Florida (11.1.2004)

The United States Supreme Court today denied review of two cases from the Florida state courts.

In Dobrin v. Fla. Dep't of Highway Safety & Motor Vehicles, 874 So. 2d 1171 (Fla. 2004)(SCOTUS docket no. 04-275), the Supreme Court of Florida held that since the arrest record in a drunk-driving case did not establish probable cause for pulling over the driver, the police officer wrongfully suspended the defendant’s driver’s license. The correct test for probable cause under Whren v. United States, 517 U.S. 806 (1996), is whether the particular officer who initiated the traffic stop had an objectively reasonable basis for making the stop.

In McKee v. City of Casselberry, 873 So. 2d 373 (2004) (SCOTUS docket no 04-177), the Fifth District affirmed, without comment, a city ordinance banning nudity in clubs that serve alcohol. The court found the ordinance constitutional because adopting an ordinance comparable to those of “surrounding cities is a valid exercise of the city's police power and no further inquiry into the city's motivation need be made" under City of Los Angeles v. Alameda Books, 535 U.S. 425 (2002).