State v. Ruggiero

CourtIdaho Court of Appeals
DecidedApril 28, 2014
StatusPublished

This text of State v. Ruggiero (State v. Ruggiero) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Idaho 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. Ruggiero, (Idaho Ct. App. 2014).

Opinion

IN THE COURT OF APPEALS OF THE STATE OF IDAHO

Docket No. 40175

STATE OF IDAHO, ) 2014 Opinion No. 35 ) Plaintiff-Appellant, ) Filed: April 28, 2014 ) v. ) Stephen W. Kenyon, Clerk ) PHILIP MILTON RUGGIERO, ) ) Defendant-Respondent. ) )

Appeal from the District Court of the Fourth Judicial District, State of Idaho, Ada County. Hon. Deborah A. Bail, District Judge.

Order dismissing information charging three counts of preparing false evidence, reversed.

Hon. Lawrence G. Wasden, Attorney General; Jessica M. Lorello, Deputy Attorney General, Boise, for appellant. Jessica M. Lorello argued.

Nevin, Benjamin, McKay & Bartlett LLP; Robyn Fyffe, Boise, for respondent. Robyn Fyffe argued. ________________________________________________ GUTIERREZ, Chief Judge The State appeals from the district court’s order dismissing the information charging Philip Milton Ruggiero with three counts of preparing false evidence. For the reasons set forth below, we reverse. I. FACTS AND PROCEDURE Ruggiero was charged with misdemeanor stalking. While that case was pending, three letters were sent to the magistrate assigned to the case. The letters purported to be from the alleged stalking victim and two other persons indicating they had knowledge of relevant facts concerning the stalking charge. All three letters supported the proposition that Ruggiero was not guilty of the charge. The letters were forwarded to the Boise City prosecutor handling the stalking case, who contacted the alleged victim to inquire whether she had written a letter. The alleged victim said she had not and signed an affidavit to that fact. A detective interrogated

1 Ruggiero as to whether he had written the letters, which Ruggiero denied. Nevertheless, Ruggiero was charged by information with three counts of preparing false evidence in violation of Idaho Code § 18-2602. Following a hearing, a magistrate found probable cause to bind Ruggiero over to district court on the three charges. Ruggiero filed a motion to dismiss, arguing there was not substantial evidence presented at the preliminary hearing that he committed the crimes alleged. He also argued that section 18-2602 infringes upon speech protected by the First Amendment, as interpreted by the Supreme Court in United States v. Alvarez, 567 U.S. ___, 132 S. Ct. 2537 (2012), and argued section 18-2602 is void for vagueness. After a hearing, the district court granted the motion to dismiss, relying on Alvarez to find that the statute violated Ruggiero’s First Amendment rights. The State now appeals. II. ANALYSIS A. First Amendment The State contends the district court erred by determining that section 18-2602 unconstitutionally infringed on Ruggiero’s First Amendment rights. Where an issue presented involves the constitutionality of a statute, we review the district court’s determination de novo. State v. Bonner, 138 Idaho 254, 256, 61 P.3d 611, 613 (Ct. App. 2002); State v. Richards, 127 Idaho 31, 34, 896 P.2d 357, 360 (Ct. App. 1995). Section 18-2602 provides: Preparing false evidence. -- Every person guilty of preparing any false or antedated book, paper, record, instrument in writing, or other matter or thing, with intent to produce it, or allow it to be produced, for any fraudulent or deceitful purpose, as genuine or true, upon any trial, proceeding or inquiry whatever, authorized by law, is guilty of felony. In granting Ruggiero’s motion to dismiss, the district court noted that a magistrate is not ethically permitted to receive or review ex parte communication; therefore, the district court reasoned that, as applied in the instance at hand, section 18-2602 was being used to punish a false statement that could not be used in evidence and could not be used to gain any material advantage. The district court determined that section 18-2602, “in the context of criminalizing a false or forged letter sent to a judge who is not ethically permitted to consider the ex parte communication for any reason punishes falsity alone” and was therefore unconstitutional. In

2 coming to this conclusion, the court relied heavily on the United States Supreme Court’s decision in Alvarez, 567 U.S. ___, 132 S. Ct. 2537, which invalidated, under the First Amendment, a federal statute criminalizing the making of false statements that one has received certain military awards. As a general matter, the First Amendment means that government has no power to restrict expression because of its message, ideas, subject matter, or content. Id. at ___, 132 S. Ct. at 2543; Ashcroft v. American Civil Liberties Union, 535 U.S. 564, 573 (2002). As a result, the Constitution demands that content-based restrictions on speech be presumed invalid and that the government bear the burden of showing their constitutionality. Alvarez, 567 U.S. at ___, 132 S. Ct. at 2543-44. The Supreme Court has repeatedly recognized, however, that certain categories of speech do not enjoy the benefit of full First Amendment protection. See id. at ___, 132 S. Ct. at 2544; United States v. Stevens, 559 U.S. 460, 468-69 (2010). At issue in Alvarez was the constitutionality of the Stolen Valor Act of 2005, 18 U.S.C. § 704(b) (2012), 1 which provided, in relevant part: (b) FALSE CLAIMS ABOUT RECEIPT OF MILITARY DECORATIONS OR MEDALS. -- Whoever falsely represents himself or herself, verbally or in writing, to have been awarded any decoration or medal authorized by Congress for the Armed Forces of the United States . . . shall be fined under this title, imprisoned not more than six months, or both. Alvarez, 567 U.S. at ___, 132 S. Ct. at 2543. Alvarez challenged the constitutionality of the statute after the federal government filed charges against him for falsely telling fellow district water board members, at a public meeting, that he had been awarded a Congressional Medal of Honor. The Supreme Court struck down the Stolen Valor Act in a six-to-three decision, although no opinion garnered a majority of the Court. Writing for the four-justice plurality, 2 Justice Kennedy began by articulating the general rule that “content-based restrictions on speech have been permitted, as a general matter, only when confined to the few ‘historic and traditional

1 The Stolen Valor Act was amended in 2013 to comport with the Supreme Court’s holding in United States v. Alvarez, 567 U.S. ___, 132 S. Ct. 2537 (2012). 2 Two concurring justices provided the requisite votes to overturn the Stolen Valor Act, but rejected the plurality’s “strict categorical analysis” to reach this result. Alvarez, 567 U.S. at ___, 132 S. Ct. at 2551. Instead, the concurrence stated intermediate scrutiny should apply. Id. at ___, 132 S. Ct. at 2551-52.

3 categories [of expression] long familiar to the bar.’” Id. at ___, 132 S. Ct. at 2544 (quoting Stevens, 559 U.S. at 468). 3 The plurality listed the following such categories: incitement, obscenity, defamation, speech integral to criminal conduct, fighting words, child pornography, fraud, true threats, and speech presenting grave and imminent danger. Id. Noticeably absent from this list, the plurality noted, is a general exception to the First Amendment for false statements. Id.

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State v. Ruggiero, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/state-v-ruggiero-idahoctapp-2014.