1619-2-2 Laws of Florida-Senate Bill-Unlawful " Slot machine or device" I `
LAWS OF FLORIDA 909
• CHAPTER 18143—(No. 437).
chap. 18143
:36).,05
1937
SENATE BILL NO. 399
AN ACT Making It Unlawful to Manufacture, Own, Store, Keep, Relating to
mon ` 1'S--• Possess, Sell, Rent, Lease, Let, Lend, Give Away, Use or Oper- chines or
d, to
sievices. imilar
ate Slot Machines or Similar Deices Operated By Coin or d
)istll�-L- Otherwise; Defining Such Devices; Providing For Their Seiz- j
tire and Destruction and Providing For the Forfeiture of Money
+e o (tq-- --t) and Other Things of Value Therein; Providing When Posses-
oi / sion and Operation Shall Be a Nuisance; Providing Liens on
Ind Buildings and Property in or Upon Which Said Devices Shall
ue .,,.__ .___ Be Possessed, Maintained or Operated; Providing For Injunc-
ears, upon principles tions Restraining Operation, Removal or Possession of Same
property-owners, and and Prescribing the Penalties For the Violation of the
of compromised and . Provisions of This Act.
discharge therefrom Be It Enacted By the Legislature of the State of Florida:
.essed, Provided, how-
-closure of the lien of Section 1. It shall be unlawful:
es at any time said (a) To manufacture, own, store, keep, possess, sell, rent, lease, Unlawful
n awf ul to
foreclosure proceed- • let on shares, lend or give away, transport, or expose for sale or tnre, etc.
ler to pay said taxes lease, or to offer to sell, rent, lease, let on shares,lend or give away,
days from the date _ or permit the operation of, or for any person to permit to be
npromise and adjust- placed, maintained, or used or kept in any room, space, or build-
f said taxes shall re ing owned, leased or occupied by him or under his management
romised and adjusted, or control, any slot machine or device or any part thereof as
istrict. hereinafter defined; or
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in conflict herewith (b) To make or to permit to be made with any person any Agreement
- agreement with reference to any'Slot machine or device, as here- encewith torefer-
inafter defined, pursuant to which the user thereof, as a result same.
artr upon its becoming ,2
immediately upon of any element of chance or other outcome unpredictable to him,
; '
may become entitled to receive any money, credit, allowance, or
thing or value or additional chance or right to use such machine
,'_ or device, or to receive any heck, slug, token or memorandum t
). 1937. ryr,
entitling the holder to receive any money, credit, allowance or
#- thing of value.
Section 2. Any machine or device is a slot machine or device Machine
within the provisions of this Act if it is one that is adapted, for defined.
use in such a way that, as a result of the insertion of any piece
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`j of money or coin or other object such machine or device is caused
to operate or may be operated, and by reason of any element of
chance or of other outcome of such operation unpredictable by
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910
LAWS OF FLORIDA
Chap. isms him, the user may receive or become entitled to receive any
Ce
nelmem i. — —.-` 1937 of money, credit, allowance or thing of value, or any check, slug - t
token or memorandum, whether of value or otherwise, which may, t
be exchanged for any money, credit, allowance or thing (
+� or which may be given in trade, or the user may secure aadditional
t
chances or rights to use such machine, apparatus or device, even
though it may, in addition to any element of chance or unpre e
dictable outcome of such operation, also sell, deliver or present ';
some merchandise, indication of weight, entertainment or other ,, c
thing of value.
t I. t
Penalty. Section 3. Whoever shall violate anyof the i
provisions of this
Act, shall upon conviction thereof; be deemed guilty of a misde
meanor, and punished by a fine of not less than two hundred f.; e
fifty dollars, ($250.00), nor more than five hundred dollars, 4 c
($500:00), or by imprisonment in the County jail for a period of
not less than three (3) months nor more than six (6) months, or , 1
by both such fine and imprisonment; provided, further that any - t
person convicted of violating any provision of this Act a second I
time shall upon conviction thereof; be deemed a second offender <
and guilty of a misdemeanor, and shall be punished by a fine of ' t
not less than five hundred dollars ($500.00), nor more than seven .° i
hundred, fifty dollars, ($750.00), or by imprisonment in the Coup ' 1
ty jail for a period of not less than six (6) months nor more that"" t
eight (8) months, or by both such fine and imprisonment; pr',,- t
vided, further that any person violating any provision of th'. , t
Act, after having been twice convicted already, shall upon con t
viction thereof; be deemed a "common offender", and shall i s
deemed guilty of a felony, and punished by a fine of not less tha".
one thousand dollars, ($1.000.00), nor more than five thousant'
dollars, ($5,000.00), or by imprisonment in the State Penitentia ` I
for a per od of not less than one (1) year, nor more than five (a} r
years, or by both such fine and imprisonment. t
! .•Arresting Section 4. Upon the `arrest of anyt
officer to person charged with th
confiscate violation of any of the provisions of this Act, it shall be the ' r
machines. duty of the arresting officer to take into his custody any such c
machine, apparatus or device, and their contents, and the sheriff, f
at the place of seizure, shall make a complete and correct list
and inventory of all• such things so taken into his custody, and P'
' deliver to the person from whom such article or articles may have`.Y`
f been seized, a true copy of the list of all such articles. Upon I
making such a seizure the sheriff shall, forthwith and without de- s
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'ter£
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LAWS OF FLORIDA 911
r A ,
Pie c' lay, deliver each and every'item of the things taken into his custody Chap. 18148
Flu'° to the Clerk of the Circuit Court of the County in which such 1937
i ma a seizure is made, and upon delivery, deliver therewith to said
`slue: Clerk the original list and inventory so made by said sheriff at
itiona the time and place of such seizure; and upon making such de-
ever‘ livery the said Clerk shall verify said list and inventory and mark
inr,= ,"a each item for identification and make a complete and correct list
rese, '` and inventory of the things delivered to him by the sheriff, in
oth;, duplicate, duly certified by him officially, and deliver one copy
thereof to the sheriff, and deposit one copy in proper safety files
this in his office. The said Clerk of the Circuit Court shall keep and
f
f this
preserve all things so delivered to him and have the same forth-
idrecd
coining at any investigation, prosecution or other proceedings, in-
eident to charges of violation of any of the provisions of this Act.
ollar:
iod l ' Section 5. Upon conviction of the person arrested for the vio- Disposition
i.
hs, 0` �'
lation of any of the provisons of this Act, it shall be the duty of upon 8eonne
t an:` the Judge of the Court trying the case, after such notice-to the vection.
,Pcondperson convicted, and any other person whom the judge may be
'ender _ of the opinion is entitled to such notice, and as the judge may
inc of deem reasonable, to issue to the sheriff of the County a written
seve Ix order adjudging and declaring any such machine, apparatus or de-
Couxf='_. vice forfeited, and directing such sheriff to destroy the same, with
than ,, the exception of the money. The order of the Court shall state
; pro- , the time and place and the manner in which such property shall
f this i' be destroyed, and it shall be the duty of the sheriff.to destroy
i con- the same in the presence of the Clerk of the Circuit Court of
all be ;' such County.
than t
Section 6. The right of property in and to any Machine, ap- Property
`t ` paratus or device as defined in Section 2 of this Act and to all IDaheniu,e
°"' k money and other things of value therein, is hereby declared not o not not
X to exist in any person, association of persons or corporations, and exist.
Z t. the same shall be forfeited and such money or other things of
h ' value shall be forfeited to the County in which Vie seizure was
)e the made and shall be delivered forthwith to the Clerk of the Cir-
• such • _ suit Court and shall by him be placed in the fine and forfeiture
heriff, °" fund of said County. I
et list Section 7. Any room, house, building, boat, vehicle, structure Houses
and /:'. or place wherein any machine or device, or any part thereof, the sea eQ per.
have , ,,e possession, operation or use of which is prohibited by this Act, stared
Upon common
i," shall be maintained or operated, and each or such machines or. nuisances.
de- devices is hereby declared to be a common nuisance. If a person 1`
a — 4
,y
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912 LAWS OF FLORIDA
i A
li- . [ Chap. 18143 has knowledge, or reason to believe, that his room, house, build., ...
1937 ing, boat, vehicle, structure or place is occupied or used in vio-
lation of the provisions of the Act and by acquiescence or con_ z.:.
I sent suffers the same to be used, such room, house, building, boat, AN AC
"�` ''�' vehicle, structure or place shall be subject to a lien for and may ,* vatior
be sold to pay all fines or costs assessed against the person guilty Preve
of such nuisance, for such violation, and it shall be the duty of State
the several State Attorneys to enforce such lien in the Courts o --` and I
this State having jurisdiction. `` vatioi
Action to Section 8. An action to enjoin any nuisance as herein defined serva
enjoin maybe brought toin the Courts of Equity in th'`: =` Powe
defined. g any person q y
1 State. If it is made to appear by affidavit or otherwise, to the Gift,
R I satisfaction of the Court, or judge in vacation, that such nuisance gram
i exists, a temporary writ of injunction shall forthwith issue re- _ Praci
straining the defendant from conduction or permitting the conthe 1
tinuance of such nuisance until the conclusion of the action. Upon - Praci
application of the complainant in such a proceeding, the Court of gram
' Judge may also enter an order restraining the defendant and all Boar
, 1 i other persons from removing, or in any way interfering with the.; tions
1,
machines or devices or other things used in connection with the ' For
it .' violation of this Act constituting such a nuisance. No bond shall For
be required in instituting such proceedings. -,
Be It
Fees of Section 9. The Clerk of the Courts and the sheriffs perform-
.
erform Sect:
ther
rCircuit ing duties under the provisions of this Act shall receive the same cited a
Courts and fees as prescribed bygeneral law for the performance of similar
Sheriffs.
duties, and such fees shall be paid out of the fine and forfeiture Sect
fund of the County as costs are paid upon conviction of an in- ' DELL
t solvent person. ter of
Saving Section 10. If any section, sub-section, sentence, clause, A.
clause.
phrase or word of this Act is held or declared to be unconstitu of the
tional, inoperative or void, such holding or invalidity shall not it and t
affect the remaining portions Ff this Act. and pi
that it
Repealing
Section 11. All laws or parts of laws in conflict herewith are to, am
section. hereby repealed.
serious
Effective
date. forest Section 12. This Act shall take effect and become operative ei ' wind
on the 1st day of October, A. D. 1937.
zation
Approved by the Governor May 29, 1937. `
deveh
Filed in Office Secretary of State May 31, 1937 is bei
i that t
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