SC03-446 Haire v. Florida Department Of Agriculture

State: Florida

Docket No: SC03-446

Case Date: 02/19/2004

Preview:Supreme Court of Florida
CORRECTED OPINION ____________ Nos. SC03-446 & SC03-552 ____________

JOHN M. HAIRE, et al., Petitioners, vs. FLORIDA DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE AND CONSUMER SERVICES, Respondent. ____________ BROOKS TROPICAL, INC., Petitioner, vs. FLORIDA DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE AND CONSUMER SERVICES, Respondent. [February 12, 2004] PARIENTE, J. The primary issue in this case is whether the State, through the Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services (Department), is acting within permissible

constitutional boundaries by destroying privately owned citrus trees that are within 1900 feet of a tree infected with citrus canker, even though the destroyed trees show no outward signs of infection and appear healthy. To resolve this issue, we must address the constitutionality of section 581.184, Florida Statutes (2003) (Citrus Canker Law), which contains the statutory authority for the Department to destroy privately owned citrus trees under its Citrus Canker Eradication Program. 1 For the reasons expressed in this opinion, we hold that the Citrus Canker Law is constitutional. The Fourth District Court of Appeal expressly declared the Citrus Canker Law constitutional, concluding that the statute did not deny either substantive or procedural due process as guaranteed by the Fifth and Fourteenth Amendments to the United States Constitution and article I, section 9 of the Florida Constitution. See Fla. Dep't of Agric. & Consumer Servs. v. Haire, 836 So. 2d 1040, 1060 (Fla. 4th DCA 2003). The Fourth District further concluded that section 933.07(2), Florida Statutes (2003), which authorizes county-wide search warrants, was unconstitutional under the Fourth Amendment to the United States Constitution and article 1, section 12 of the Florida Constitution. See 836 So. 2d at 1060. However, the Fourth District determined that there was no Fourth Amendment violation in the 1. We have jurisdiction. See art. V,

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