
| Decision Date | 25 October 1985 |
Page 10
v.
John M. SHORT, Appellee.
Second District.
Rehearing Denied Nov. 20, 1985.
Jim Smith, Atty. Gen., Tallahassee, and Frank J. Migliore, Jr., Asst. Atty. Gen., Tampa, for appellant.
Page 11
Anthony S. Battaglia, Stephen J. Wein, and Kelli Hanley Crabb of Battaglia, Ross, Hastings, Dicus & Andrews, St. Petersburg, for appellee.
DANAHY, Judge.
The trial court dismissed the indictment filed against John M. Short after finding that section 839.25(1)(b), Florida Statutes (1983), the only remaining section of the "official misconduct" statute, is unconstitutional. We disagree and, therefore, order that the indictment be reinstated.
The state filed a two-count indictment charging that:
JOHN M. SHORT, a public servant, to-wit: a duly elected Sheriff of Pasco County, Florida, did knowingly falsify or cause another to falsify an official record or official document, to-wit: a letter from the Pasco County Sheriff's Office to Smith & Wesson Armorer's School in Springfield, Massachusetts, falsely indicating that Richard L. Terry was a member of the Pasco County Sheriff's Office, with the corrupt intent to obtain a benefit for JOHN M. SHORT, to-wit: pecuniary and/or other benefits from JOHN T. MOORMAN; contrary to Chapter 839.25, Florida Statutes....
... JOHN M. SHORT, a public servant, to-wit: a duly elected Sheriff of Pasco County, Florida, did knowingly falsify or cause another to falsify an official record or official document, to-wit: a Pasco County Sheriff's Department Employee Action Form dated October 30, 1980, with the corrupt intent to obtain a benefit for JOHN M. SHORT, to-wit: pecuniary and/or other benefits from JOHN T. MOORMAN; contrary to Chapter 839.25, Florida Statutes....
Short moved to dismiss the indictment and argued that section 839.25(1)(b) failed to define "public servant," "official record," and "official document," thereby failing to apprise him of proscribed conduct and denying him his due process rights under the United States and Florida Constitutions. Agreeing with Short, the trial court found section 839.25(1)(b) unconstitutionally vague and overbroad on its face for failure to: (1) define "public servant," "official record," and "official document"; and (2) require that the falsified record(s) or document(s) relate to the public servant's office. The trial court then entered its order dismissing the indictment.
As we begin our discussion, we are mindful that there is a presumption of constitutionality inherent in any statutory analysis. Bunnell v. State, 453 So.2d 808 (Fla.1984); Gardner v. Johnson, 451 So.2d 477 (Fla.1984); Trushin v. State, 425 So.2d 1126 (Fla.1982); State v. Perkins, 436 So.2d 150 (Fla. 2d DCA), petition for review denied, 436 So.2d 100 (Fla.1983). We are also mindful that, although lawyers and courts frequently interchange the terms "vague" and "overbroad," the doctrines of vagueness and overbreadth are separate and distinct. Southeastern Fisheries Association v. Department of Natural Resources, 453 So.2d 1351 (Fla.1984).
The statute before us, section 839.25(1), Florida Statutes (1983), reads as follows:
839.25 Official misconduct.--
(1) "Official misconduct" means the commission of one of the following acts by a public servant, with corrupt intent to obtain a benefit for himself or another or to cause unlawful harm to another:
....
(b) Knowingly falsifying, or causing another to...
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State v. Russ, No. 1D99-4378
...So.2d 175 (Fla. 3d DCA 1987)(involving a police officer who incorporated false statements into a official police report); State v. Short, 483 So.2d 10 (Fla. 2d DCA 1985)(involving sheriff who falsely wrote on official letterhead that an individual was employed by sheriffs office in order to......
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Clement v. State, No. 2D04-1253.
...for public office did not fall within the purview of conduct proscribed by section 839.25. The trial court, relying on State v. Short, 483 So.2d 10 (Fla. 2d DCA 1985), denied the motion to dismiss. A jury found him guilty of official As we explained in State v. Pasko, 815 So.2d 680, 681 (20......
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State v. Short, No. 86-1954
...employment as a deputy. This court later upheld the constitutionality of § 839.25 and reinstated the second indictment in State v. Short, 483 So.2d 10 (Fla. 2d DCA 1985), rev. denied, 486 So.2d 597 Short then moved to dismiss the second indictment on grounds of collateral estoppel, Page 681......
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Brown v. State, No. 95-3997
...affirmed a conviction under the statute for the alteration of arrest records to show a false breathalyzer reading. In State v. Short, 483 So.2d 10 (Fla. 2d DCA 1985), the second district reversed the trial court's dismissal of charges brought under section 839.25. There the state had charge......
-
State v. Russ, No. 1D99-4378
...So.2d 175 (Fla. 3d DCA 1987)(involving a police officer who incorporated false statements into a official police report); State v. Short, 483 So.2d 10 (Fla. 2d DCA 1985)(involving sheriff who falsely wrote on official letterhead that an individual was employed by sheriffs office in order to......
-
Clement v. State, No. 2D04-1253.
...for public office did not fall within the purview of conduct proscribed by section 839.25. The trial court, relying on State v. Short, 483 So.2d 10 (Fla. 2d DCA 1985), denied the motion to dismiss. A jury found him guilty of official As we explained in State v. Pasko, 815 So.2d 680, 681 (20......
-
State v. Short, No. 86-1954
...employment as a deputy. This court later upheld the constitutionality of § 839.25 and reinstated the second indictment in State v. Short, 483 So.2d 10 (Fla. 2d DCA 1985), rev. denied, 486 So.2d 597 Short then moved to dismiss the second indictment on grounds of collateral estoppel, Page 681......
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Brown v. State, No. 95-3997
...affirmed a conviction under the statute for the alteration of arrest records to show a false breathalyzer reading. In State v. Short, 483 So.2d 10 (Fla. 2d DCA 1985), the second district reversed the trial court's dismissal of charges brought under section 839.25. There the state had charge......