Florida District Courts of Appeal, 1973

City of Miami v. Bell

City of Miami v. Bell
Florida District Courts of Appeal · Decided July 17, 1973 · Carroll, Haverfield, Samuel, Spector
281 So. 2d 540; 1973 Fla. App. LEXIS 7713 (Southern Reporter, Second Series)

City of Miami v. Bell

Opinion of the Court

PER CURIAM.

Respondent was found guilty of violating a municipal ordinance. On appeal to the Circuit Court the judgment of the trial court was reversed. Petitioner now seeks a writ of certiorari quashing the judgment of reversal rendered by the lower court on the ground that said court departed from the essential requirements of law when it substituted its judgment on controverted questions of fact for that of the trial court.

Review of the record herein establishes that there was sufficient evidentiary basis for the trial court’s finding of guilt. As stated by this court in City of Miami v. Mason, Fla.App.1971, 246 So.2d 591, it is not within the purview of an appellate court to retry controverted factual issues of fact and to do so constitutes a departure from the essential requirements of law.

Accordingly, the petition for certiorari is granted and the opinion and judgment of the circuit court is quashed and the cause remanded with directions to affirm the decision of the Municipal Court of Miami.

It is so ordered.

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