State v. Nunez

806 P.2d 861, 167 Ariz. 272, 80 Ariz. Adv. Rep. 3, 1991 Ariz. LEXIS 16
CourtArizona Supreme Court
DecidedFebruary 21, 1991
DocketCR-89-0306-PR
StatusPublished
Cited by53 cases

This text of 806 P.2d 861 (State v. Nunez) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Arizona Supreme Court primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
State v. Nunez, 806 P.2d 861, 167 Ariz. 272, 80 Ariz. Adv. Rep. 3, 1991 Ariz. LEXIS 16 (Ark. 1991).

Opinions

OPINION

MOELLER, Justice.

STATEMENT OF THE CASE

At defendant’s third trial, a jury convicted William Vera Nunez (defendant) of negligent homicide. He appealed, contending that the trial court erred in denying his motion for acquittal, in instructing the [273]*273jury, and in refusing a Willits instruction.1 The court of appeals reversed, holding that one of the jury instructions and the prosecutor’s argument based on that instruction was error. The court rejected defendant’s contention that he was entitled to a Willits instruction. Although the court remanded the case for a new trial, it did not address the merits of defendant’s motion for acquittal.

We granted the state’s petition for review on the issue of whether the challenged jury instruction was reversible error. See Rule 31.19, Ariz.R.Crim.P., 17 A.R.S. Recognizing the need to address the motion for acquittal regardless of whether a new trial was necessary, we requested supplemental briefs on that point. Following oral argument, we again requested supplemental briefs on the issue of collateral estoppel. We have jurisdiction pursuant to Ariz. Const, art. 6, § 5(3), and A.R.S. § 12-120.24. We affirm defendant’s conviction and vacate that part of the court of appeals’ opinion designated “Double Jeopardy and Collateral Estop-pel.”

ISSUES PRESENTED

1. Whether the trial court’s jury instruction based on A.R.S. § 13-202(C) was erroneous under principles of double jeopardy or collateral estoppel.

2. Whether the trial court properly denied defendant’s motion for judgment of acquittal.

FACTS AND PROCEDURAL BACKGROUND

Defendant and the victim were involved in a verbal altercation outside a Tucson bar. Defendant went back inside the bar, borrowed a knife, returned to the scene, and stabbed the victim. The victim ran a few blocks, collapsed, and died. Defendant was indicted for first degree murder. Throughout three different trials, he has maintained that he acted in self-defense.

An understanding of the procedural background of the case and the various trials that ensued is essential to a consideration of the issues presented. Defendant first went to trial on the first degree murder charge. The trial court instructed the jury on first degree murder, second degree murder, manslaughter, and negligent homicide. The jury returned a guilty verdict on the second degree murder charge. No judgment was ever entered on the verdict, however, because the trial court, at defendant’s request, granted defendant a new trial based on juror misconduct.

At the second trial, the trial court instructed the jury on second degree murder, manslaughter, and negligent homicide. The jury returned a guilty verdict on the negligent homicide charge, and expressly found defendant not guilty of the higher charges of second degree murder and manslaughter. Again, no judgment was entered because the trial court, at defendant’s request, granted defendant a new trial based on juror misconduct.

At his third trial, defendant was tried only on the negligent homicide charge. The trial court, after denying defendant’s motion for acquittal, gave the following jury instruction:

If acting negligently suffices to establish an element of the offense, that element is established if a person acts intentionally, knowingly or recklessly.

This instruction was based on A.R.S. § 13-202(C), which provides:

If a statute provides that criminal negligence suffices to establish an element of an offense, that element also is established if a person acts intentionally, knowingly or recklessly.

The jury found defendant guilty of negligent homicide. This time the trial court entered judgment on the verdict and sentenced defendant accordingly. Defendant appealed.

The court of appeals reversed the conviction and remanded for a new trial, stating:

The issue here is: could the trial court properly instruct the jury based on our [274]*274statute, A.R.S. § 13-202(C), which allows the state to show negligence by showing some higher mental state, after the appellant was acquitted in a former trial of acting with those culpable mental states? We agree with appellant that it could not. Because appellant was acquitted of second-degree murder and manslaughter in his second trial, the jury in his third trial could only determine whether or not he was guilty of negligent homicide. Because of the previous acquittals, the only state of mind the jury could consider was negligence.

State v. Nunez, 163 Ariz. 452, 454, 788 P.2d 1203, 1205 (App.1989).

The precise legal basis of the court of appeals’ reversal is unclear to us. The court says the defendant argued that the jury instruction “violated his rights against double jeopardy and the rules of collateral estoppel and res judicata.” Nunez, 163 Ariz. at 454, 788 P.2d at 1205. The opinion also states that the challenged jury instruction is erroneous, but does not specify a legal basis for this statement. The opinion also states that the prosecutor’s arguments based on the jury instruction violated “appellant’s double jeopardy rights.” Id. The discussion of both the instruction and the prosecutor’s argument appears in a section of the opinion entitled “DOUBLE JEOPARDY AND COLLATERAL ESTOPPEL.” That section cites only two cases, both based on collateral estoppel. Ashe v. Swenson, 397 U.S. 436, 90 S.Ct. 1189, 25 L.Ed.2d 469 (1970); State v. Superior Court, 150 Ariz. 18, 721 P.2d 676 (Ct.App.1986).

Having concluded that the jury instruction was erroneous, the court of appeals concluded that the prosecutor’s argument based on the instruction was likewise erroneous. Finally, although defendant challenged the denial of his motion for acquittal, the court of appeals did not address that issue.

DISCUSSION

I. Jury Instruction

It is helpful to state with some precision what the respective positions of the parties are and what they are not. Defendant does not contend that the state is barred from trying and convicting him of negligent homicide. The state does not contend that it could properly try or convict defendant of first degree murder, second degree murder, or manslaughter. The state readily acknowledges that defendant has been expressly or impliedly acquitted of each of those charges in one of the two previous trials.

Defendant does contend, however, that the prior proceedings have effectively “acquitted” him of acting intentionally, knowingly, or recklessly.

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Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
806 P.2d 861, 167 Ariz. 272, 80 Ariz. Adv. Rep. 3, 1991 Ariz. LEXIS 16, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/state-v-nunez-ariz-1991.