The State of Florida, Appellant, v. Alexander Vinokurov, Appellee. (2024)

This is an appeal by the State of an order suppressing evidence obtained by the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (“FWC”). We reverse the trial court's order. See Whren v. United States, 517 U.S. 806, 813 (1996) (“Subjective intentions play no role in ordinary, probable-cause Fourth Amendment analysis.”). The FWC had authority to stop the boat to inspect licenses, registration, and safety resource equipment. State v. Casal, 410 So. 2d 152, 155 (Fla. 1982) (“In sum we find that the state's interest in random stopping and brief detention of motorboats for the limited purpose of checking fishing permits, registration certificates and safety equipment outweighs a person's interest in being completely free from such limited intrusion. In light of the absence of less restrictive alternatives which would accomplish the state's goals, spot checks of motorboats are not unreasonable under the Fourth Amendment.”); State v. Starkey, 605 So. 2d 963, 965 (Fla. 1st DCA 1992) (“A person's expectation of privacy in a motorboat is less than the same expectation of privacy in an automobile.”); § 328.48(4), Fla. Stat. During this encounter, another occupant of the boat voluntarily opened the boat's cooler without a request by the FWC officer and the illegal catch was in plain view. Cf. Miranda v. State, 354 So. 2d 411, 414 (Fla. 3d DCA 1978).

Reversed and remanded for further proceedings.

PER CURIAM.