Florida v. Thomas
| Florida v. Thomas | |
|---|---|
 So.2d 1241 (Fla. 2d DCA, 1998); reversed, 761 So.2d 1010 (Fla., 2000) | |
| Holding | |
| The writ of certiorari was improvidently granted as the Florida state courts have not made a 'reviewable final-judgement'. | |
| Court membership | |
| |
| Case opinion | |
| Majority | Rehnquist, joined by unanimous |
| Laws applied | |
| Ruling based on precedent | |
Florida v. Thomas, 532 U.S. 774 (2001), is a United States Supreme Court case decided in 2001. The case brought to the court concerned the extent of the Court's earlier decision in New York v. Belton, concerning whether a person was in custody, a determination central to allowing evidence seized in an automobile search to be presented in trial. However, the Court unanimously dismissed the case because the decision of the Florida state courts was not "final".
Background
In
Florida Supreme Court held Belton did not apply because it is limited to situations where the officer initiates contact with a vehicle's occupant while that person remains in the vehicle. The Supreme Court granted review.[1][2] It would only be a few months before the ultimate decision, where they would dismiss the case.[3]
Opinion of the Court
In a
William H. Rehnquist, the Court dismissed the writ of certiorari for want of jurisdiction.[2][3] Rehnquist wrote that the Florida Supreme Court's decision did not fit any of the categories where the Court "treated state-court judgments as final for jurisdictional purposes although there were further proceedings to take place in the state court."[2] Thus, the Court concluded that the Florida Supreme Court's decision was not final.[3] This was partly based on a doctrine from the Cox decision which decided that certain decisions were not 'final' when the trial proceedings had not been completed.[2][4]
See also
- Certiorari
- Jurisdiction issues in American law
- Motor vehicle exception in Fourth Amendment Law
- Probable cause
- List of United States Supreme Court cases, volume 532
References
External links
- Text of Florida v. Thomas, 532 U.S. 774 (2001) is available from: Cornell CourtListener Google Scholar Justia Oyez (oral argument audio)