Johnson v. Florida

United States Supreme Court

391 U.S. 596

Johnson  v.  Florida

Appeal from the Supreme Court of Florida

No. 1393, Misc.  Argued: N/A --- Decided: June 3, 1968.

Appellant, found by officers at 4:25 a.m. sitting on a bench at a bus stop, was charged with violating a Florida vagrancy law making it a misdemeanor to be found "wandering or strolling around from place to place without any lawful purpose or object." An officer testified concerning information which appellant had supplied, including the fact that he was on probation which had a 10 p.m. curfew and his whereabouts before arriving at the bus stop, where appellant said he had waited for a bus for some three hours. The record does not show how he got to the bus stop. Appellant's motion for a directed verdict was denied, the defense presented no evidence, appellant was convicted, and the Florida Supreme Court affirmed.

Held: The fact that appellant was out long after the curfew hour of his probation may be held to establish the no "lawful purpose or object" ingredient of the offense, but the judgment cannot stand since there was no evidence establishing the "wandering or strolling" ingredient. Thompson v. Louisville, 362 U.S. 199.

202 So. 2d 852, reversed.

Earl Faircloth, Attorney General of Florida, and Harold Mendelow, Assistant Attorney General, for appellee.

PER CURIAM.

Notes