American Samoa Government v. Agasiva

3 Am. Samoa 3d 110
CourtHigh Court of American Samoa
DecidedNovember 15, 1999
DocketCR No 50-99
StatusPublished

This text of 3 Am. Samoa 3d 110 (American Samoa Government v. Agasiva) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering High Court of American Samoa primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
American Samoa Government v. Agasiva, 3 Am. Samoa 3d 110 (amsamoa 1999).

Opinion

ORDER DENYING MOTIONS TO DISMISS COUNT AND SUPPRESS EVIDENCE

Plaintiff American Samoa Government (“ASG”) accuses defendant Michael Agasiva (“Agasiva”) of committing the offenses of disturbing public peace, resisting arrest, and possession of an unlicensed firearm in this action. On October 1, 1999, Agasiva filed three separate motions to: dismiss the charge of public peace disturbance; suppress physical evidence; and suppress statements. The motions were heard on October 10, 1999, with both counsel and Agasiva present. After considering and weighing the evidence and arguments, the court denies all three motions.

Facts

At approximately 2:10 a.m. on July 11, 1999, Special Agent David Snow (“Snow”) and police officer Faimasasa Malaefono (“Malaefono”) responded to a call reporting an indecent exposure at the Krystal Burger restaurant in Nuu'uli. After being directed to Agasiva by some customers, Snow observed that Agasiva’s pants were unbuttoned and unzipped. Snow repeatedly ordered Agasiva to zip his pants before Agasiva complied, and then only after he loudly challenged Snow’s authority. Snow told Agasiva to lower his voice as he was likely disturbing other customers and the staff at the restaurant, but Agasiva only became louder and more belligerent, shouting at one point for his food order. Snow requested Agasiva to be quiet numerous times to no avail and became concerned about the safety of others present, [112]*112particularly the identified informant who called the police.. Then Snow and Malaefono arrested Agasiva for disturbing the peace and to prevent further disturbance. Agasiva physically resisted arrest, and the officers took him down to the ground to subdue and handcuff him.

Agasiva asked about his kingcab pickup. The keys were inside. Snow told Malaefono to take the pickup to the police Substation West. He then drove Agasiva to this substation in the police unit, and Malaefono drove the impounded pickup to the same location. Upon arriving at the station, Malaefono noticed that his flashlight was missing. He reached around the floor of the cab and touched what he thought was the stock of a rifle. Malaefono reported his finding to the watch commander, who instructed him to retrieve this item, which tamed out to be a 30.06 caliber, bolt-action rifle, an illegal firearm.

Upon examining the rifle, Malaefono found a live round in the chamber and three more in the magazine. Concerned about the possible presence of other firearms and ammunition, Malaefono further searched the pickup. He found six more bullets for the rifle in the console. When Snow saw the rifle, he added the weapon possession charge and prepared to question Agasiva. However, Agasiva refused to sign the form advising him of his Miranda rights regarding interrogation, and Snow did not attempt to question Agasiva about the incident then or at any other time before or after the arrest.

Early the next morning, Snow conducted an inventory search of Agasiva’s pickup, pursuant to police policy. Under this policy, an inventory search is done in the vehicle owner’s presence. However, Agasiva refused to witness the search, and the search was then made in the watch commander’s and shift sergeant’s presence. The search yielded one more live round for the rifle in the glove compartment, four ejected shell casings, another live round in the console, and 33 .22 caliber bullets and a spent casing in the cup holder.

Discussion

A. Dismissal on Grounds of Unconstitutional Vagueness and Overbreadth

We first examine whether the public peace disturbance statute, A.S.C.A. § 46.4501(a) (2), under which Agasiva was arrested passes constitutional muster. Agasiva alleges that the law is vague and overly broad, and is thus facially invalid as violative of the constitutional right of free speech under Article I, Section 1 of the Revised Constitution of American Samoa.

The overbreadth doctrine can invalidate laws that chill the exercise of [113]*113free speech. We note that facial invalidation is an extreme remedy, however, one that has been employed by the Supreme Court only sparingly and as a last resort. Broadrick v. Oklahoma, 413 U.S. 601, 613, 37 L. Ed. 830, 841 (1973). “Equally important, overbreadth claims, if entertained at all, have been curtailed when invoked against ordinary criminal laws that are sought to be applied to protected conduct.” Id.

To support an overbreadth claim, Agasiva must show that the instances in which the statute could intrade on free speech are not outweighed by the valid application of the statute. Chicago v. Morales, 527 U.S. 41, 119 S.Ct. 1849, 144 L.Ed.2d 67 (1999). He has not met this burden. First, “even protected speech is not equally permissible in all places and at all times.” Cornelius v. NAACP Legal Defense & Educational Fund, Inc., 473 U.S. 788, 799, 87 L. Ed. 2d 567, 578 (1985). More specifically, the Supreme Court has said that government “has a substantial interest in protecting its citizens from unwelcome noise.” Ward v. Rock Against Racism, 491 U.S. 781, 798, 105 L. Ed. 2d 661, 678 (1989).

Although the statute in question runs the risk of chilling speech, the requirement of “intent to cause public annoyance or alarm, or recklessly creating a risk of it,’ as an element of the offense, saves the statute from facial invalidation. Similar to the narrow tailoring of the statute in Grayned v. City of Rockford, 408 U.S. 104, 33 L. Ed. 2d 222 (1972), this requirement of proof tailors this statute to protect the compelling interest in providing others with peace and quiet. The statute punishes only conduct that is likely to disturb other persons, and of itself is completely content-neutral. Thus, its legitimate application far exceeds any chance of chilling speech.

Furthermore, we hold that the statute does not apply to protest actions, the intent of which is to express a viewpoint rather than to “cause public inconvenience, annoyance, or alarm.” In so judicially limiting the application of the statute to non-protected speech, we cure any residual overbreadth problems. See Eroadrick, 413 U.S. at 613, 37 L. Ed. at 841.

Moving on to vagueness, a statute is unconstitutionally vague if “its prohibitions are not clearly defined.” Grayned, 408 U.S. at 108, 33 L. Ed. 2d at 227. More specifically, if a person of reasonable intelligence cannot determine from the statute what is prohibited, so that he can conform his conduct accordingly, it is impermissibly vague. In addition, the statute must provide explicit standards in order to prevent arbitrary and discriminatory enforcement. Id at 108-109, 227-228.

Agasiva argues that the phrase “unreasonable noise” is not an explicit enough description of prohibited conduct, on the basis that the phrase may mean different things to different people. This assertion fails, [114]*114however, because “unreasonable noise” is an objective, rather than subjective, standard set by community practices. Mathematical precision is not required in defining levels of noise.

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3 Am. Samoa 3d 110, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/american-samoa-government-v-agasiva-amsamoa-1999.