State v. Myers

621 N.E.2d 881, 87 Ohio App. 3d 92, 1993 Ohio App. LEXIS 2050
CourtOhio Court of Appeals
DecidedApril 7, 1993
DocketNo. 2090.
StatusPublished
Cited by14 cases

This text of 621 N.E.2d 881 (State v. Myers) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Ohio Court of Appeals primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
State v. Myers, 621 N.E.2d 881, 87 Ohio App. 3d 92, 1993 Ohio App. LEXIS 2050 (Ohio Ct. App. 1993).

Opinions

Quillin, Presiding Judge.

Appellant, Eileen M. Myers, appeals from her conviction of two counts of cruelty to animals under R.C. 959.13(A)(2) and (A)(4). Because the trial court charged the jury that these offenses required no culpable mental state, we reverse.

Myers was indicted on twelve counts of cruelty to animals following reports by the Medina County Society for Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (“SPCA”) that Myers kept thirty to fifty dogs and several horses in unsanitary and overcrowded conditions and with inadequate food, water, and shelter. Evidence was seized pursuant to two separate search warrants, one issued February 11, 1991 and the other issued February 12, 1991. Following a motion by Myers, the trial court ordered suppression of all evidence seized pursuant to the February 12 warrant because the warrant had not been supported by probable cause.

Myers filed a motion in limine to prohibit the state from offering, inter alia, a certain videotape of Myers’s kennels and any testimony or exhibits concerning items seized or observations made during the February 12 search. The trial court granted the motion as to the testimony relating to the February 12 search and as to the audio portion of the videotape.

The village of Spencer prosecuted this case, and was assisted by J. Jeffrey Holland, who was also a volunteer attorney for the Medina County SPCA. *95 Myers objected to Holland’s involvement in the case, claiming that she wanted to call him as a witness and that he had a conflict of interest due to Myers’s pending civil suit against the Medina County SPCA. The trial court overruled these objections.

Following a jury trial, Myers was convicted of two of the twelve counts. Myers appeals and raises nine assignments of error.

Assignments of Error I and II

“I. Ohio Revised Code Section 959.13 is unconstitutional and void for vagueness.

“II. The trial court erred in interpreting Ohio Revised Code Section 959.13 as requiring proof of either lack of wholesome exercise ‘or’ change of air.”

We will address these assignments of error together, as Myers argued them jointly. Myers contends that R.C. 959.13(A)(4), one of the provisions under which she was convicted, is vague because the meaning of the term “and” is unclear. We disagree.

R.C. 959.13 provides in pertinent part:

“(A) No person shall:
u
“(4) Keep animals other than cattle, poultry or fowl, swine, sheep, or goats in an enclosure without wholesome exercise and change of air * * (Emphasis added.)

The jury asked the trial court to clarify whether “wholesome exercise and change of air” was one element or two. In other words, the jurors wanted to know whether they needed to find Myers deprived the animals of both exercise and air, or whether a deprivation of either constituted a violation. In response to the jury’s question, the court explained that a violation of this provision required proof that Myers deprived the animals of either wholesome exercise or change of air.

The parties focus their arguments on whether it was appropriate for the trial court to switch “or” for “and” in this situation, and unnecessarily delve into their theories of the legislative intent behind this provision, rather than recognize that the trial court did nothing more than apply the plain meaning rule (R.C. 1.42).

Where a statute is plain and unambiguous, the trial court has no need to resort to the rules of statutory interpretation. Ohio Dental Hygienists Assn. v. Ohio State Dental Bd. (1986), 21 Ohio St.3d 21, 23, 21 OBR 282, 284, 487 N.E.2d 301, 303. An unambiguous statute is applied, not interpreted. Id. However, in applying this statute, the trial court was required to read the statute *96 in context and construe it according to the rules of grammar and common usage. R.C. 1.42.

The apparent confusion posed by this provision is the type of criminal act it addresses. Animal cruelty does not consist solely of active cruelty. As in this case, passive cruelty or neglect is punishable under the statute. See Annotation, What Constitutes Statutory Offense of Cruelty to Animals — Modern Cases (1992), 6 A.L.R.5th 733, 799-833; R.C. 959.13.

Again, the relevant provision states: “No person shall * * * [k]eep animals * * * in an enclosure without wholesome exercise and change of air * * The terms “no” and “without” used in the same clause create a double negative, which gives the provision a positive meaning. Sabin, The Gregg Reference Manual (6 Ed.1991) 212, Sections 1074-1075. Given the fact that Myers kept animals in an enclosure, she had a duty to supply both exercise and air.

The parties’ confusion arises because, unlike the typical criminal statute which specifies prohibited acts, R.C. 959.13 states specific acts which Myers was required to perform. Any instruction to the jury concerning Myers’s failure to perform this duty would necessarily be stated as the opposite of her duty. Because Myers was required to supply both things (exercise and air), failure to provide either (exercise or air) would constitute a violation. Likewise, if the statute had required Myers to supply either of the two things (exercise or air), a violation would require proof of a failure to provide both (exercise and air).

The logic of this reasoning is even more apparent if we consider the consequences of Myers’s argument as it applies to another provision of this same statute. R.C. 959.13(A)(1) provides in part: “No person shall * * * confine an animal without supplying it * * * with * * * food and water.” (Emphasis added.)

If we apply Myers’s reasoning to this provision, a violation would require proof that an animal was deprived of both food and water. Thus, according to her reasoning, one could comply with the statute by giving an animal ample food but no water. Such an interpretation is absurd. “In enacting a statute, it is presumed that: * * * [a] just and reasonable result is intended * * R.C. 1.47. As does R.C. 959.13(A)(4), R.C. 959.13(A)(1) requires that the animal be provided with both things (food and water), and deprivation of either (food or water) constitutes a violation. See State v. Narramore (Oct. 24, 1985), Cuyahoga App. No. 49502, unreported, 1985 WL 8497. (Narramore was convicted under R.C. 959.13(A)(1) for depriving a dog of water.)

*97 We find no error in the trial court’s explanation to the jury, nor do we find the provision to be unconstitutionally vague. The first and second assignments of error are overruled.

Assignment of Error III

“HI. The trial court erred when it denied appellant’s motion to suppress and motion in limine in part.”

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Bluebook (online)
621 N.E.2d 881, 87 Ohio App. 3d 92, 1993 Ohio App. LEXIS 2050, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/state-v-myers-ohioctapp-1993.