State v. City Court of Tucson

760 P.2d 599, 157 Ariz. 599, 6 Ariz. Adv. Rep. 60, 1988 Ariz. App. LEXIS 93
CourtCourt of Appeals of Arizona
DecidedApril 19, 1988
DocketNos. 2 CA-CV 87-0351, 2 CA-CV 87-0353
StatusPublished
Cited by3 cases

This text of 760 P.2d 599 (State v. City Court of Tucson) 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
State v. City Court of Tucson, 760 P.2d 599, 157 Ariz. 599, 6 Ariz. Adv. Rep. 60, 1988 Ariz. App. LEXIS 93 (Ark. Ct. App. 1988).

Opinion

OPINION

ROLL, Judge.

In these unrelated cases, the state appeals the decisions of two Tucson city magistrates granting jury trials for two defendants charged with misdemeanor possession of marijuana. For the reasons set forth below, we conclude that the possibility of six months’ incarceration and/or a $1000 fine as punishment for the class 1 misdemeanor of unlawful possession of marijuana does not require a trial by jury.

FACTS

1. Marvin Littles (Cause No. 245298, 2 CA-CV 87-0353)

On August 29, 1987, Marvin Littles was arrested for drinking in public in Tucson, Arizona. A police officer found a baggie of marijuana and some rolling papers in .Littles’ pocket. Littles was cited for unlawful possession of marijuana pursuant to A.R.S. § 13-3405 and for drinking in public, a violation of A.R.S. § 4-244, both misdemeanor charges. On September 8, 1987, over the state’s objection, a city magistrate set the matter for a jury trial to commence December 3, 1987.

2. Timothy Haring (Cause No. 245299, 2 CA-CV 87-0351)

On August 19, 1987, Haring was arrested by Tucson police officers after the police learned that Haring was named in outstanding misdemeanor warrants for: (1) driving under the influence of intoxicating liquor (DUI); (2) driving while having a blood alcohol content of more than .10%; and (3) failure to appear regarding the preceding charges. The arrest resulted in the discovery of marijuana, and Haring was charged with unlawful possession of marijuana, a class 1 misdemeanor. On August 20, 1987, the city magistrate set the matter for jury trial.

The state filed petitions for special action in both matters and relief was denied. These consolidated appeals followed.

ISSUES ON APPEAL

The sole issue on appeal is whether Lit-tles and Haring are entitled to jury trials for their respective misdemeanor charges of possession of marijuana.

DISCUSSION

Unlawful possession of marijuana may be either a class 6 felony or a class 1 misdemeanor. The parties to this appeal agree that the charges against Littles and Haring are class 1 misdemeanors.1 A class 1 misdemeanor is punishable by up to 6 months’ incarceration and/or a $1000 fine. A.R.S. § 13-802(A).

In Duncan v. Louisiana, 391 U.S. 145, 88 S.Ct. 1444, 20 L.Ed.2d 491 (1968), the Supreme Court held that the Sixth Amendment, as applied to the states through the Fourteenth Amendment, requires that persons accused of serious crimes be afforded the right to trial by jury and reaffirmed the wellestablished rule that petty offenses [601]*601may be tried without a jury. In determining whether an offense is a petty offense, both the maximum possible period of imprisonment and the maximum possible fine must be considered.

The Supreme Court has announced that “no offense can be deemed ‘petty’ for purposes of the right to trial by jury where imprisonment for more than six months is authorized.” Baldwin v. New York, 399 U.S. 66, 69, 90 S.Ct. 1886, 1888, 26 L.Ed.2d 437, 440 (1970) (footnote omitted). However, the Supreme Court has declined to state precisely when a potential fine renders an offense “serious” such that the matter must be tried to a jury. Muniz v. Hoffman, 422 U.S. 454, 477, 95 S.Ct. 2178, 2191, 45 L.Ed.2d 319, 335 (1975).

Until 1984, federal law provided that the maximum punishment for a petty offense was a $500 fine and/or six months’ imprisonment. 18 U.S.C. § 1(3). In United States v. Hamdan, 552 F.2d 276 (9th Cir.1977), the Ninth Circuit stated that “[i]t is not unrealistic to treat any fine in excess of $500 as a serious matter to all individuals____” Id. at 280. However, in a footnote, the court stated:

The value of money changes; of course, as does the wealth of the economy. But Congress can be expected to adjust the monetary standard of [18 U.S.C.] section 1(3) so that it will continue to represent a fair judgment as to the appropriate line between petty and serious offenses.
Whether [18 U.S.C.] § 1(3) reflects an appropriate referent in determining the constitutional standard in light of future changes in the value of money or in future amendments of the statute will, of course, remain a question for the courts to determine. (Citation omitted.)

552 F.2d at 280 n. 3. Our supreme court has previously rejected the Ninth Circuit’s pronouncement in Hamdan that offenses punishable by more than a $500 fine must be tried to a jury, concluding that Hamdan was based upon 18 U.S.C. § 1(3). State ex rel. Baumert v. Superior Court, 127 Ariz. 152, 155, 618 P.2d 1078, 1081 (1980).

In 1984, Congress raised the maximum fine for petty offenses from $500 to $5000. Criminal Fine Enforcement Act of 1984, Pub.L. No. 98-596, § 8, 98 Stat. 3134, 3138 (1984).

Haring and Littles argue that the recent Ninth Circuit decision of Rife v. Godbehere, 814 F.2d 563, amended 825 F.2d 185 (9th Cir.1987) stands for the proposition that an offense punishable by a $1000 fine is a serious offense requiring a jury trial. Rife was denied a jury trial after being charged with three counts of unlawful use of a telephone to terrify, intimidate, threaten, annoy, or harrass in violation of A.R.S. § 13-2916, a class 1 misdemeanor. Rife filed a habeas corpus petition, claiming that his constitutional right to a jury trial had been denied. The Ninth Circuit held: “Rife was charged with a Class I misdemeanor, punishable by up to a $1,000 fine. Ariz. Rev.Stat.Ann. § 13-802(A). Therefore, the crime charged was serious, and he was entitled to a jury trial.” Id., 814 F.2d at 565. The Ninth Circuit later concluded in its amended opinion that the 1984 amendment to 18 U.S.C. § 1(3) was irrelevant to its decision since Rife committed the offenses before the federal petty offense maximum fine was increased from $500 to $5000. Id., 825 F.2d at 185.

The matters before us, of course, arose after the 1984 amendment to 18 U.S.C. § 1(3).

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Related

State v. Harrison
792 P.2d 779 (Court of Appeals of Arizona, 1990)
State Ex Rel. Dean v. Dolny
778 P.2d 1193 (Arizona Supreme Court, 1989)

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Bluebook (online)
760 P.2d 599, 157 Ariz. 599, 6 Ariz. Adv. Rep. 60, 1988 Ariz. App. LEXIS 93, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/state-v-city-court-of-tucson-arizctapp-1988.