Singleton v. State

921 P.2d 636, 75 A.L.R. 5th 701, 1996 Alas. App. LEXIS 27, 1996 WL 374077
CourtCourt of Appeals of Alaska
DecidedJuly 5, 1996
DocketA-5578
StatusPublished
Cited by1 cases

This text of 921 P.2d 636 (Singleton v. State) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Court of Appeals of Alaska primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Singleton v. State, 921 P.2d 636, 75 A.L.R. 5th 701, 1996 Alas. App. LEXIS 27, 1996 WL 374077 (Ala. Ct. App. 1996).

Opinion

OPINION

BRYNER, Chief Judge.

Brenda J. Singleton was convicted by a jury of robbery in the second degree, AS 11.41.510(a)(1). On appeal, she argues that the trial court erred in allowing an unqualified person to serve as a juror and that the state failed to preserve exculpatory evidence. We affirm.

Singleton and two codefendants, Dudley Fuqua, Jr., and Tyree McCray, were jointly indicted and tried for robbing Elaine G. Copeland. The robbery occurred outside Copeland’s Anchorage apartment building. Singleton, Fuqua, and McCray — possibly accompanied by two other people — had driven to the building in a white van, ostensibly to enable Singleton to get money that she claimed Copeland owed her. An altercation between Singleton and Copeland ensued, culminating in Singleton forcibly taking a jacket, which had $201 cash in its pocket, from Copeland’s person. After Singleton took the jacket, she, Fuqua and McCray left the area in the van.

The incident was immediately reported to the police by the manager of Copeland’s apartment building. A short time later, the police found the van stopped on a nearby street, with Singleton, Fuqua, McCray, and two or three other people present. Copeland and a friend of her’s who had witnessed the robbery were brought to the scene and identified Singleton, Fuqua, and McCray. They were arrested. Copeland and her friend evidently told the police that the other individuals' present at the arrest scene had not been involved in the incident.

The state brought Singleton, Fuqua and McCray to trial on robbery charges. During the jury selection process, prospective juror Richard Porter disclosed that he had been convicted ten years previously of “felony retail theft” for stealing 52 cartons of cigarettes from a store in Chicago. Porter stated that he had served seventeen days in jail for the offense and had received three years’ probation, which he had successfully completed. Because he never received any formal notice that his civil rights had been restored, Porter had not hunted or voted since his conviction. Porter did not believe the conviction would affect his ability to be fair and impartial.

All parties had the opportunity to question Porter about his prior conviction and his fitness for jury service. All passed him for cause, and none exercised a peremptory challenge.

For the first time on appeal, Singleton questions Porter’s qualifications to serve as a juror. Singleton cites AS 09.20.020(2), which provides that “[a] person is disqualified from serving as a juror if the person ... (2) has been convicted of a felony for which the person has not been unconditionally dis-eharged[.]” Singleton argues that, since Porter’s civil rights had apparently never *638 been restored, he had not been “unconditionally discharged” and therefore did not qualify for jury duty. Singleton insists that, for this reason, the trial court was obligated to strike Porter from the panel sua sponte. Singleton maintains that Porter’s inclusion on the panel violated her right to an impartial jury; she further maintains that she was deprived of due process because she was never personally informed of her right to challenge Porter for cause and did not knowingly waive that right.

Strong authority supports the conclusion that Singleton waived her argument on appeal by failing to exercise a challenge — either for cause or peremptory — after learning of Porter’s potential disability. See United States v. Boney, 977 F.2d 624, 632-34 (D.C.Cir.1992); Sirotiak v. H.C. Price Co., 758 P.2d 1271, 1275 n. 2 (Alaska 1988); Sharp v. State, 837 P.2d 718, 723 (Alaska App.1992). However, we need not decide the issue of waiver, for here the record fails to substantiate Singleton’s claim that Porter was disqualified.

Singleton builds her argument for Porter’s disqualification on the premise that formal restoration of Porter’s civil rights — such as the right to vote or to carry a firearm — was a prerequisite to Porter’s being “unconditionally discharged” from his prior felony conviction, as required under AS 09.20.020(2). However, the juror disqualification statute itself specifies that the term “unconditional discharge has the meaning given in AS 12.55.185.” AS 09.20.020(2). Alaska Statutes 12.55.185 defines the term “unconditional discharge” to mean “that a defendant is released from all disability arising under a sentence, including probation and parole[.]” This definition conditions renewed eligibility for jury service upon release from all restrictions directly imposed “under a sentence,” but not from collateral disabilities — such as loss of firearms or voting privileges — that flow from sources outside the judgment of conviction or sentencing order. Singleton cites no authority to support a departure from the apparent plain meaning of the statutory definition.

Moreover, adopting Singleton’s argument would yield anomalous results. Alaska’s voting laws illustrate the point. Under AS 15.05.030(a), any person convicted of a felony involving moral turpitude loses the right to vote “from the date of the conviction through the date of the unconditional discharge of the person.” For purposes of this provision, the term “unconditional discharge” is defined in AS 15.60.010(33) to mean “that a person is released from all disability arising under a conviction and sentence, including probation and parole[.]” This definition is functionally identical to the definition of the same term set out in AS 12.55.185(12), which AS 09.20.020(2) adopts for purposes of determining juror qualification.

When viewed through the prism of the voting statutes, the flaw in Singleton’s argument becomes apparent. For if, as Singleton argues, the right to vote must be restored as a prerequisite of unconditional discharge, then a person’s right to vote could never be restored: under AS 15.05.030(a) a person who lost the right to vote upon conviction of a felony would be entitled to have that right restored only upon unconditional discharge, but unconditional discharge could occur only upon restoration of the right to vote. Singleton’s definition of unconditional discharge would thus be wholly circular and entirely self-defeating.

We conclude that the definition of “unconditional discharge” set forth in AS 12.55.185 must be interpreted in accordance with the statute’s plain meaning. So interpreted, unconditional discharge requires completion of any sentence of imprisonment, discharge from parole or probation, and release from any other restriction directly imposed as part of the judgment of conviction. Restoration of collaterally affected rights or privileges is not required. 1

Applying this interpretation to Singleton’s case, we conclude that the record *639 fails to support Singleton’s claim that juror Porter was disqualified from jury service under AS 09.20.020(2). Porter’s testimony on voir dire indicated a prior conviction for a felony involving moral turpitude.

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925 P.2d 255 (Court of Appeals of Alaska, 1996)

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921 P.2d 636, 75 A.L.R. 5th 701, 1996 Alas. App. LEXIS 27, 1996 WL 374077, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/singleton-v-state-alaskactapp-1996.