Case Title: Lawanda Byrd v. State of Florida

Citation: 

Docket Number: SC03-284

State: florida

Court: Florida Supreme Court

Date: 2004-07-08T00:00:00Z

Document:
Supreme Court of Florida
____________
No. SC03-284
____________
LAWANDA BYRD,
Petitioner,
vs.
STATE OF FLORIDA,
Respondent.
[July 8, 2004]
PER CURIAM.
We originally accepted jurisdiction to review Byrd v. State, 834 So. 2d 872
(Fla. 1st DCA 2002), pursuant to article V, section 3(b)(1) and 3(b)(3) of the
Florida Constitution, on the ground that the district court's decision declared invalid
a state statute and construed a provision of the state constitution.  What we did not
recognize at the time, and what neither party brought to our attention, was that the
opinion declaring the statute invalid was signed by only one judge on the district
court's three-judge panel; the other two judges concurred in the result (affirming the
trial court's denial of Byrd's motion to dismiss) but did not join in the opinion. 
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Thus, the opinion declaring the statute invalid was not the actual decision of the
district court; it was the concurring opinion of one judge on the panel. 
Accordingly, we lack jurisdiction.  See art. V, § 3(b)(1), Fla. Const. (providing this
Court with mandatory jurisdiction to hear appeals from "decisions of district courts
of appeal declaring invalid a state statute"); cf. Jenkins v. State, 385 So. 2d 1356,
1359 (Fla. 1980) ("[T]he language and expressions found in a dissenting or
concurring opinion cannot support jurisdiction under section 3(b)(3) because they
are not the decision of the district court of appeal.").  This case is hereby
dismissed.
It is so ordered. 
PARIENTE, C.J., and WELLS, ANSTEAD, LEWIS, QUINCE, CANTERO, and
BELL, JJ., concur.
NO MOTION FOR REHEARING WILL BE ALLOWED.
Application for Review of the Decision of the District Court of Appeal -
Constitutional Construction
First District - Case No. 1D01-4683
(Leon County)
Nancy A. Daniels, Public Defender, P. Douglas Brinkmeyer, Assistant Public
Defender, and Edward L. Harvey, Assistant Public Defender, Second Judicial
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Circuit, Tallahassee, Florida,
for Petitioner
Charles J. Crist, Jr., Attorney General, Robert Wheeler, Bureau Chief and Giselle
Lylen Rivera, Assistant Attorney General, Tallahassee, Florida,
for Respondent