CITY OF MIAMI, PETITIONER,
v.
ROBERT GASKELL, RESPONDENT

Fla. 3d DCA | 1973-11-27
No. 73-518
Before BARKDULL, C. J., and PEARSON and HAVERFIELD, JJ.
285 So. 2d 666 Florida District Court of Appeal, Third District (1973) Positive Treatment
Cited by 2 cases

AI-generated. These summaries, headnotes, and key points are machine-generated and may contain errors or omissions. Always verify against the full opinion text below. Not legal advice.

Synopsis

The City of Miami sought review of a Circuit Court decision that reversed a Municipal Court conviction for disorderly conduct/simple assault, holding that the Municipal Court lacked jurisdiction because the conduct constituted felony assault with a deadly weapon. The District Court of Appeal reinstated the conviction, holding that the trial judge's factual determination that the offense was simple assault was binding and that prosecution in state court would violate double jeopardy.


Holding

The Court held that the trial judge's factual determination that the offense constituted simple assault (a lesser included offense within municipal court jurisdiction) was binding and could not be substituted by the appellate court. A subsequent prosecution in state court for the felony would violate double jeopardy under Waller v. Florida. The Circuit Court lacked authority to reverse on factual grounds.


Headnotes

[1] A municipal court lacks jurisdiction to try a felony offense.

[2] A municipal court has jurisdiction over offenses no higher than misdemeanors.

Previewing 2 of 5 headnotes on this case. FLexlaw’s editorially structured points of law — every proposition, pinpointed — are reserved for members.

Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligence

Key Quotes

“whether or not the particular weapon in an assault case is to be classified as deadly or not and therefore whether the waving of the (unloaded) gun in the case at bar would constitute an aggravated assault situation if determined to be deadly or a simple assault situation if determined not to be deadly, is a factual question to be decided from the circumstances of each case by the trier of the facts”

Establishes that classification of weapons as deadly is a factual determination for the trial judge, not the appellate court

Previewing 1 of 3 key quotes on this case — the court’s exact language, pinpointed for members.

Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligence

Facts & Procedural History

Respondent was charged in Miami Municipal Court with disorderly conduct by assaulting complainants with a gun, in violation of Section 38-10(d) of the…

The full statement of facts, procedural history, and disposition for this case are member content.

Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligence

© FLexlaw, Inc. — AI-generated enrichments are proprietary. All rights reserved.


Opinion of the Court
HAVERFIELD, Judge.

HAVERFIELD, Judge.

This cause is before us on petition for writ of certiorari to review a decision of the Circuit Court (sitting in its appellate capacity), which held the Municipal Court of Miami to be without jurisdiction to try the cause and reversed defendant’s conviction.

Defendant-respondent was charged with disorderly conduct by assaulting the complainants with a gun in violation of Section 38-10 (d) of the City of Miami Municipal Code. He was tried, found guilty and sentenced to a term of ten (10) days in jail and a $250 fine. Respondent appealed the judgment and sentence to the Circuit Court which, after hearing oral argument, held that the offense charged and proved constituted a felony under F.S. § 784.04, F.S. A., and, therefore, that the City of Miami Municipal Court had no jurisdiction to try the cause. The judgment of conviction was reversed and the City of Miami was ordered to institute proceedings against the respondent in the appropriate (state) court within thirty (30) days, otherwise defendant-respondent would be discharged.

The City of Miami, petitioner, contends that the Circuit Court deviated from the essential requirements of law in reversing defendant-respondent’s conviction and further ordering the petitioner to institute proceedings in the state court. We agree.

First, counsel for petitioner is correct in pointing out that since the respondent in the case sub judice was tried and convicted of the lesser included offense of simple assault1 (i. e. disorderly conduct in violation of Section 38-10(d) of the Miami Municipal Code), that in light of the U.S. Supreme Court’s holding in Waller v. Florida, 397 U.S. 387, 90 S.Ct. 1184, 25 L.Ed.2d 435 (1970), a subsequent charge in the state court for assault with a deadly weapon, a felony, would provide the respondent with the opportunity to plead double jeopardy and thereby avoid prosecution.

Second and more important, whether or not the particular weapon in an assault case is to be classified as deadly or not and therefore whether the waving of the (unloaded) gun in the case at bar would constitute an aggravated assault situation if determined to be deadly or a simple assault situation if determined not to be deadly, is a factual question to be decided from the circumstances of each case by the trier of the facts. See Bass v. State, Fla.App. 1970, 232 So. 2d 25. The Miami Municipal Court Judge, as the trier of fact, decided that the circumstances of the instant case fell within the scope of proof of Section 38-10(d) of the Miami Municipal Code and thereby determined it to constitute a simple assault situation. Thus, the Circuit Court lacked authority to substitute its judgment as to the facts decided by the trial judge. See City of Miami v. Mason, Fla.App.1971, 246 So. 2d 591.

Accordingly, the decision and order of the Circuit Court is quashed with directions that the judgment and sentence of the Miami Municipal Court be reinstated.

It is so ordered.

. It is undisputed that the Miami Municipal Court has jurisdiction over offenses no higher than misdemeanors as the simple assault in the instant case.


Cases With Similar Vibessemantic neighbors from the corpus


Citator

Cited By

  • J. M. C. and D. P. S. v. State, 331 So. 2d 366 (Fla. 3d DCA 1976)
    …ss v. State, Fla.App.1970, 232 So. 2d 25. Further, whether or not the particular weapon in an assault case is to be classified as deadly or not is a factual question to be determined by the trier of the facts. City of Miami v. Gaskell, Fla.App.1973, 285 So. 2d 666. We find that there is sufficient competent evidence to sustain the finding that the stick was a deadly weapon in that it was large enough to cause the victim to be knocked to the ground upon being struck with it on her back. Cf. Bass v. State, Fla…

Authorities Cited

Full citator, related cases, and AI research tools

Open in FLexlaw