State v. Lockett
State v. Lockett
Opinion of the Court
The state appeals the county court’s order granting Orlando Lockett’s motion to suppress evidence obtained when his vehicle was stopped for a violation of section 316.3045(l)(a), Florida Statutes (2008).
Lockett was stopped on March 20, 2008, when a police officer heard music playing from Lockett’s car from about seventy-five feet away. Lockett was charged with driving while his license was suspended and for playing loud music which was audible from more than twenty-five feet away in violation of section 316.3045. The charge under section 316.3045 was subsequently dismissed and the suspended license charge was transferred to county court for jury trial.
As in Montgomery and State v. Conley, 98 So.3d 108 (Fla. 2d DCA 2012), we conclude that when Lockett was stopped in 2008, almost three years before the decision in Catalano, a reasonable police officer would not have known that the noise statute was unconstitutional, and that the officer acted in an objectively reasonable manner.
Therefore, we reverse the order granting Lockett’s motion to suppress and remand for further proceedings.
Reversed and remanded.
. Section 316.3045(1), Florida Statutes (2008), provides, in pertinent part:
It is unlawful for any person operating or occupying a motor vehicle on a street or highway to operate or amplify the sound produced by a radio, tape player, or other mechanical soundmaking device or instrument from within the motor vehicle so that the sound is:
(a) Plainly audible at a distance of 25 feet or more from the motor vehicle[.]
Case-law data current through December 31, 2025. Source: CourtListener bulk data.