Opinion ID: 1100352
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: The Relevance and Severability of Criminal Penalties

Text: The majority also cites the ordinances' imposition of criminal penalties as a reason for finding that they are not narrowly drawn. Majority op. at 1119 ([T]he imposition of criminal sanctions is not narrowly tailored to achieve the stated interests [of the curfew ordinance].). This, according to the majority, is possibly the most troubling aspect of our strict scrutiny review. Majority op. at 1118. The majority concludes that the criminal penalties indicate that the Tampa ordinance does not use the least intrusive means . . . especially when viewed against the model ordinance which accomplishes the same goal with only a civil penalty. Majority op. at 1119. The argument appears to be that the ordinance could be enforced through a civil fine and that the civil penalty can accomplish the necessary deterrent function. However, we have emphasized that arguments about a statute's deterrent function are not legal arguments but rather political debate and that it is not the place of this or any other court to . . . question the political, sociological, or economic wisdom of [an] enactment. Johnson v. State, 660 So.2d 637, 646 (Fla.1995) (using this language in context of defendant's argument that death penalty does not operate well as a deterrent). This is consistent with the legislature's general power to determine the punishments for offenses. See Solem v. Helm, 463 U.S. 277, 290, 103 S.Ct. 3001, 77 L.Ed.2d 637 (1983) (holding that reviewing courts should grant substantial deference to the broad authority that legislatures necessarily possess in determining the types and limits of punishments for crimes); State v. Coban, 520 So.2d 40, 41 (Fla.1988) (stating that in Florida, the plenary power to prescribe the punishment for criminal offenses lies with the Legislature, not the courts); State v. Keirn, 720 So.2d 1085, 1086 (Fla. 4th DCA 1998) (the Legislature has the sole authority and responsibility to make the criminal laws, including classifying transgressions of the criminal law as either a felony or a misdemeanor). Therefore, that the ordinances impose criminal penalties is irrelevant. The majority observes that most of the ordinances that have been upheld as constitutional only impose civil fines or community service requirements. Majority op. at 1119. The cases cited, however, do not indicate that the absence of criminal penalties was dispositive or that it even factored into the analyses. See, e.g., Hutchins, 188 F.3d at 535 (mentioning the civil penalties and community service requirements of ordinance but not analyzing whether criminal penalties would have affected the constitutional analysis); Qutb, 11 F.3d at 488 (same). Moreover, in Schleifer, 159 F.3d at 858, the court upheld the constitutionality of a juvenile curfew ordinance even though the ordinance punished a violation as a misdemeanor. Even if the criminal penalties rendered the ordinances unconstitutional, they could be severed. The district court did not analyze severability because it concluded that the statute would be unconstitutional anyway. J.P. III, 832 So.2d at 114. The majority takes a similar approach, concluding that the ordinances suffer from other constitutional failings which render them invalid. Majority op. at 1119. While I also believe that severability is irrelevant  in my case, because the criminal penalties do not render the ordinances unconstitutional  I nevertheless discuss it because the majority considers the criminal penalties the most troubling aspect of the ordinances. Majority op. at 1118. Severability depends on the following test: When a part of a statute is declared unconstitutional the remainder of the act will be permitted to stand provided: (1) the unconstitutional provisions can be separated from the remaining valid provision, (2) the legislative purpose expressed in the valid provisions can be accomplished independently of those which are void, (3) the good and the bad features are not so inseparable in substance that it can be said that the Legislature would have passed the one without the other and, (4) an act complete in itself remains after the invalid provisions are stricken. Waldrup v. Dugger, 562 So.2d 687, 693 (Fla.1990) (quoting Cramp v. Bd. of Pub. Instr., 137 So.2d at 830). Nothing indicates that the criminal penalties, which do not bear on the law's substantive content, cannot be separated from the remaining provisions. In both ordinances the central legislative purpose was the protection of juveniles and the reduction of juvenile crime. The criminal penalties are far from the centerpiece of the ordinances. See Martinez v. Scanlan, 582 So.2d 1167, 1173 (Fla.1991) (stressing the need, in determining severability, to analyze the provision in relation to the statute's overall legislative intent). Here, the legislative purpose expressed in the ordinances can be accomplished independently from the criminal penalty provision. The criminal penalty provision does not appear to be so inseparable in substance that we can say the legislature would not have passed the remainder of the statute. Finally, on its face, severing the criminal penalty provision leaves the remainder of each ordinance intact. Cf. High Ridge Mgmt. Corp. v. State, 354 So.2d 377, 381 (Fla.1977) (holding that deletion of two subsections regarding rating of nursing homes did not disturb the valid portions of the act and left intact a workable statute where the valid provisions standing alone were complete in themselves).
For the reasons stated, I would hold that the Tampa and Pinellas Park curfew ordinances are constitutional. Juveniles do not have a fundamental right to be out in public places during the late night hours without adult supervision. Even if they did, the state may limit a minor's fundamental rights to a greater extent than an adult's. Finally, even if the ordinances infringe on fundamental rights, they promote a compelling governmental interest and are narrowly tailored to achieve their purposes. For all these reasons, I respectfully dissent. WELLS and BELL, JJ., concur.