City of Roswell v. Hancock

1998 NMCA 130, 967 P.2d 449, 126 N.M. 109
CourtNew Mexico Court of Appeals
DecidedJuly 7, 1998
DocketNo. 18531
StatusPublished
Cited by3 cases

This text of 1998 NMCA 130 (City of Roswell v. Hancock) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering New Mexico Court of Appeals primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
City of Roswell v. Hancock, 1998 NMCA 130, 967 P.2d 449, 126 N.M. 109 (N.M. Ct. App. 1998).

Opinion

OPINION

DONNELLY, J.

{1} Appellant appeals from a judgment convicting him of maintaining unsanitary or hazardous premises, contrary to Roswell, N.M., Ordinance Section 19-6 (Supp. Nos. 2 & 10). On appeal we consider Appellant’s (1) claim of double jeopardy based upon a prior dismissal and a prior acquittal in separate proceedings involving the same charges, (2) defense of collateral estoppel, (3) claim of insufficiency of the evidence, and (4) challenge to the constitutionality of the city ordinance. For the reasons discussed herein, we affirm.

FACTS AND PROCEDURAL POSTURE

{2} Appellant has been charged with violation of the same City of Roswell (City) ordinance on two prior occasions. On February 24, 1994, he was charged with “unsanitary premises” by criminal complaint filed in the municipal court. Appellant was convicted of maintaining unsanitary premises in the municipal court on April 12, 1994. Appellant appealed that conviction to the district court. There, the charges were dismissed at the request of the City in July 1994. On November 16, 1995, the City filed two criminal complaints against Appellant charging him with “unsanitary premises; abandonment of dangerous containers.” The municipal court found Appellant guilty as charged on July 2, 1996. Appellant again appealed the convictions to the district court. On appeal Appellant was found not guilty in a judgment and order entered September 25,1996.

{3} On September 17, 1996, Appellant was charged a third time with violating City Ordinance Section 19-6, and he was also charged with abandonment of dangerous containers. He was convicted in municipal court of violating both code provisions and following another appeal to the district court, he was convicted and found guilty of maintaining unsanitary premises but acquitted of the charge of abandonment of dangerous containers. The district court, in an order entered on April 18, 1997, directed Appellant to remove the solid waste and inoperable vehicles located on his property within sixty days and to pay mandatory court costs.

CLAIM OF DOUBLE JEOPARDY

{4} Appellant contends his conviction of violating City Ordinance Section 19-6 is barred under the United States and New Mexico constitutional provisions which prohibit multiple prosecutions on double jeopardy grounds. See U.S. Const, amends. V and XIV; N.M. Const, art. II, § 15. He argues that the dismissal of a similar charge in 1994 and his subsequent acquittal in the spring of 1996 of violating City Ordinance Section 19-6 preclude his prosecution a third time by the City for violation of the same ordinance.

{5} Appellant correctly notes that state and federal constitutional prohibitions against double jeopardy apply to prosecutions for violation of municipal ordinances. See City of Cedar Falls v. Flett, 330 N.W.2d 251, 257 (Iowa 1983) (protection against double jeopardy precludes municipality imposing multiple punishments for same offense). However, the defense of double jeopardy does not apply to successive prosecutions where there has been a significant time lapse between a prior alleged violation and a distinct criminal act. See Swafford v. State, 112 N.M. 3, 11-12, 810 P.2d 1223, 1231-32 (1991); State v. Pisio, 119 N.M. 252, 260-61, 889 P.2d 860, 868-69 (Ct.App.1994). As observed in Swafford, the Double Jeopardy Clause protects against a second prosecution for the same offense after acquittal, protects against a second prosecution for the same offense after conviction, and protects against multiple punishments for the same offense. See Swafford, 112 N.M. at 7, 810 P.2d at 1227. However, double jeopardy will not bar successive prosecutions when the time span between, and other circumstances surrounding, the two instances of conduct show sufficient distinctness between the acts charged. See id. at 13, 810 P.2d at 1233 (“[I]f the defendant commits two discrete acts violative of the same statutory offense, but separated by sufficient indicia of distinctness, ... [the] court may impose separate ... punishments].]”); see also State v. Handa, 120 N.M. 38, 43, 897 P.2d 225, 230 (Ct.App.1995) (factors in determining whether acts are separate and distinct include, among other things, the time between the alleged criminal acts).

{6} Roswell City Ordinance Section 19-6 provides in applicable part:

(a) It shall be unlawful for any person to permit or cause to remain in or about his premises any solid waste, automobiles not in operating condition, waste water or any conglomeration or residue thereof, which emits odors or serves as a feeding or breeding place for flies, insects or rodents and which, in the opinion of the sanitation officer, is unsanitary or injurious to public health.
(b) The accumulation of building materials, pipes, lumber or boxes may be maintained on such premises if such accumulation is evenly piled and stacked for a reasonable length of time to be determined by the sanitation officer.
(c) It shall be unlawful for any person to permit, in or about his premises any solid waste to become in any way hazardous or injurious to public health or to obstruct pedestrian traffic.

{7} In City of Cleveland v. Fogos, 103 Ohio App.3d 39, 658 N.E.2d 789, 794 (Ohio Ct.App.1995), the court considered a similar argument to that raised by Appellant here. In Fogos the defendant was charged with successive violations of a city zoning ordinance restricting the use of a vacant lot as a parking lot without complying with zoning requirements and city approval. Id. at 790. The defendant moved for a judgment of acquittal on the ground that he had previously been prosecuted and acquitted for the same offense involving a claim of illegal parking on the same property. Id. The motion was denied and, on appeal, the Court of Appeals affirmed the defendant’s conviction, stating that “the city’s right to protect the safety and health of its citizens should not be hampered by a creative legal fiat that might endanger the lives of the populace. The Double Jeopardy Clause does not create an implied immunity for a continuous violation....” Id. at 794. The court also determined that “[because the ordinances were enacted to promote health, safety, morals and general welfare of the public, ... enforcement [of such ordinances] must be continuous to effectuate their purpose.” Id. at 791. See also Nesby v. City of Montgomery, 652 So.2d 784, 788-90 (Ala.Crim.App.1994) (double jeopardy did not preclude prosecution, even though defendant had previously been prosecuted for violation of same ordinance where, under ordinance, presence of junk vehicles in yard was a continuing offense).

{8} Here, it is clear that the initial charge against Appellant alleged that he maintained unsanitary premises on January 20, 1994. The second charge alleged that Appellant was guilty of violating the same ordinance on January 6, 1995. Violation of the same ordinance giving rise to the present appeal was alleged to have occurred on September 17, 1996, more than twenty months after the earlier offense alleged in 1995.

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Bluebook (online)
1998 NMCA 130, 967 P.2d 449, 126 N.M. 109, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/city-of-roswell-v-hancock-nmctapp-1998.