CopyCited 35 times | Published | Supreme Court of Florida | 1997 WL 539408
...Kromash and Michael J. Neimand, Assistant Attorneys General, Miami, for Appellant. Benedict P. Kuehne of Sale & Kuehne, P.A., Miami, for Appellee. WELLS, Justice. We have on appeal Mitro v. State,
681 So.2d 303 (Fla. 3d DCA 1996), which expressly declared invalid section
877.18, Florida Statutes (1993). We have jurisdiction. Art. V, § 3(b)(1), Fla. Const. On August 11, 1994, Ronald Mitro was charged with sixteen counts of violating section
877.18, Florida Statutes (1993)....
...the person in whose name it was issued unless the applicant for the identification card provides to the vendor a notarized affidavit and an authenticated or certified copy of proof of age as set forth in section 232.03, Florida Statutes (1993). [2] Section 877.18, Florida Statutes (1993), contains no exceptions to the documentation requirements set forth in section 232.03, Florida Statutes (1993). Mitro pled nolo contendere to each count in the information. The trial court found Mitro guilty on eleven counts, withheld adjudication, *645 and placed Mitro on probation for one year. On appeal, the district court held that section 877.18, Florida Statutes (1993), was unconstitutionally vague....
...ants or only to applicants under the age of sixteen. Id. at 305. Additionally, the district court found that the lack of definition of the terms "not available" in section 232.03, Florida Statutes (1993), [3] and "authenticated or certified copy" in section
877.18, Florida Statutes (1993), made the statute vague. Accordingly, the court reversed the convictions.
681 So.2d at 306. On appeal to this Court, the State contends that by referencing section 232.03, Florida Statutes (1993), section
877.18, Florida Statutes (1993), simply sets forth the methods of acceptable proof of age for both children and adults....
...not vague, as it clearly means a copy which is of such authority as to prove the content of the original. Finally, the State argues that the impracticality of adult compliance with section 232.03, Florida Statutes (1993), is not a basis for finding section 877.18, Florida Statutes (1993), unconstitutional....
...sons of common intelligence and understanding adequate warning of the proscribed conduct. Trushin v. State,
425 So.2d 1126, 1130 (Fla.1983) (citing Sanicola v. State,
384 So.2d 152 (Fla.1980)). We do not agree with the district court's analysis that section
877.18, Florida Statutes (1993), fails this test. Perhaps it would have been better legislative drafting if the legislature had not chosen the shorthand method of referring to section 232.03, Florida Statutes (1993), and had set out in section
877.18, Florida Statutes (1993), what evidence of proof of age was required....
...As to the term "not available," we note that "available" is defined as "accessible, obtainable," Webster's Collegiate Dictionary 79 (10th ed.1994), and we believe this definition is the one a reasonable person would give that word when it is read in the context of this statute. With respect to the requirement of section 877.18(1)(a)1, Florida Statutes (1993), that the applicant provide "[a]n authenticated or certified copy of proof of age," we find that "authenticated" is commonly understood as defined: "to prove or serve to prove the authenticity of." Webster's Collegiate Dictionary at 77....
...1134,
102 S.Ct. 988,
71 L.Ed.2d 286 (1982). Accordingly, we quash the district court's decision and remand for proceedings consistent with our opinion. It is so ordered. KOGAN, C.J., and OVERTON, SHAW, GRIMES, HARDING and ANSTEAD, JJ., concur. NOTES [1] Section
877.18, Florida Statutes (1993), provides in relevant part: (1) It is unlawful for any person, except a governmental agency or instrumentality, to sell or issue, or to offer to sell or issue, in this state any identification card or document...
