Ex Parte: N. Vernon Hawthorne. Ex Parte: Dan J. Mahoney.

Summary

The Florida Supreme Court held that the statutory prohibition on publishing charges against candidates within eighteen days of a primary election does not apply to radio speeches or newspaper reports of those speeches, and therefore the informations against Hawthorne and Mahoney were invalid, resulting in their discharge. The Court reasoned that the statute targets only written or visual charges not previously served on the candidate and is a permissible exercise of the state's police power, not a violation of free speech or due process. A concurring justice disagreed, finding the statute unconstitutionally vague and overbroad, but joined the judgment of discharge.