FL Con Law EXTRAS FORM Essays Flashcards
Florida Sunshine Law
Florida Sunshine Law states that all meetings of public
officers in the state where the officers are discussing business must be
(1) open to the public,
(2) the records must be public record, and
(3) notice must be provided to the public
ahead of time so they have the opportunity to attend the meeting.
EXECEPTIONS:
There are only a few
constitutional exceptions for this rule, and
(1) informal meetings between
state legislators where there are fewer than 3 legislators, or not 2 legislators and the
governor, where the meeting was planned in advance and business was discussed.
Other than those exceptions, all types of informal meetings between state officials must
be in public and with notice, including if they are informal.
Informal meetings between
city council members do not fall under the exception and only would if they were considered legislators
FL Right to Privacy
eavesdroppers
The Florida Constitution expressly states that
there is a right to privacy, arguably making it even stronger than the U.S. Constitution
right to privacy
eavesdroppers are not usually successful in Florida at claiming the right to privacy was
waived through that. The person with the privacy right had to have intent to not keep
that information private or at least knowledge of the eavesdropper and the possibility of
that
Florida Constitution almost mirrors the Fourth Amendment
The Florida Constitution also almost mirrors the Fourth Amendment of
the U.S. Constitution in its rights to be free in one’s person, effects, and property.
Both the 4th amendment and the Florida Constitution give persons the right to be free from unreasonable searches and seizures. In order for a search to occur, a person must have a reasonable expectation of privacy in regard to the item or place searched.
A SEARCH is reasonable if there is a warrant for the
search based on a valid search warrant, which is granted by a neutral magistrate judge
based on probable cause.
PROBABLE CAUSE for these warrants show a reasonable belief
that evidence of a crime will be discovered, and probable cause is based on a totality of
the circumstances test.
EXCEPTIONS Any search done without a warrant is deemed unreasonable UNLESS there is an exception which include: exigent circumstances, automobile searches search incident to arrest stop + frisk plain view consent, or hot pursuit.
Florida Constitution almost mirrors the Fourth Amendment
Defined
The Florida Constitution also almost mirrors the Fourth Amendment of
the U.S. Constitution in its rights to be free in one’s person, effects, and property.
Both the 4th amendment and the Florida Constitution give persons the right to be free from unreasonable searches and seizures. In order for a search to occur, a person must have a reasonable expectation of privacy in regard to the item or place searched.
Florida Constitution almost mirrors the Fourth Amendment
Define Search & PC
A SEARCH is reasonable if there is a warrant for the
search based on a valid search warrant, which is granted by a neutral magistrate judge
based on probable cause.
PROBABLE CAUSE for these warrants show a reasonable belief
that evidence of a crime will be discovered, and probable cause is based on a totality of
the circumstances test.
Florida Constitution almost mirrors the Fourth Amendment
List Warrant exceptions
EXCEPTIONS Any search done without a warrant is deemed unreasonable UNLESS there is an exception which include: exigent circumstances, automobile searches search incident to arrest stop + frisk plain view consent, or hot pursuit.
Cities Making Ordinances
The first issue is whether the city council even has the right to create a law such
as this.
RIGHT TO CREATE LAWS AND PURPOSE
Cities, also known as municipalities if incorporated, which this one seemingly is, have the right to create ordinances based on police powers and the state in general for
the health, safety, welfare, and morals of Floridians.
SUPPLEMENT GEN & SPECIAL LAWS
Municipalities in chartered counties can create laws that supplement the general and special laws that the state legislature
has created.
UNCHARTERD COUNTIES
On the other hand, unchartered counties would not be able to do so they
are limited specifically to those general and special laws.
MUNICIPALITIES
But municipalities can create laws for the police power of protecting their citizens such as to fight crime and reduce juvenile crime and the
consequences thereof.
Overbroad & Vague Ordinances
An ordinance may not be overbroad in that it encompasses a large amount of activity–both constitutional and unconstitutional and does not provide any exceptions or limits to that broad restriction.
An ordinance may be vague
because it may not specify how someone could be punished for something.
impairment of contracts clause
Florida constitution
along with the US constitution also has an impairment of contracts clause. The state
may not impair any existing obligations under current contracts by passing a law that would affect that contract.
PRIVATE
Private contracts have a lower burden if the state can justify
the evil it is trying to remedy
PUBLIC
public contracts have a higher burden, but even so
this would affect contracts.
Standing
Florida has conventional standing and it is very similar to federal standing.
To have standing, a
plaintiff must show
1) Injury in fact (both a particularized injury to a specific person and
a concrete injury where there would be actual injury to the person)
2) Causation, and
3) Redressability (which means the result of the suit such as holding the ordinance
unconstitutional would prevent the harm).
assert third party standing on behalf of others
General requirements of a law Feb 2019
A law must be clearly worded so the average person of common intelligence will understand what is prohibited and what is permitted. Any law not so worded is void on
grounds of vagueness. Moreover, laws may not be overbroad. A law is overbroad if it prohibits constitutionally protected activities as well as activities that are not protected. Laws in Florida must also bear
a reasonable relationship to the health, safety, morals, or welfare of the people, and must be enacted in
accordance with the requirements set forth in the Constitution.
Laws in Florida must also bear
a reasonable relationship to the health, safety, morals, or welfare of the people, and must be enacted in
accordance with the requirements set forth in the Constitution.
Example when not…
The law arguably bears a reasonable relationship to public health
by encouraging state employees to participate in the various health initiatives. On the other hand, the
stated objective is to “benefit the state” because state employees will “miss less work” and “make less
frequent and less significant insurance claims.” Therefore, it could be argued that the legislature is more
concerned with the possible financial deficit the state may incur paying for employee insurance claims
rather than the health of its employees.
Law challenged under the Equal Protection Clause
The act as a whole could be challenged under the Equal Protection Clause, because it treats state
employees differently from non-state employees. The Equal Protection Clause of the Florida Constitution expressly forbids discrimination based on race, religion, national origin, or physical disability
(that is, the suspect classifications). For the non-suspect classifications, rational basis review applies,
which only requires that the act be rationally related to a legitimate government purpose. Because
this is a low threshold, laws normally meet this standard. Here, the state has a legitimate interest in
protecting its workforce and its finances (e.g., through less insurance claims), and it can reasonably
do so by promoting the health of its employees. However, the law sets forth several parts that are
overbroad because, as discussed further below, they appear to violate other provisions of the Florida
Constitution.
Procedural
Procedural requirements of a Law
There is a series of procedural prerequisites for statutory validity. All
such prerequisites must be met, or else the law will be a nullity. A law may cover only one subject and
matter properly connected therewith. Relatedly, each section of a law must be rationally and reasonably related to a single general goal. In addition, the subject must be briefly expressed in the title of
the act, and the text of the original statute being amended or revised must be set out in the act, at
least to such extent as will make the meaning reasonably clear. There must also be an enacting clause
stating: “Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida.”
Special laws
Special laws are laws that relate to or are designed to operate on known, specific
persons or things or in a specifically indicated part of the state. A special law may not be passed unless
(i) notice of intention to seek its enactment has been published in a newspaper of general circulation
in each affected county; or (ii) the law is to become effective only on approval by referendum vote of
the electors of the area affected
Example: In this case, the act seems to be a special act because it only involves
state employees. For that reason, the act does not appear to be a general law, which is a law that applies
uniformly statewide to all persons or circumstances. Because state employees could live anywhere in
the state, this act could only pass, as stated above, if notice was provided or referendum votes were held
throughout the state
