RIVERA-LONGORIA v. Slayton

233 P.3d 658, 224 Ariz. 545, 585 Ariz. Adv. Rep. 54, 2010 Ariz. App. LEXIS 106
CourtCourt of Appeals of Arizona
DecidedJune 29, 2010
Docket1 CA-SA 10-0068
StatusPublished
Cited by1 cases

This text of 233 P.3d 658 (RIVERA-LONGORIA v. Slayton) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Court of Appeals of Arizona primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
RIVERA-LONGORIA v. Slayton, 233 P.3d 658, 224 Ariz. 545, 585 Ariz. Adv. Rep. 54, 2010 Ariz. App. LEXIS 106 (Ark. Ct. App. 2010).

Opinions

OPINION

OROZCO, Judge.

¶ 1 Martin Rivera-Longoria (Petitioner) petitions this Court for special action review of the trial court’s order denying his motion to preclude evidence pursuant to Arizona Rule of Criminal Procedure 15.8.1 For the following reasons, we accept jurisdiction and grant relief.

FACTS AND PROCEDURAL HISTORY

¶ 2 On September 18, 2008, the State indicted Petitioner on one count of child abuse, a class two felony and a dangerous crime against a child. After producing 11442 pages of disclosure to Petitioner, the State offered him a plea of seven years’ imprisonment. The record contains no evidence that when the State offered the plea bargain, it imposed any deadline for accepting the offer. On May 28, 2009, at a change of plea hearing, Petitioner rejected the State’s plea offer. On June 25, 2009, at a Donald hearing,3 Petitioner submitted a signed memorandum expressly stating he understood he was rejecting a seven-year plea offer and was facing the possibility of a ten to twenty-four year term of imprisonment.

¶ 3 Approximately one month after the Donald hearing, Petitioner asked the State whether its plea offer was still available. The deputy county attorney then prosecuting the ease, M.S., replied that the plea offer was still open. She informed Petitioner, however, that if the case did not settle, it would be assigned to a new prosecuting attorney, J.M., [547]*547and the plea offer might not be available. Indeed, after J.M. took over prosecution of the ease on August 31, 2009, the plea offer was withdrawn.

¶ 4 On October 19, 2009, the State provided Petitioner with additional disclosure starting with page 1145. By the date of the petition for special action, the State’s disclosure approached 12,000 pages. On February 5, 2010, Petitioner filed a motion pursuant to Rule 15.8 to preclude any evidence disclosed after July 29, 2009. On March 4, 2010, the trial court held oral argument on Petitioner’s Rule 15.8 motion. The trial court found Rule 15.8 did not apply to the State’s disclosure and denied Petitioner’s motion. Petitioner filed this petition for special action seeking a review of the trial court’s interpretation of Rule 15.8.

JURISDICTION

¶ 5 We have jurisdiction to hear and determine this special action pursuant to Arizona Revised Statutes (A.R.S.) section 12-120.21.A.4 (2003) and Arizona Rule of Procedure for Special Actions 8(a). Special action jurisdiction is highly discretionary and is appropriate when there is “no equally plain, speedy, and adequate remedy by appeal.” Ariz. R.P. Spec. Act. 8(a); State ex rel. Thomas v. Duncan, 216 Ariz. 260, 262, ¶ 4, 165 P.3d 238, 240 (App.2007). We are more inclined to accept special action jurisdiction when “the issue presented is one of first impression, is a purely legal issue, and is of statewide significance.” Levinson v. Jarrett ex rel. County of Maricopa, 207 Ariz. 472, 474, ¶ 4, 88 P.3d 186, 188 (App.2004).

¶ 6 In this case, special action jurisdiction is appropriate because the issue presented is a purely legal issue and is of first impression. Additionally, we have previously accepted special action jurisdiction in cases involving the interpretation of a rule of procedure. See, e.g., Cervantes v. Cates, 206 Ariz. 178, 181, ¶ 8, 76 P.3d 449, 452 (App.2003) (accepting jurisdiction, in part, for interpretation of Rule 15.1). Accordingly, in an exercise of our discretion, we accept special action jurisdiction.

DISCUSSION

¶ 7 Petitioner argues the trial court erred in denying his Rule 15.8 motion. Specifically, Petitioner contends the trial court improperly narrowed Rule 15.8 by defining “deadline” so as to require an expressly stated date accompanying the plea offer. Although we agree a “deadline” is a necessary element of Rule 15.8, we hold the withdrawal of the plea offer in this ease constituted a deadline that triggered Rule 15.8.

¶ 8 We review issues involving the interpretation of court rales de novo and “evaluate procedural rules using principles of statutory construction.” Fragoso v. Fell, 210 Ariz. 427, 430, ¶ 7, 111 P.3d 1027, 1030 (App.2005); see State v. Hansen, 215 Ariz. 287, 289, ¶ 7, 160 P.3d 166, 168 (2007) (principles of statutory construction used to interpret court rales). Additionally, we interpret court rales “in accordance with the intent of the drafters, and we look to the plain language of the ... rule as the best indicator of that intent.” Fragoso, 210 Ariz. at 430, ¶ 7, 111 P.3d at 1030. If the language of a rule is ambiguous, however, we may consider “a variety of elements, including the rule’s context, the language used, the subject matter, the historical background, the effects and consequences, and its spirit and purpose” to determine the drafters’ intent. State ex rel. Romley v. Superior Court, 168 Ariz. 167, 169, 812 P.2d 985, 987 (1991); see Vega v. Sullivan, 199 Ariz. 504, 507, ¶ 8, 19 P.3d 645, 648 (App.2001).

¶ 9 Rule 15.8 provides:

If the prosecution has imposed a plea deadline in a case in which an indictment or information has been filed in Superior Court, but does not provide the defense with material disclosure listed in Rule 15.1(b) at least 30 days prior to the plea deadline, the court, upon motion of the defendant, shall consider the impact of the failure to provide such disclosure on the defendant’s decision to accept or reject a plea offer. If the court determines that the prosecutor’s failure to provide such disclosure materially impacted the defendant’s decision and the prosecutor declines to reinstate the lapsed plea offer, the presumptive minimum sanction shall be pre-[548]*548elusion from admission at trial of any evidence not disclosed at least 30 days prior to the deadline.

Although the term “deadline” is not ambiguous on its face, the context in which it is used in Rule 15.8 makes the Rule susceptible to two competing interpretations. First, Rule 15.8 can be interpreted, as the trial court did, to apply only in a situation in which a plea offer contains an expressly stated termination “deadline.” Alternatively, Rule 15.8 can be interpreted to apply whenever the State withdraws or otherwise terminates a plea offer, regardless of whether the State specified a “deadline” when it originally extended the offer.

¶ 10 We may consult a dictionary when determining the ordinary meaning of a word. Cannon v. Hirsch Law Office, P.C., 222 Ariz. 171, 177, ¶ 19, 213 P.3d 320, 326 (App.2009). “Deadline” is commonly defined as “a date or time before which something must be done.” Merriam-Webster’s Collegiate Dictionary, 319 (11th ed. 2003). Nothing-in this definition, or in Rule 15.8, however, requires a deadline be disclosed prior to its passing.

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RIVERA-LONGORIA v. Slayton
233 P.3d 658 (Court of Appeals of Arizona, 2010)

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Bluebook (online)
233 P.3d 658, 224 Ariz. 545, 585 Ariz. Adv. Rep. 54, 2010 Ariz. App. LEXIS 106, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/rivera-longoria-v-slayton-arizctapp-2010.