August 2001

Florida High Court Strikes Crash-Victim Solicitation Ban

Tallahassee, Fla. - A 1977 statute that banned chiropractors and others from seeking business from car-crash victims violates the First Amendment, Florida’s Supreme Court has ruled.

The unanimous decision overturning the law was a victory for a Fort Lauderdale chiropractor charged as part of a statewide effort known as “Operation Chiro-Sweep.”

The law, which made it a third-degree felony to solicit crash victims, was determined to be unconstitutional because it wasn’t limited to attempts to defraud insurance companies, Justice R. Fred Lewis wrote for the court. “Our decision... is in no way to be interpreted as promoting or even condoning the practice of chasing patients, customers or clients,” Lewis wrote.

But, Lewis added, there was no escaping the conclusion that the law violated commercial-speech rights protected by the First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution. However, the impact of the decision may be limited by a new law passed last month, said Robert Wheeler, an assistant attorney general who worked on the case. The legislation, CS-HB 1805, limits access to information about people involved in car crashes for 60 days. At press time, the legislation was awaiting action by Florida Gov. Jeb Bush.

The decision by Florida’s high court comes after a series of decisions by various District Courts of Appeal. Most of the rulings by the lower courts found the law was constitutional; one did not.

Although the law applied to everyone, the state targeted chiropractors with it, according to Michael Dutko, an attorney representing one chiropractor. All of the appeals were brought by chiropractors.

Source: Associated Press

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