State v. Conlin

832 P.2d 225, 171 Ariz. 572, 114 Ariz. Adv. Rep. 24, 1992 Ariz. App. LEXIS 160
CourtCourt of Appeals of Arizona
DecidedJune 4, 1992
DocketNo. 1 CA-CR 90-1442
StatusPublished
Cited by5 cases

This text of 832 P.2d 225 (State v. Conlin) 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. Conlin, 832 P.2d 225, 171 Ariz. 572, 114 Ariz. Adv. Rep. 24, 1992 Ariz. App. LEXIS 160 (Ark. Ct. App. 1992).

Opinion

OPINION

TOCI, Judge.

The state appealed the trial court’s order that Patrick Louis Conlin (“defendant”) pay his fine and felony assessment to the state’s general fund instead of the drug enforcement account as mandated by Ariz. Rev.Stat.Ann. (“A.R.S.”) section 13-811(C) (1989). The trial court based its ruling on Tumey v. Ohio, 273 U.S. 510, 47 S.Ct. 437, 71 L.Ed. 749 (1927), and held that the statutory scheme in A.R.S. section 13-811(C) violated a defendant’s due process right to a fair and impartial trial. We disagree. Therefore, we reverse the ruling below and direct that the defendant pay his fine and surcharge to the drug and gang enforcement account as directed by statute.

ISSUE PRESENTED

Does A.R.S. section 13-811(C), which provides for payment of fines for drug-related offenses to the drug enforcement fund, violate a criminal defendant’s due process right to a fair and impartial adjudication of guilt when the sentencing judge’s court is funded in part with monies from the drug enforcement fund?

FACTUAL BACKGROUND AND PROCEDURAL HISTORY

Pursuant to a plea agreement, the defendant pled guilty to possession of heroin, a class 4 felony. The parties stipulated that the defendant would “pay a $2,000 fine and surcharge to the Arizona Drug Enforcement Fund.” When the trial court accept[573]*573ed the defendant’s plea and entered the judgment of guilt, the judge ordered the defendant to pay the fine and assessment to the general fund instead of the drug enforcement account:

You are also to pay a fine of $2,740, including surcharge. I will order that the fine be paid to the general fund, not to the Arizona Drug Enforcement Account, for the reason that I believe the circular system, which would have me an employee of this fund as well as my staff and also to freshen its exchequer regularly with the enforcement of fines is an unconstitutional cycle, I believe, Turney against Ohio decided that many years ago.

(Emphasis added.)

Although the record is scant, we accept the trial judge’s statement that his division receives monies from the drug enforcement fund.

The state filed a timely notice of appeal. It argues that A.R.S. section 13-811(C) is mandatory and the trial court erred because it failed to comply with the statute.

DISCUSSION

In this appeal, we must determine the constitutionality of A.R.S. section 13-811(G). This statute provides: “[A]ll fines collected in any court for offenses included in chapter 34 of this title [controlled substances] ... shall be paid to the drug enforcement account of the criminal justice enhancement fund established in § 41-2402.”1

The state argues that the trial court erred when it did not follow the statutory mandate relating to the fine. The state correctly observes that statutory language using “shall” indicates legislative intent that the act is mandatory, not discretionary. See Insurance Co. of North America v. Superior Court, 166 Ariz. 82, 85, 800 P.2d 585, 588 (1990).

The defendant, however, argues that the trial court did not err in refusing to follow the statutory mandate because the statutory scheme is unconstitutional. As the trial court did, the defendant relies upon Turney and cases that followed it to argue that the statute improperly allows a “judge to fund his own paycheck.” See also U.S. Const. amend. XIV; Ariz. Const. art. 2. § 1.

A. Turney and its Progeny

In Turney, the United States Supreme Court held that a statutory scheme providing that a mayor-judge receive direct compensation for each conviction violated due process. The statute set up a “liquor court” where mayors adjudicated prohibition violations and imposed fines. The mayor-judge directly received, in excess of his salary, a portion of the fine as a fee. He received this fee only upon conviction.

[574]*574The Supreme Court held that the statutory scheme violated the criminal defendant’s due process rights to a fair and impartial tribunal because the judge had a:

direct pecuniary interest in the outcome, and because of his official motive [as an executive officer charged with raising revenue] to convict and to graduate the fine to help the financial needs of the village____

Tumey, 273 U.S. at 535, 47 S.Ct. at 445.

Defendant also cites Ward v. Village of Monroeville, 409 U.S. 57, 93 S.Ct. 80, 34 L.Ed.2d 267 (1972), as support for the trial court’s ruling. In Ward, a mayor-judge fined defendant upon conviction for two traffic offenses. Although the mayor-judge did not receive direct compensation for convictions, revenue from the mayor’s court provided a substantial portion of the municipality’s treasury. The Court found the “mayor’s executive responsibilities for village finances may make him partisan to maintain the high level of contribution from the mayor’s court.” Ward, 409 U.S. at 60, 93 S.Ct. at 83. Following Tumey, the Court said this situation provided the “possible temptation to the average man as a judge to forget the burden of proof required to convict the defendant____” Id. (quoting Tumey, 273 U.S. at 532, 47 S.Ct. at 444). The Court concluded this “necessarily involves a lack of due process of law in the trial of defendants charged with crimes before him.” Id. (quoting Tumey, 273 U.S. at 534, 47 S.Ct. at 445).

Arizona cases have discussed the principles stated in Tumey. In Ison v. Western Vegetable Distrib., 48 Ariz. 104, 59 P.2d 649 (1936), the Arizona Supreme Court held that the state Industrial Commission could adjudicate claims and administer the workers’ compensation fund without offending due process. The court observed:

[I]t is only when the judge has a direct, personal, substantial, pecuniary interest in reaching a conclusion against a litigant that it is held the due process provision of the Constitution is violated by permitting him to act____

Ison, 48 Ariz. at 119, 59 P.2d at 656. The court also observed that industrial commissioners have fixed salaries and no pecuniary interest in deciding whether to grant an award because their salaries are not affected in any manner. Ison, 48 Ariz. at 121, 59 P.2d at 657. See also Tenners v. Industrial Comm’n, 16 Ariz.App. 81, 491 P.2d 31 (1972).

The state correctly argues that the Supreme Court in Dugan v. Ohio, 277 U.S. 61, 48 S.Ct. 439, 72 L.Ed. 784 (1928), upheld the constitutional impartiality of a mayor adjudicating cases in a “liquor court.” The mayor in Dugan had no executive functions. The city commission fixed the may- or’s salary and he received no fees for hearing cases. The court held that Tumey did not apply because:

The mayor ...

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Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
832 P.2d 225, 171 Ariz. 572, 114 Ariz. Adv. Rep. 24, 1992 Ariz. App. LEXIS 160, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/state-v-conlin-arizctapp-1992.