Case Name: David Christopher BOSTIC, Appellant, v. STATE of Florida, Appellee
Court: Florida District Court of Appeal
Jurisdiction: Florida
Decision Date: 2005-05-13
Citations: 902 So. 2d 225
Docket Number: No. 5D03-3270
Parties: David Christopher BOSTIC, Appellant, v. STATE of Florida, Appellee.
Judges: GRIFFIN, J., concurs.
Reporter: Southern Reporter, Second Series
Volume: 902
Pages: 225–232

Head Matter:
David Christopher BOSTIC, Appellant, v. STATE of Florida, Appellee.
No. 5D03-3270.
District Court of Appeal of Florida, Fifth District.
May 13, 2005.
James S. Purdy, Public Defender, and Christopher Sinclair Quarles, Assistant Public Defender, Daytona Beach, for Appellant.
Charles J. Crist, Jr., Attorney General, Tallahassee, and Douglas T. Squire, Assistant Attorney General, Daytona Beach, for Appellee.

Opinion:
PALMER, J.
David Christopher Bostic (defendant) appeals the trial court's order denying his motion to dismiss the information filed against him or, in the alternative, his motion to declare section 790.23 of the Florida Statutes (2001) unconstitutionally vague and overbroad. Concluding that the motion to dismiss was properly denied and that the statute is constitutional, we affirm.
The defendant was charged with committing the crime of possession of a firearm by a convicted felon, in violation of section 790.23(l)(a) of the Florida Statutes (2001). Section 790.23(l)(a) provides:
Felons and delinquents; possession of firearms or electric weapons or devices unlawful.
(1) It is unlawful for any person to own or to have in his or her care, custody, possession, or control any firearm or electric weapon or device, or to carry a concealed weapon, including a tear gas gun or chemical weapon or device, if that person has been:
(a) Gonvicted of a felony in the court of this state.... :
§ 790.23(1)(a), Fla. Stat. (2001) (emphasis added).
No dispute exists that the defendant is a convicted felon or that he had in his possession a muzzle-loading rifle, which used black powder (instead of fixed ammunition) and percussion caps as an ignition system. However, in order to establish a prima facie case, the State needed to establish that the rifle which the defendant possessed was a "firearm," as that term is defined in the Florida Statutes.
The term "firearm" is defined in section 790.001(1) and (6), Florida.Statutes (2001), as follows:
790.001 Definitions.
As used in this chapter, except where the context otherwise requires:
(1) "Antique firearm" means any firearm manufactured in or before 1918 (including any matchlock, flintlock, percussion cap, or similar early type of ignition system) or replica thereof, whether actually manufactured before or after the year 1918, and also any firearm using fixed ammunition manufactured in or before 1918, for which ammunition is no longer manufactured in the United States and is not readily available in the ordinary channels of commercial trade. Fla. Stat. 790.001(1).
(6) "Firearm" means any weapon (including a starter gun) which will, is designed to or may readily be converted to expel a projectile by the action of any explosive; the frame or receiver of any such weapon; any firearm muffler or firearm silencer; any destructive device; or any machine gun. The term "firearm" does not include an antique firearm unless the antique firearm is used in the commission of a crime. Fla. Stat. 790.001(6).
§ 790.001(1)(6), Fla. Stat. (2001) (emphasis added).
The defendant filed a motion to dismiss the charge, pursuant to rule 3.190(c)(4) of the Florida Rules of Criminal Procedure, arguing that the rifle he possessed was an "antique firearm" and thus exempted under the Florida Statutes. To support his position the defendant argued that, because his rifle uses black powder instead of fixed ammunition and its ignition system is a form of percussion cap, the weapon was an antique firearm.
In denying the defendant's dismissal motion, the trial court first ruled that dismissal was not warranted because the antique firearm defense is not available to convicted felons. In essence, the trial court interpreted section 790.23 of the Florida Statutes as prohibiting any firearm, whether antique or otherwise, from being possessed by a convicted felon. This ruling was incorrect. On its face, the statute provides that the firearm a convicted felon is prohibited from possessing excludes an "antique firearm." Accordingly, the trial court erred in denying the motion to dismiss on that ground.
However, the trial court further ruled that, as a matter of law, the rifle possessed by the defendant was not an antique firearm, and therefore, dismissal of the information was not warranted. The trial court did not err in denying the motion to dismiss on that ground.
In challenging the trial court's ruling, the defendant argues that the relevant inquiry in determining whether a weapon is an "antique firearm" is exclusively determined by the weapon's ignition system. This argument focuses on the fact that section 790.001(1), Florida Statutes, provides an inclusive phrase in defining an antique firearm as being "any firearm manufactured in or before 1918 (including any matchlock, flintlock, percussion cap, or similar early type of ignition system) or replica thereof, whether actually manufactured before or after the year 1918...." (Emphasis added). We reject this argument as being without merit.
A plain reading of the statute requires that, in order to be exempt, a firearm must be either manufactured in or before 1918 or be a "replica" thereof. A replica is defined by Florida case law as meaning a reasonably exact reproduction of the object involved that, when viewed, causes the person to see substantially the same object as the original. See Harris v. State, 843 So.2d 856, 863 (Fla.2003) (citing Alston v. Shiver, 105 So.2d 785, 791 (Fla. 1958)). Applying this definition to the facts at hand, it is clear that merely having an ignition system similar to that found on an antique firearm is not sufficient to render a firearm a "replica" of a firearm manufactured in or before 1918. The rifle possessed by the defendant, which included visible differences from an antique firearm such as a fiber optic sight, was not a "replica" of a firearm manufactured in or before 1918. Accordingly, the trial court properly denied the defendant's motion to dismiss.
Lastly, we turn to defendant's claim that section 790.001(1) of the Florida Statutes is unconstitutional because the term "replica" is impermissibly vague.
A statute is void for vagueness if it fails to give adequate notice of the conduct it prohibits and which, because of its imprecision, may invite arbitrary and discriminatory enforcement. Bouters v. State, 659 So.2d 235 (Fla.1995). "The test of a statute insofar as vagüeness is concerned is whether the language conveys sufficiently definite warning as to the proscribed conduct when measured by common understanding and practice.... 'The constitutional requirement of definiteness is violated by a criminal statute that fails to give a person of ordinary intelligence fair notice that his contemplated conduct is forbidden by the statute. The underlying, principle is that no man shall be held criminally responsible for conduct which he could not reasonably understand to be proscribed.' " Alexander v. State, 477 So.2d 557, 560 (Fla.1985) (quoting Zachary v. State, 269 So.2d 669 (Fla.1972)).
Applying this test to the statute at issue, we affirm the trial court's determination that the statute is constitutional because the term "replica" is not so vague as to render the statute unconstitutional.
AFFIRMED.
GRIFFIN, J., concurs.
SHARP, W., J., dissents, with opinion.
. The defendant entered a plea of no contest to an amended information, and specifically reserved the right to appeal the denial of his motion to dismiss and his motion challenging the constitutionally of the statute. The State stipulated that the trial court's rulings were dispositive.
. The function of a motion to dismiss is to require the State to present a prima facie case of guilt against the accused, similar to a summary judgment in a civil case. "If the undisputed facts do not legally constitute prima facie proof of the crime charged, or if they affirmatively establish a valid defense, a motion to dismiss should be granted. However, if the undisputed facts permit the conclusion the defendant could be found guilty of the charged crime, the motion must be denied." State v. Williams, 873 So.2d 602, 604 (Fla. 5th DCA 2004). In addition, all reasonable inferences that arise from the undisputed facts must be taken in a light most favorable to the prosecution's case. Id.