Title: Stephenson v. Dept. of Agr. & Consumer Services

State: florida

Issuer: Florida Supreme Court

Document:

342 So. 2d 60 (1976)
Norman STEPHENSON et al., Appellants,
v.
DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE AND CONSUMER SERVICES, State of Florida, Appellee.
No. 49305.

Supreme Court of Florida.
November 30, 1976.
Rehearing Denied February 28, 1977.
Allan P. Clark of Caven & Clark, Jacksonville, for appellants.
Robert A. Chastain and Leslie McLeod, Jr., Tallahassee, for appellee.
ROBERTS, Justice.
We have for review by direct appeal the decision of the District Court of Appeal, First District, in Stephenson et al. v. Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services reported at 329 So. 2d 373, which passes on the constitutional validity of Section 570.15, Florida Statutes (1975), thereby vesting jurisdiction in this Court pursuant to Article V, Section 3(b)(1), Florida Constitution.
The decision of the District Court under review succinctly states the pertinent facts relative to this appeal. "By their complaint, appellants contend in the trial court that appellee, the Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services of the State of Florida, was without statutory or constitutional authority to require their trucks to *61 stop at appellee's road-guard stations for agricultural inspections, alleging their trucks do not carry agricultural products. They sought an injunction to prevent appellee from requiring their trucks to stop. The trial judge, in his order denying appellants' motion for summary judgment, pointed out that the Supreme Court of Florida in Johnson v. State, [99 Fla. 1311], 128 So. 853 (1930), upheld the constitutionality of the citrus inspection code saying:
"The trial court then found that the appellee's actions to ascertain what agricultural products, if any, appellants are transporting have been reasonable and no abuse of discretion has been shown. The trial court further pointed out that the agricultural inspection laws are `regulations designed to promote the public health, safety and welfare in order to determine whether there has been compliance with prescribed standards.' The court made the further affirmative finding:
The statutes under consideration authorizing appellee to require appellants' trucks to stop for agricultural inspections are Sections 570.15 (which was amended after the trial court's order) and 570.44(3), Florida Statutes. Since appellants sought prospective relief by their action for declaratory judgment, the District Court of Appeal, First District, considered the law as it existed at the time of the appeal rather than at the time of the entry of the order appealed.
The subject statutory provisions provide:
Affirming the trial court, the District Court of Appeal opined, and we agree:
Accordingly, the decision of the District Court of Appeal, First District, is hereby affirmed.
It is so ordered.
OVERTON, C.J., and ADKINS, BOYD, ENGLAND and SUNDBERG, JJ., concur.
HATCHETT, J., concurs in result only, with concurring opinion.
HATCHETT, J., concurring.
I concur on the authority of United States v. Martinez-Fuerte, 428 U.S. 543, 96 S. Ct. 3074, 49 L. Ed. 2d 1116 (1976).