Florida’s Handicap Parking Law

On occasion we like to provide you with tips that may help you avoid or minimize your contact with law enforcement. We do this because we have seen a number of cases in which a person’s encounters with law enforcement quickly go sideways and a person ends up handcuffed in the back of a patrol car. Looking back on these cases, many times it could have been avoided if the person had done one simple thing differently. Today we are going to talk about a two-minute mistake that cost one guy dearly.

         Marlon Manuel Diaz was stopped for violating Florida’s handicapped parking law. After he was stopped, things got much worse for Mr. Diaz. Pursuant to local Sheriff’s department policy, deputies asked him step out of the car. Before doing so, he told the deputies he had a handgun and had no permit for it. After he got out of his car, deputies saw the gun, confiscated it and arrested him. The deputies then did an inventory search of the car and found drugs. They charged Mr. Diaz with trafficking fentanyl (four grams or more) possession of methamphetamine and carrying a concealed weapon.

         His lawyer filed a motion to suppress all of the drugs and the statements he made to the deputies. He argued that the deputies did not have probable cause to believe that he committed a traffic violation nor did they have reasonable suspicion to believe that he was involved in criminal activity. Therefore, the lawyer argued the stop was an illegal search and seizure. The trial judge agreed, granting the motion and the State appealed.

         The uncontradicted testimony at the hearing showed the following: The deputies saw Diaz operate his car and then stop or park in a designated handicap spot. The car had neither a handicap placard nor a license plate designated as a handicap plate. As he began driving away, deputies initiated the stop. When asked, he did not provide them with a disabled permit, a driver’s license or state ID card indicating a disability. Diaz then told them he was not disabled and apologized for parking where he did. There was a passenger in the vehicle. Diaz did not claim she was disabled. Deputies testified that they had observed the passenger prior to her entering the car and saw no evidence of her being disabled.

         In granting the motion to suppress, the trial court judge stated that because the deputies only saw Diaz in the parking spot “for two minutes” there was insufficient evidence to prove Diaz had committed a “clear traffic violation”. The judge added that under Florida law, a person can temporarily park in the space if he/she is chauffeuring a disabled person and are loading or unloading that person.

         The appellate court disagreed with the trial judge on every aspect of his ruling. As to the “no clear traffic violation”, the court said yes there was. Diaz admitted he was not disabled and never produced any type of documentation showing that he was entitled to park there. He presented no evidence that he was transporting or picking up a disabled person. The statute does not require officers to wait a specific amount of time to initiate the stop. All that is required is that a traffic violation occurred.  It is an objective test. Even if the deputy had a hunch, a gut feeling or a suspicion that Diaz may have been up to no good and used this two-minute parking mishap as an excuse to stop Diaz, the issue is whether or not there was a traffic violation.

         It’s easy to see that Mr. Diaz’s day would have turned out better if he had simply parked in a different spot. Instead, he is in prison.

         The lesson to be learned is do not make yourself an easy target for law enforcement. Something as simple as parking in the wrong spot can have bad consequences.

         You may read about Mr. Diaz’s case at State v. Diaz, 395 So.3d 622 (Fla. 6th DCA 2024).

         If you find yourself facing criminal charges your personal liberty is at stake. Call the Kessler Law Firm for experienced, professional and assertive representation. Given the stakes, you should settle for nothing less.