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IN THE DISTRICT COURT OF APPEAL
FIRST DISTRICT, STATE OF FLORIDA
NOT FINAL UNTIL TIME EXPIRES TO
JAMES S. GILLMAN,
FILE MOTION FOR REHEARING AND
DISPOSITION THEREOF IF FILED
Appellant,
v.
CASE NO. 1D03-0217
STATE OF FLORIDA,
Appellee.
__________________________/
Opinion filed December 12, 2003.
An appeal from the Circuit Court for Levy County.
Peter K. Sieg, Judge.
Nancy A. Daniels, Public Defender; and David P. Gauldin, Assistant Public
Defender, Tallahassee, for Appellant.
Charlie Crist, Attorney General; and Trisha Meggs Pate, Assistant Attorney
General, Tallahassee, for Appellee.
PER CURIAM.
The State's information charged Appellant with driving a motor vehicle on or

around February 27, 2002, while his driver's license was permanently revoked, in
violation of section 322.341, Florida Statutes. Appellant filed a motion to dismiss the
information on the ground that the statute on which he was to be prosecuted is
unconstitutional. Specifically, the motion alleged that sections 2 and 13 of chapter 98-
223, Laws of Florida (which created § 322.341, Fla. Stat.), embrace two distinct
subjects and lack any natural or logical connection, thereby violating the "single
subject" provision in Article III, section 6, of the Florida Constitution. The motion
was denied on the authority of Sawyer v. State, 819 So. 2d 966 (Fla. 4th DCA 2002)
(finding chapter 98-223 constitutional), which certified conflict with Department of
Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles v. Critchfield, 805 So. 2d 1034 (Fla. 5th DCA
2002) (affirming final judgment finding chapter 98-223 unconstitutional under "single
subject" provision).
Appellant entered a plea of nolo contendere, reserving the right to appeal the
denial of his motion to dismiss. He agreed to serve three years' probation, subject
to certain conditions not relevant to this appeal. Subsequently, the Supreme Court
of Florida decided Florida Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles v.
Critchfield, 842 So. 2d 782 (Fla. 2003), holding that section 2 of chapter 98-223
(involving assignment of bad check debt to a private debt collector) "has no natural
or logical connection to the law's subject matter, which is driver's licenses, operation
-2-

of motor vehicles, and vehicle registrations." Id. at 785. The Court found that
chapter 98-223 violates the state constitutional "single subject" provision. Id. at 786.
Because Appellant cannot lawfully be charged under an unconstitutional statute,
we reverse the order denying his motion to dismiss and remand for the entry of an
appropriate order consistent with the supreme court's opinion in Critchfield.1
REVERSED and REMANDED, with instructions.
BROWNING, POLSTON and HAWKES, JJ. CONCUR.
1 We are mindful of the general rule "that a single subject violation is cured
when the Legislature reenacts the provision as part of the biennial adoption of the
Florida Statutes." Tormey v. Moore, 824 So. 2d 137, 142 (Fla. 2002). The
relevant reenactment occurred and became effective upon publication on May 21,
2003. See ch. 03-25, § 1, at 206, Laws of Fla. Section 322.341, Florida Statutes,
the provision under which Appellant was charged, was added pursuant to chapter
98-223, § 13, Laws of Florida, effective July 1, 1998. Accordingly, only those
persons like Appellant who were subject to the sanctions created by chapter 98-
223, § 13, i.e., committed their offenses on or after July 1, 1998, but before the
reenactment became effective on May 21, 2003, will be entitled to relief under
Critchfield. See Tormey, 824 So. 2d at 143.
-3-

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