Florida/Georgia Personal Injury & Workers Compensation

...of the motion to suppress. On appeal, the Second District initially held that the officers had no authority to stop Hilton's car and reversed his conviction. See Hilton v. State (Fla. 2d DCA 2004) ( Hilton I ). The court initially stated that while section 316.2952 of the Florida Statutes (2001) mandates that cars be equipped with a windshield and have working windshield wipers, the section says nothing about cracks....

...The Second District noted in its first opinion that section 316.610 of the Florida Statutes provides that it is a traffic violation to drive a car that either is unsafe or does not contain equipment in the proper condition. See id. However, because section 316.2952 merely requires a car to have a windshield, but does not contain requirements for the "proper condition" of the windshield, the initial panel of the Second District reasoned that driving with a cracked windshield would be a traffic violation only if it violated the "unsafe condition" portion of section 316.610....

...iver's view or otherwise placed the car in such unsafe condition as to endanger any person or property." Id. at D1476. However, the Second District subsequently granted rehearing en banc and then affirmed Hilton's conviction, concluding that because section 316.2952 of the Florida Statutes requires a windshield on every motor vehicle, the officers lawfully stopped Hilton because his cracked windshield constituted a noncriminal traffic infraction....

...equipment in proper condition and adjustment as required in this chapter, or which is equipped in any manner in violation of this chapter. . . . *288 Id. (quoting § 316.610(1)). The Second District concluded that because a windshield is required by section 316.2952, it is a violation of section 316.610 to drive a vehicle with a windshield that is not in proper condition....

...e. However, if continuous operation would not present unduly *289 hazardous operating conditions . . . the officer shall give written notice to require proper repair and adjustment of same within 48 hours. . . . § 316.610(1)-(2), Fla. Stat. (2001). Section 316.2952 of the Florida Statutes, which enumerates the specific windshield requirements for Florida vehicles, provides: (1) A windshield in a fixed and upright position, which windshield is equipped with safety glazing as required by federal...

...(4) Every windshield wiper upon a motor vehicle shall be maintained in good working order. (5) [Addressing grove equipment] (6) A violation of this section is a noncriminal traffic infraction, punishable as a nonmoving violation as provided in chapter 318. § 316.2952, Fla....

...at 157. The Second District reasoned that a visible crack in a windshield provides a legal basis for a traffic stop because the windshield is not in proper repair. See id. Further, the Second District concluded that since a windshield is required by section 316.2952, a cracked windshield is a violation of section 316.610 because the windshield is not in proper condition and adjustment....

...a fixed and upright position that is equipped with safety glazing; (2) that the windshield be equipped with a driver-controlled device for cleaning moisture from the windshield; and (3) that windshield wipers be maintained in good working order. See § 316.2952, Fla. Stat. (2001). Thus, any other problems with windshields, such as chips, dings, or cracks, are not within section 316.2952 and do not constitute a traffic violation under that statute....

...th Amendment mandates. See Prouse, 440 U.S. at 663, 99 S.Ct. 1391; Clines, 912 So.2d at 557. The section of chapter 316 that enumerates the requirements for windshields does not prohibit the operation of a vehicle with a crack in the windshield, see § 316.2952, Fla....

...cessary interaction between section 316.610 and other sections of chapter 316. In Doctor, the relevant statute required taillights on vehicles, but did not prohibit cracks in the lens covers/reflectors of taillights. See 596 So.2d at 446. Similarly, section 316.2952 requires a windshield on vehicles, but does not address or prohibit cracks in windshields. See § 316.2952, Fla....

...1769, 135 L.Ed.2d 89 (1996); Holland v. State, 696 So.2d 757 (Fla.1997); and Dobrin v. Florida Department of Highway Safety & Motor Vehicles, 874 So.2d 1171 (Fla.2004). Moreover, the majority gives an unreasonable construction to section 316.610, Florida Statutes (2001), and section 316.2952, Florida Statutes (2001)....

...[16] The question is not whether after stopping the vehicle and observing it on close inspection, the officer still believes that the crack could pose a safety risk or obstructs the driver's view. Moreover, reasonable statutory construction dictates that the requirement of section 316.2952 for a windshield includes that the windshield be in good repair so that the driver can see out of the vehicle. This is the very reason that section 316.2952 requires a device to keep the windshield cleared from moisture and for windshield wipers....

...utt in his dissent. See Burke, 902 So.2d at 957. [4] To the extent that the dissent contends that the law permits a traffic stop for any windshield crack, it is merely disagreeing with our interpretation of the interplay between sections 316.610 and 316.2952 and agreeing with the interpretation adopted by the Second District in Hilton II, an interpretation that we reject today....

...is unsafe or not equipped as required by law, or that its equipment is not in proper adjustment or repair, require the driver of the vehicle to stop and submit the vehicle to an inspection and such test with reference thereto as may be appropriate. Section 316.2952(4), Florida Statutes (1991), states: Every windshield wiper upon a motor vehicle shall be maintained in good working order....

...Upon stopping the vehicle, however, the officers observed a gun in plain view and the resulting search of the car produced more than forty bags of marijuana. We conclude that the officers lawfully stopped Hilton's car based on the cracked windshield, because the equipment violation *157 was a noncriminal traffic infraction. Section 316.2952, Florida Statutes (2001), provides that a windshield is required on every motor vehicle and that a violation of this statute is a noncriminal traffic infraction....

...imes equipped with such lamps and other equipment in proper condition and adjustment as required in this chapter, or which is equipped in any manner in violation of this chapter.... (Emphasis added.) Because a windshield is required by this chapter, § 316.2952, it is a violation of this section to drive a vehicle with a windshield that is not in proper condition and adjustment....

...on whether Cashman was actually guilty of committing a traffic offense by driving a vehicle with an excessively cracked windshield. The pertinent question instead is whether it was reasonable for Trooper Spetz to believe that the windshield was cracked to an impermissible degree. 216 F.3d at 587. Therefore, even if section 316.2952 or section 316.610 stated that a cracked windshield would be a traffic violation only if it created an unsafe condition, an officer may be reasonable in his or her belief that the crack met such criteria, even though an examination o...

...violates no law." The court rejected this argument and noted that such an application of section 316.610 would permit police to stop a vehicle for a malfunctioning air conditioner or radio. *160 Id. In contrast, a windshield is required by statute. § 316.2952....

...Under Doctor, the officers were authorized to stop Hilton for an equipment violation (as opposed to a safety violation) only if the statutes that delineate the specific equipment requirements for vehicles require that windshields be free of cracks. They do not. The requirements for windshields are set forth in section 316.2952....

...houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures.'" Whren, 517 U.S. at 809, 116 S.Ct. 1769. [2] The prohibitions contained in the introductory paragraph of section 316.610 are also set forth verbatim in section 316.215(1). [3] Section 316.2952, Florida Statutes (2002), provides: (1) A windshield in a fixed and upright position, which windshield is equipped with safety glazing as required by federal safety-glazing material standards, is required on every motor vehicle which...

...State, 851 So.2d 293 (Fla. 4th DCA 2003), rev. granted State v. Frierson, 870 So.2d 823 (Fla.2004). We conclude without further discussion that the trial court properly applied Frierson and next address whether the crack in the windshield was a proper basis for the stop. Section 316.2952, Florida Statutes (2003), provides that a windshield is required on every motor vehicle and that a violation of this statute is a noncriminal traffic infraction....

...Deputy Deutsch testified that air fresheners may be used to mask the odor of controlled substances. Deputy Gershin and Deputy Deutsch testified at the hearing that the air fresheners in Gordon's Cadillac obstructed the driver's view of the roadway in violation of section 316.2952(2), Florida Statutes (2003)....

...The State's Argument Section 316.2004(2)(b) was the statute cited in the warning of traffic violation the deputies delivered to Gordon following his arrest. At the hearing on the motion to suppress, both deputies testified that the controlling statute was not section 316.2004(2)(b), but rather section 316.2952(2)....

...rs or other objects hanging from the vehicle's rearview mirror. In Gordon's case, the air fresheners did not violate section 316.2004(2)(b) because they were not in direct contact with the front windshield or any other windows in the vehicle. [5] G. Section 316.2952(2) We turn now to an examination of section 316.2952(2), the other statutory basis for the State's contention that the traffic stop of Gordon's Cadillac was lawful. Section 316.2952(2) is also part of the Florida Uniform Traffic Control Law....

...nd defined in Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards No. 205 as the AS/1 portion of the windshield. (c) A device, issued by a governmental entity as defined in s. 334.03, or its *405 designee, for the purpose of electronic toll payments. Pursuant to section 316.2952(6), a violation of section 316.2952(2) is a noncriminal traffic infraction, punishable as a nonmoving violation as provided in chapter 318, Florida Statutes. The analysis of section 316.2952(2) is similar to the analysis of section 316.2004(2)(b). Section 316.2952(2) prohibits operating a motor vehicle "with any sign, sunscreening material, product, or covering attached to, or located in or upon, the windshield." The air fresheners hanging from Gordon's rearview mirror could qualify as "products" but they were not attached to the windshield....

...Furthermore, based upon the definition of "upon" as requiring direct contact, the air fresheners were not "upon" the windshield because they were not in direct contact with it. Thus driving with air fresheners or other objects hanging from the vehicle's rearview mirror does not violate section 316.2952(2) either....

...atutory offense. In his motion, he admitted that he was driving an automobile with a cracked windshield when the deputy stopped him; however, Ivory stated that the crack did not impair his vision and endangered neither him nor members of the public. Section 316.2952, Florida Statutes, provides that a vehicle must have a windshield, and section 316.610 states that it is a civil infraction to drive a vehicle that is in an unsafe condition because of faulty or defective equipment that endangers the driver or other members of the public....

...Hilton's car because it had a 7-inch crack in the upper corner on the passenger's side of the windshield. At the suppression hearing in Hilton, the officers stated they had intended to issue Hilton a traffic citation. See 29 Fla. L. Weekly at D1475. Section 316.2952(1), Florida Statutes (2004), requires motor vehicles such as Appellee's car operating on public thoroughfares to have "[a] windshield in a fixed and upright position ......

...ld wiper upon a motor vehicle shall be maintained in good working order." Subsection *393 (6) provides that "[a] violation of this section is a noncriminal traffic infraction, punishable as a nonmoving violation as provided in chapter 318." However, section 316.2952 "says nothing about cracks." Hilton I, 29 Fla....

...a car that "is in such unsafe condition as to endanger any person or property" or "does not contain those parts or is not at all times equipped with such lamps and other equipment in proper condition and adjustment as required in this chapter," yet section 316.2952 requires a car to have a windshield but does not state requirements for the "proper condition" of the windshield, "driving with a cracked windshield would be a traffic violation only if it violated the `unsafe condition' portion of section 316.610." See id....

...After the instant proceedings concluded in the trial court, the Second District Court reviewed Hilton I en banc, withdrew the original decision, and substituted an opinion affirming Hilton's conviction. See Hilton II, 901 So.2d at 155-57. Hilton II construed sections 316.2952 and 316.610(1) as establishing that the officers had lawfully stopped Hilton based on the cracked windshield because such an equipment violation is a noncriminal traffic infraction....

...State, 596 So.2d 442, 446 (Fla.1992)). The court held in Hilton II that section 316.610 did not authorize an officer to stop a vehicle for any windshield crack under the "`not in proper adjustment or repair' provision of subsection *406 (1)"; because section 316.2952, Florida Statutes (2001), did not require a windshield free from cracks, a vehicle stop for a windshield crack was authorized only if it posed a safety hazard....

2937 (emissions standards), § 316.294 (mirrors), § 316,2952 (windshields), § 316.2953 (side windows), § 316

...In the event that any of the foregoing violations is observed by law enforcement, the law enforcement officer is authorized to stop the vehicle and inspect it. Because the officer in Hilton performed a traffic stop based on a cracked windshield, the supreme court by necessity had to turn to section 316.2952, Florida Statutes, which “enumerates the specific windshield requirements for Florida vehicles.” Id....

...is not at all times equipped with such lamps and other equipment in proper condition and adjustment as required in this chapter.’” Id. (emphasis in original). But it went on to observe that the section governing windshields in chapter 316—section 316.2952—“requires only: (1) 9 that a vehicle have a windshield in a fixed and upright position that is equipped with safety glazing; (2) that the windshield be equipped with a driver-controlled device for cleaning moisture from the windshield; and (3) that windshield wipers be maintained in good working order. See § 316.2952, Fla. Stat. (2001).” Id. In giving effect to the operative language in both statutes, the supreme court reasoned that any other problems with windshields, such as chips, dings, or cracks, are not within section 316.2952 and do not constitute a traffic violation under that statute....

...n or adjustment “as required in this chapter.” Id. at 289-90 (emphasis added). In short, the introductory language in section 316.610 was necessary to generally define the violation, but required the supreme court to independently reference section 316.2952 to determine the statutory requirements for windshields in order to find if a violation had in fact occurred. In this case, Appellee seizes on the supreme court’s reliance in Hilton on the “introductory language” of secti...

...miles per hour in a 40-mile-per-hour zone, in violation of Fla. Stat. § 316.189; (2) careless driving by opening the driver’s side door while driving, in violation of Fla. Stat. § 316.1925(1); (3) illegally tinted windows, in violation of Fla. Stat. § 316.2952(2); and (4) failing to obey a police officer by refusing to provide a driver’s license, in violation of Fla....

...316 shall apply to the operation of vehicles and bicycles and the movement of pedestrians upon all state-maintained highways, county-maintained highways, and municipal streets and alleys and wherever vehicles have the right to travel. As such, they are subject to the windshield requirement of s. 316.2952 (1), F.S., and any other safety requirements imposed by that chapter on "motor vehicles," except as expressly exempted therefrom. See also, s. 316.215 , F.S. Section 316.2952 (1) expressly provides: A windshield in a fixed and upright position, which windshield is equipped with safety glazing as required by federal safety-glazing material standards, is required on every motor vehicle which is operated on...

...motorcycle or implement of husbandry. (e.s.) See also, subsection (3) (windshield wipers); s. 316.2951 (1) (defining "motor vehicle") and (7) (defining "windshield"). No provision of s. 316.2951 - 316.2957 exempts any "ATV" from the requirements of s. 316.2952 (1) and (3) or from the definition of "motor vehicle" contained in s. 316.2951 (1). In view of the express requirements of s. 316.2952 (1), that every motor vehicle which is operated on public highways of this state be equipped with a windshield and since "ATV's" are not exempted therefrom, it is my opinion that an "ATV" must be equipped with a windshield as described by s. 316.2952 (1), F.S., when so operated on the roads of this state....

...In Hilton, the supreme court noted in pertinent part: In Doctor, the relevant statute required taillights on vehicles, but did not prohibit cracks in the lens covers/reflectors of taillights. See [Doctor v. State] 596 So.2d [442] at 446 [ (Fla.1992) ]. Similarly, section 316.2952 requires a windshield on vehicles, but does not address or prohibit cracks in windshields. See § 316.2952, Fla....