Government of the Virgin Islands v. David

20 V.I. 259, 1984 WL 998917, 1984 V.I. LEXIS 20
CourtSupreme Court of The Virgin Islands
DecidedFebruary 3, 1984
DocketCriminal No. 323/1983; Criminal No. 359/1983
StatusPublished
Cited by4 cases

This text of 20 V.I. 259 (Government of the Virgin Islands v. David) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Supreme Court of The Virgin Islands primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Government of the Virgin Islands v. David, 20 V.I. 259, 1984 WL 998917, 1984 V.I. LEXIS 20 (virginislands 1984).

Opinion

MEYERS, Judge

MEMORANDUM OPINION AND ORDER

I. INTRODUCTION

These two separate actions, which are consolidated solely for purposes of this decision, are before the Court on each of the respective Defendant’s motion to dismiss Counts II and III of the complaint, pursuant to Rule 12(b)(2), Federal Rules of Criminal Procedure, on the ground that they are fatally defective.1 The Government, as usual, did not respond t‘o the motions. For the reasons set forth below, the Defendants’ motion to dismiss Counts II and III of the complaint will be granted.

FACTS

A. Defendant David — Criminal No. 323/1983

On September 13, 1983, the Government of the Virgin Islands (Government) filed a three-count complaint against Defendant Lloyd David, charging him with Malicious Destruction of Property in violation of 14 V.I.C. § 1266 (Count I), Aggravated Assault and Battery in violation of 14 V.I.C. § 298(1) (Count II), and Interfering with an Officer Discharging his Duty in violation of 14 V.I.C. § 1508 (Count III). On January 13, 1984, defendant David filed the instant motion to dismiss Counts II and III of the complaint on the ground that they were fatally defective. In those counts, the Government charged that defendant David on or about the 23rd day of August, 1983, in St. Thomas

Count II: Did knowingly assault a police officer, Detective Daniel Liburd, in violation of 14 V.I.C. § 298(1).2
[262]*262Count III: Did resist arrest and obstruct police officers Sgt. J. Gifft and Det. Daniel Liburd, in violation of 14 V.I.C. § 1508.3

B. Defendant Francis — Criminal No. 359/83

With respect to Defendant Adrian Francis, the Government, on October 13, 1983, filed a three-count complaint charging him with Aggravated Assault and Battery in violation of 14 V.I.C. § 298(1) (Count I); Interfering with Officer Discharging his Duty in violation of 14 V.I.C. § 1508 (Count II); and Disturbing the Peace in violation of 14 V.I.C. § 622. On January 12, 1984, defendant Francis filed the instant motion to dismiss Counts II and III of the complaint on the ground that they were fatally defective. In those counts, the Government charged that defendant Francis on or about the 30th day of September, 1983, in St. Thomas/St. John did:

Count II: Willfully resisted, delayed and obstructed Officer E. Prescod in the discharge or attempt to discharge the duties of his office in violation of 14 V.I.C. § 1508.4
Count III: Disturbed the Peace of Mary Davidow and George Sandlog by his tumultuous offensive conduct, threatening and challenging to fight in violation of 14 V.I.C. § 622.5
III. DISCUSSION

Rule 7(c), Federal Rules of Criminal Procedure, states in pertinent part that “[t]he indictment or the information shall be a plain, concise, and definite written statement of the essential facts constituting the offense charged.”

[263]*263The defendant in each case filed a motion to dismiss Counts II and III of their respective complaints on the ground that these counts “merely recite the [statutory language of the] crimes the Defendants are] charged with, not giving the slightest hint as to the specific alleged conduct on the part of the defendants], as is constitutionally required.” The Court agrees.

The United States Supreme Court has repeatedly emphasized two of the protections which an indictment, information or complaint is intended to guarantee reflected by two criteria by which the sufficiency of the indictment, information, or complaint is to be measured. These criteria are: (1) that the indictment, information, or complaint contains all the elements of the offense charged and sufficiently apprises the defendant of what he must be prepared to meet, and (2) that in the event subsequent actions are brought against the defendant for a similar offense, the record shows with accuracy the extent to which he may plead a former acquittal or conviction. Hamling v. United States, 418 U.S. 87, 117 (1974); Russell v. United States, 369 U.S. 749, 763-64 (1962).

In the instant case, the complaints fail to meet those standards. In the case involving defendant David, for example, Count II, charging Aggravated Assault and Battery, omitted two of the essential elements of the crime. First, there is no allegation that it was known or declared to the defendant that the person assaulted was a police officer, and, second, that said officer was lawfully discharging the duties of his office. Additionally, Count II failed to specify which way, of the many conceivable ways that exist, the defendant committed the alleged assault, e.g., kicking, slapping, spitting or punching, or shooting the police officer, etcetera. Likewise, with respect to Count III, the Government has failed to include two essential elements of the offense of resisting arrest. First, there is no allegation that the defendant’s alleged actions were willful as required by the statute, and, second that these police officers were lawfully discharging or attempting to discharge the duties of their office. Additionally, the Government failed to specify the manner in which the defendant resisted arrest and obstructed the officers. The Court, therefore, concludes that these counts are fatally defective and must be dismissed.

Similarly, in the case involving defendant Francis, the counts in question, although parroting the language of the statutory sections, are also fatally defective. For example, Count II again failed to specify which of the many possible ways the defendant re[264]*264sisted arrest and obstructed the police officer from discharging his official duties. Count III is also defective in that it merely uses generic terms without any specification as to how the defendant disturbed the peace of the complainants.

It is an elementary principle of criminal pleading that, where the definition of an offense, whether it be at common law or by statute, ‘includes generic terms, it is not sufficient that the indictment shall charge the offense in the same generic terms as in the definition; but it must state the species, — it must descend to particulars’.

Russell v. United States, supra, at 765, quoting, United States v. Cruikshank, 92 U.S. 542, 548.

Without any factual statements as to their alleged misconduct, these defendants are not being apprised of what they must be prepared to defend against. Secondly, such ambiguous and vague charges, as presented in these complaints, effectively preclude the defendants from being in a position to plead a former acquittal or conviction as a bar to a later prosecution for the same or a lesser-included offense. Such a result is contrary to our constitutional principles and is impermissible.

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Related

Murrell v. Government of the Virgin Islands
51 V.I. 1095 (Virgin Islands, 2009)
Government of the Virgin Islands v. Lewis
38 V.I. 101 (Supreme Court of The Virgin Islands, 1998)
Government of the Virgin Islands v. Smalls
32 V.I. 157 (Supreme Court of The Virgin Islands, 1995)

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Bluebook (online)
20 V.I. 259, 1984 WL 998917, 1984 V.I. LEXIS 20, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/government-of-the-virgin-islands-v-david-virginislands-1984.