North v. Russell

427 U.S. 328, 96 S. Ct. 2709, 49 L. Ed. 2d 534, 1976 U.S. LEXIS 76

• Court: Supreme Court of the United States
• Decided: June 28, 1976
• Docket: 74-1409
• Status: Published

Opinions

Mr. Chief Justice Burger

delivered the opinion of the Court.

The question presented in this case is whether an accused, subject to possible imprisonment, is denied due process when tried before a nonlawyer police court judge with a later trial de novo available under a State's two-tier court system; and whether a State denies equal protection by providing law-trained judges for some police courts and lay judges for others, depending upon the State Constitution's classification of cities according to population.

(1)

Appellant Lonnie North was arrested in Lynch, Ky., on July 10, 1974, and charged with driving while intoxicated in violation of Ky. Rev. Stat. Ann. § 189.520 (2) (1971). If a first offense, a penalty of a fine of from $100 to $500 is provided; if a subsequent offense, the same fine, and imprisonment for not more than six months.¹ Ky. Rev. Stat. Ann. § 189.990 (10) (a) (1971).

Appellant’s trial was scheduled for July 18, 1974, at 7 p. m., before the Lynch City Police Court. Appellee C. B. Russell, who is not a lawyer, was the presiding judge. Appellant’s request for a jury was denied although under Kentucky law he was entitled to a jury trial. Ky. Const. § 11; Ky. Rev. Stat. Ann. §§25.014, 26.400 (1971). Appellant pleaded not guilty. Appellant was found guilty and sentenced to 30 days in jail, a fine of $150, and revocation of his driver’s license.

Section 156 of the Kentucky Constitution requires cities to be classified according to population size. There are six classes of cities: fifth-class cities have a population of between 1,000 and 3,000; sixth-class cities have a population of less than 1,000. Lynch is a fifth-class city. Ky. Rev. Stat. Ann. § 81.010 (5) (1971). A police judge in fifth- and sixth-class cities must by statute be a voter and resident of the city for at least one year and be bonded, Ky. Rev. Stat. Ann. § 26.200 (1971); the police judge in such cities need not be a lawyer. Police judges in first-class cities, which have populations of over 100,000, must have the same qualifications as a circuit judge, who must be at least 35 years of age, a citizen of Kentucky, a two-year resident of the district, and a practicing attorney for eight years.² Ky. Const. § 130; Ky. Rev. Stat. Ann. § 26.140 (1971). Police court judges have terms of four years. In fourth-, fifth-, or sixth-class cities police judges maybe either appointed or elected.³ Ky. Const. § 160.

Police courts have jurisdiction, concurrent with circuit courts, of penal and misdemeanor cases punishable by a fine of not more than $500 and/or imprisonment of not more than 12 months. Ky. Rev. Stat. Ann. § 26.010 (1971). Kentucky has a two-tier misdemeanor court system. An appeal of right is provided from the decision of a police judge to the circuit court where all judges are lawyers, and in that court a jury trial de novo may be had. Ky. Rev. Stat. Ann. § 23.032 (1971); Ky. Rule Crim. Proc. 12.06.

Appellant did not appeal to the Kentucky circuit court for a trial de novo to which he was entitled. After being sentenced by appellee judge, appellant challenged the statutory scheme described above by a writ of habeas corpus in the Harlan County Circuit Court, where he was represented by an attorney. Appellant contended that his federal due process and equal protection rights had been abridged because he had been tried and convicted in a court presided over by a judge without legal training and thus without legal competence. The State Circuit Court issued the writ, granted bail, and held an eviden-tiary hearing.

The Circuit Court noted that appellant was not challenging the adequacy of the proceedings before appellee Bussell, and hence rested on the appellant’s pleadings, which the court found were purposefully limited to the issue whether appellant could be tried before a judge who was not legally trained when persons similarly situated but residing in larger cities would be tried by a judge trained in the law. The Circuit Court denied relief on the basis of the Kentucky Court of Appeals holding in Ditty v. Hampton, 490 S. W. 2d 772 (1972), appeal dismissed, 414 U. S. 885 (1973). The Kentucky Court of Appeals in turn affirmed the denial of relief on the basis of Ditty v. Hampton, supra, noting that appellant could apply for bail in the event of an appeal from the Lynch Police Court judgment. 516 S. W. 2d 103 (1974).

When this ease first came here on appeal we vacated the judgment and remanded it “for further consideration in light of the position presently asserted by the Commonwealth.” 419 U. S. 1085 (1974). The Attorney General of Kentucky in his motion to dismiss or affirm had requested that this Court remand the case to the Kentucky Court of Appeals for consideration of violations of state law based on the suggestion that ap-pellee judge had “mistakenly imposed a sentence of imprisonment upon appellant for a first offense of driving while intoxicated, whereas imprisonment is not an authorized punishment for first offenders . . . .” The Kentucky Attorney General conceded that the writ of habeas corpus should have been granted and requested an opportunity to correct the error.

On remand, however, the Kentucky Court of Appeals declined to decide the case on the state grounds presented by the Attorney General, noting that the federal constitutional issue “was and is the only issue before us.” That court noted that appellant sought only to “test the constitutional status of lay judges in criminal cases.” No. 7¿h-723 (Mar. 21, 1975).

On the second appeal to this Court we noted probable jurisdiction. 422 U. S. 1040 (1975).

(2)

Appellant’s first claim is that when confinement is a possible penalty, a law-trained judge is required by the Due Process Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment whether or not a trial de novo before a lawyer-judge is available.⁴

It must be recognized that there is a wide gap between the functions of a judge of a court of general jurisdiction, dealing with complex litigation, and the functions of a local police court judge trying a typical “drunk” driver case or other trafile violations. However, once it appears that confinement is an available penalty, the process commands scrutiny. See Argersinger v. Hamlin, 407 U. S. 25 (1972).

Appellant argues that the right to counsel articulated in Argersinger v. Hamlin, supra, and Gideon v. Wainwright, 372 U. S. 335 (1963), is meaningless without a lawyer-judge to understand the arguments of counsel. Appellant also argues that the increased complexity of substantive and procedural criminal law requires that all judges now be lawyers in order to be able to rule correctly on the intricate issues lurking even in some simple misdemeanor cases. In the context of the Kentucky procedures, however, it is unnecessary to reach the question whether a defendant could be convicted and imprisoned after a proceeding in which the only trial afforded is conducted by a lay judge. In all instances, a defendant in Kentucky facing a criminal sentence is afforded an opportunity to be tried de novo in a court presided over by a lawyer-judge since an appeal automatically vacates the conviction in police court. Ky. Rev. Stat. Ann. §23.032 (1971); Ky. Rule Crim. Proc. 12.06. The trial de novo is available after either a trial or a plea of guilty in the police court; a defendant is entitled to bail while awaiting the trial de novo. 516 S. W. 2d 103 (1974).

It is obvious that many defendants charged with a traffic violation or other misdemeanor may be uncoun-seled when they appear before the police court. They may be unaware of their right to a de novo trial after a judgment is entered since the decision is likely to be prompt. We assume that police court judges recognize their obligation under Argersinger v. Hamlin, supra, to inform defendants of their right to a lawyer if a sentence of confinement is to be imposed. The appellee judge testified that informing defendants of a right to counsel was “the standard procedure.” App. 32. We also assume that police court judges in Kentucky recognize their obligation to inform all convicted defendants, including those who waived counsel or for whom imprisonment was not imposed, of their unconditional right to a trial de novo and of the necessity that an “appeal” be filed within 30 days in order to implement that right. Ky. Rule Crim. Proc. 12.04.

In Colten v. Kentucky, 407 U. S. 104 (1972), we considered Kentucky’s two-tier system there challenged on other grounds. We noted:

“The right to a new trial is absolute. A defendant need not allege error in the inferior court proceeding. If he seeks a new trial, the Kentucky statutory scheme contemplates that the slate be wiped clean. Ky. Rule Crim. Proc. 12.06. Prosecution and defense begin anew. . . . The case is to be regarded exactly as if it had been brought there in the first instance.” Id., at 113.

We went on to note that the justifications urged by States for continuing such tribunals⁵ are the “increasing burdens on state judiciaries” and the “interest of both the defendant and the State, to provide speedier and less costly adjudications” than those provided in courts “where the full range of constitutional guarantees is available . . . Id., at 114. Moreover, state policy takes into account that it is a convenience to those charged to be tried in or near their own community, rather than travel to a distant court where a law-trained judge is provided, and to have the option, as here, of a trial after regular business hours. We took note of these practical considerations in Colten:

“We are not persuaded, however, that the Kentucky arrangement for dealing with the less serious offenses disadvantages defendants any more or any less than trials conducted in a court of general jurisdiction in the first instance, as long as the latter are always available. Proceedings in the inferior courts are simple and speedy, and, if the results in Colten’s case are any evidence, the penalty is not characteristically severe. Such proceedings offer a defendant the opportunity to learn about the prosecution's case and, if he chooses, he need not reveal his own. He may also plead guilty without a trial and promptly secure a de novo trial in a court of general criminal jurisdiction.” Id., at 118-119.

Under Ward v. Village of Monroeville, 409 U. S. 57, 61-62 (1972), appellant argues that he is entitled to a lawyer-judge in the first instance. There the judge was also mayor and the village received a substantial portion of its income from fines imposed by him as judge. Similarly in Tumey v. Ohio, 273 U. S. 510 (1927), the challenge was directed not at the training or education of the judge but at his possible bias due to interest in the outcome of the case, because as in Mon-roeville he was both mayor and judge and received a portion of his compensation directly from the fines. Financial interest in the fines was thought to risk a possible bias in finding guilt and fixing the amount of fines, and • the. Court found that potential for bias impermissible.

Under the Kentucky system, as we noted in Colten, a defendant can have an initial trial before a lawyer-judge by pleading guilty in the police court, thus bypassing that court and seeking the de novo trial, “erasing . . . any consequence that would otherwise follow from tendering the [guilty] plea.” 407 U. S., at 119-120.

Our concern in prior cases with judicial functions being performed by nonjudicial officers has also been directed at the need for independent, neutral, and detached judgment, not at legal training. See Coolidge v. New Hampshire, 403 U. S. 443, 449-453 (1971). See also, e. g., Whiteley v. Warden, 401 U. S. 560, 564 (1971); Katz v. United States, 389 U. S. 347, 356 (1967); Wong Sun v. United States, 371 U. S. 471, 481-482 (1963). Yet cases such as Shadwick v. City of Tampa, 407 U. S. 345 (1972), are relevant; lay magistrates and other judicial officers empowered to issue warrants must deal with evaluation of such legal concepts as probable cause and the sufficiency of warrant affidavits. Indeed, in Shadwick the probable-cause evaluation made by the lay magistrate related to a charge of “impaired driving.” ⁶

(3)

Appellant’s second claim is that Kentucky’s constitutional provisions classifying cities by population and its statutory provisions permitting lay judges to preside in some cities while requiring law-trained judges in others denies him the equal protection guaranteed by the Fourteenth Amendment. However, all people within a given city and within cities of the same size are treated equally.

The Kentucky Court of Appeals in Ditty v. Hampton, supra, articulated reasons for the differing qualifications of police court judges in cities of different size:

“1. The greater volume of court business in the larger cities requires that judges be attorneys to enable the courts to operate efficiently and expeditiously (not necessarily with more fairness and impartiality).

“2. Lawyers with whom to staff the courts are more available in the larger cities.

“3. The larger cities have greater financial resources with which to provide better qualified personnel and better facilities for the courts.” 490 S. W. 2d, at 776.

That court then noted: “That population and area factors may justify classifications within a court system has long been recognized.” Id., at 776-777. The Court of Appeals relied upon Missouri v. Lewis, 101 (1880), which held that as long as all people within the classified area are treated equally:

“Each State . . . may establish one system of courts for cities and another for rural districts, one system for one portion of its territory and another system for another portion. Convenience, if not necessity, often requires this to be done, and it would seriously interfere with the power of a State to regulate its internal affairs to deny to it this right.” Id., at 30-31.

See generally Salsburg v. Maryland, 346 U. S. 545 (1954); Fay v. New York, 332 U. S. 261 (1947); Manes v. Goldin, 400 F. Supp. 23 (EDNY 1975) (three-judge court), summarily aff’d, 423 U. S. 1068 (1976).

We conclude that the Kentucky two-tier trial court system with lay judicial officers in the first tier in smaller cities and an appeal of right with a de novo trial before a traditionally law-trained judge in the second does not violate either the due process or equal protection guarantees of the Constitution of the United States; accordingly the judgment before us is

Affirmed.

Me. Justice Brennan concurs in the result.

Mr. Justice Stevens took no part in the consideration or decision of this case.

1 The offense now carries the same monetary fine schedule, but a second offense now requires imprisonment for not less than three days and not more than six months; any subsequent offense requires imprisonment for not less than 30 days and not more than 12 months. Ky. Rev. Stat. Ann. § 189.990 (9) (a) (Supp. 1974).

2 A second-class city (population 20,000-100,000) police judge must be at least 25, a resident of the city for four years, and an attorney at law. Ky. Rev. Stat. Ann. §26.150 (Supp. 1974). A third-class city (population 8,000-20,000) and a fourth-class city (population 3,000-8,000) police judge must be at least 24 and a city resident. Ky. Rev. Stat. Ann. §26.190 (1971).

3 The General Assembly of the Commonwealth of Kentucky at its 1974 session, by Senate Bill 183, enacted an Act proposing an amendment to the Kentucky Constitution relating to the judicial branch of government. On November 4, 1975, the Kentucky voters ratified the judicial amendment to the Kentucky Constitution, effective January 1, 1976. It provides, in part, that by January 1, 1978, all the county, quarterly, justice of the peace, and police courts will be combined into one district court in each of the 120 counties. These counties are to be allocated among 55 districts and each district is to elect at least one district judge who must be an attorney licensed in Kentucky. A district judge in multieounty districts must appoint a trial commissioner for each county in which no district judge resides. The commissioner must be an attorney if one is qualified and available. The commissioner will have the power to perform such duties of the district court as may be prescribed by the Kentucky Supreme Court.

The case is not mooted by this judicial amendment since the police courts will continue to function as challenged until January 1, 1978, and since the new amendment still permits nonlawyer judges to sit. These judges may have power to impose prison sentences if the Kentucky Supreme Court so provides.

4 Article III of the United States Constitution, of course, unlike provisions of some state constitutions, see, e. g., N. Y. Const., Art. 6, § 20 (a); S. D. Const., Art. 5, §§ 10, 25, is silent as to any requirement that judges of the United States’ courts, including Justices of the Supreme Court, be lawyers or “learned in the law.” We note that in excess of 95% of all criminal cases in England are tried before lay judicial officers. See D. Karlen, Judicial Administration: The American Experience 32 (1970); H. Abraham, The Judicial Process 246-247, and n. 4 (2d ed. 1968). We also note that many of the States in the United States which utilize nonlawyer judges provide mandatory or voluntary training programs, see, e. g., Iowa Code Ann. §602.50 (6) (1975); La. Rev. Stat. Ann. §49:251.1 (Supp. 1976); Miss. Code Ann. §§ 7-5-59, 9-11-3 (1972); Mont. Rev. Codes Ann. § 93-401 (Supp. 1975); Nev. Rev. Stat. § 5.026 (1973); N. Y. Uniform Justice Court Act § 105 (Supp. 1975-1976); N. C. Sess. Laws, c. 956, §11 (1975); N. D. Cent. Code §27-18-08 (Interim Supp. 1975); Pa. Stat. Ann., Tit. 42, §1214 (Supp. 1976-1977); Utah Code Ann. § 78-5-27 (Supp. 1975); and training manuals, see, e. g., G. Brownlee, The Montana Justice of the Peace and Police Judge (1970). The brief of amicus curiae New York State Association of Magistrates informs us that, of the States that have nonlawyer judges, Delaware, Florida, Idaho, Iowa, Mississippi, Montana, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, North Dakota, Pennsylvania, Texas, Utah, Washington, West Virginia, and Wyoming have mandatory training programs, and Alaska, Georgia, Kansas, Louisiana, Missouri, Nevada, New Hamsphire, Oregon, South Carolina, Tennessee, Vermont, and Wisconsin have voluntary training programs.

5 We observed in Colten v. Kentucky that in the first-tier tribunals, “[s]ome [States], including Kentucky, do not record proceedings and the judges may not be trained for their positions either by experience or schooling.” 407 U. S., at 114. We took note of the Kentucky Court of Appeals' comment that “ 'the inferior courts are not designed or equipped to conduct error-free trials, or to insure full recognition of constitutional freedoms. They are courts of convenience, to provide speedy and inexpensive means of disposition of charges of minor offenses.’ Colten v. Commonwealth, 467 S. W. 2d, at 379.” Id., at 117.

6 In Shadwick we cautioned:

“[0]ur federal system warns of converting desirable practice into constitutional commandment. It recognizes in plural and diverse state activities one key to national innovation and vitality. States are entitled to some flexibility and leeway . . . .” 407 U. S., at 353-354.