D. L. C. v. State
D. L. C. v. State
Opinion of the Court
The pertinent point posed by this appeal is whether marijuana which was found on the person of appellant was discovered as a result of a lawful search and seizure.
On August 22, 1973, appellant, a 15-year old juvenile, was hitchhiking from a rock concert in Pensacola, Florida, to his home in Ft. Walton, Florida. Between 10:55 and 11:05 p. m., two policemen in the town of Gulf Breeze saw appellant beside the road and stopped to question him. The town of Gulf Breeze has an ordinance which imposes an 11:00 p. m. curfew each night for persons 16 years of age and under. Officer Brown testified that appellant was hitchhiking in a dark area of the highway and that upon stopping he asked appellant for his identification. On checking appellant’s identification Officer Brown learned that appellant was a juvenile and he then decided to check appellant further. Officer Brown thought that appellant might be a missing person, a runaway, “and this kind of thing”. On noticing appellant’s “bloodshot and glassy looking eyes”, Officer Brown asked appellant
The judgment appealed is affirmed.
Concurring Opinion
(concurring specially).
While the police officer did not announce to appellant juvenile that he was under arrest for violation of the eleven o’clock curfew ordinance of the Town of Gulf Breeze, he testified that he considered appellant was in technical violation of it; that it is not his policy to say to a juvenile “you are under arrest” and “get them shaken up.” The officer testified that prior to the search of appellant’s person, he apprehended him to take him to his office for further check. He had probable cause at that time to believe that appellant was violating the curfew. Because of this, I consider the search was reasonable as incident to a lawful arrest.
While I am somewhat concerned that the prosecution did not introduce the municipal ordinance into evidence, as the court cannot take judicial notice of a municipal ordinance, there was no objection to the testimony of the police officers on that score and both sides apparently concede that there was a municipal curfew ordinance. That question was not raised either at the trial or on appeal.
Reference
- Full Case Name
- D. L. C., a minor v. STATE of Florida
- Cited By
- 5 cases
- Status
- Published