Opinion ID: 1954967
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 3

Heading: Williams v. Spears

Text: In Williams, the court granted certiorari to review a trial court order denying a motion to dismiss the grandmother's petition for visitation on the grounds that section 752.01(1)(b), Florida Statutes (1997), was unconstitutional as applied. The Williams court concluded: With regard to a non-parent, visitation rights are statutory and a court has no inherent authority to award visitation. Accordingly, if the statute under which Spears seeks visitation with her granddaughter is unconstitutional as applied to the parents in this case, the court has no authority to proceed with this litigation, which would include, at the least, an inquiry into the parents' decision-making process concerning their child. Therefore, we conclude that if the statute is unconstitutional as applied, the parents will have suffered irreparable injury by going through this proceeding and having the question of constitutionality answered only on a plenary appeal or not at all, if the court does not order visitation. The damage sought to be avoided by the parents would have already been done, that being the inquiry into their private decision making-process concerning the best interest of their child. 719 So.2d at 1239 (citation omitted). Accordingly, the district court granted the writ and addressed the constitutionality of the statute. In Williams, the District Court granted certiorari because the parents' constitutional right to privacy was affected by the very continuance of the proceedings in the trial court, and any infringement during those proceedings could not be remedied upon appeal after the conclusion of the proceedings. In support of its conclusion, the district court relied on Joseph v. State, 642 So.2d 613 (Fla. 4th DCA 1994), Clear Channel Communications, Inc. v. Murray, 636 So.2d 818 (Fla. 1st DCA 1994), and Saracusa v. State, 528 So.2d 520 (Fla. 4th DCA 1988). In each of those cases it had also been determined that no adequate remedy would exist upon final appeal for an alleged continuing violation of constitutional rights during the trial proceedings. See Joseph, 642 So.2d at 613 n. 1 (granting certiorari where trial court prohibited petitioner from wearing clothing depicting his religious beliefs during trial); Clear Channel, 636 So.2d at 818, 820 (granting certiorari where trial court order prohibiting televised segment of television show America's Most Wanted violated Clear Channel Communications' First Amendment right to freedom of press); Saracusa, 528 So.2d at 521 (granting certiorari where trial court order subjecting petitioner to lineup and blood sample violated his Fourth and Fifth Amendment rights).