## Facts

- A Broward County grand jury indicted William C. Egan, a public office-holder, in three counts for the common-law offense of nonfeasance (misconduct through failure to perform official duties).
- The prosecution relied on § 775.01, Florida Statutes (1971), which provided that English common law relating to crimes remained in force in Florida where no statute addressed the subject (except as to punishment).
- Egan moved to dismiss, arguing § 775.01 was unconstitutionally vague and ambiguous under the Florida Constitution.
- The county court granted the motion, held § 775.01 unconstitutional under sections 9 and 16 of the Florida Constitution, and also reasoned that the statute was obsolete.
- The State took a direct appeal to the Florida Supreme Court because the order passed on the validity of a state statute.

## Issues

1. Whether § 775.01’s incorporation of English common-law crimes is so vague and indefinite that it violates due process by failing to provide adequate notice of what conduct is criminal.
2. Whether § 775.01 is invalid because the supposed need for common-law crimes has ended, rendering the statute obsolete.

## Decision

- The Florida Supreme Court quashed the order invalidating § 775.01 and remanded for further proceedings.
- The court held § 775.01 is constitutional and remains a valid incorporation of English common-law crimes in Florida where no statute governs.
- The court rejected both the vagueness and obsolescence rationales relied on by the trial court.

## Legal Principles

- Where statutory language is plain, courts apply it according to its terms without additional construction.
- A statute incorporating English common-law crimes where no statute exists is not unconstitutionally vague when it provides a clear directive to an ascertainable body of law defining offenses.
- The continued existence or abolition of common-law crimes adopted by statute is a legislative judgment; courts may not invalidate the adoption statute merely because they view common-law crimes as outdated.
- English common law, as incorporated by Florida statute and not modified or superseded by legislation, may supply prosecutable criminal offenses in the absence of an applicable Florida criminal statute.

## Conclusion

The court upheld Florida’s statutory adoption of English common-law crimes, ruling that § 775.01 provides constitutionally sufficient notice and cannot be judicially discarded as obsolete; the prosecution could proceed on the common-law theory where no controlling statute applied.


State v. Egan, 287 So. 2d 1 (Fla. 1973)