State v. Williams

639 P.2d 1036, 131 Ariz. 211, 1982 Ariz. LEXIS 157
CourtArizona Supreme Court
DecidedJanuary 4, 1982
Docket5326-PR
StatusPublished
Cited by37 cases

This text of 639 P.2d 1036 (State v. Williams) 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. Williams, 639 P.2d 1036, 131 Ariz. 211, 1982 Ariz. LEXIS 157 (Ark. 1982).

Opinion

STRUCKMEYER, Chief Justice.

This consolidated appeal is from a conviction for a crime of sexual assault and from an order revoking probation in a conviction for the crime of robbery. The Court of Appeals reversed, one judge dissenting. See State v. Williams, 131 Ariz. 218, 639 P.2d 1043 (App.1981). We accepted review. Opinion of the Court of Appeals vacated. Judgment and sentence of the Superior Court in Maricopa County Cause No. CR-105855 affirmed. Order revoking probation and the sentence in Maricopa County Cause No. CR-101302 affirmed.

Appellant, Eddie Vance Williams, was convicted of robbery and on April 17, 1978, placed on probation. On March 12, 1979, a petition to revoke appellant’s probation was filed by the Maricopa County Attorney, asserting that appellant had “committed the crime of sexual assault on or about February 22,1979.” The Superior Court conducted a hearing and at its conclusion said:

“All right, the Court finds that the State has failed to establish a violation by a preponderance of evidence and there will be an order dismissing the petition for the revoking of probation and reinstating the defendant on probation on the terms and conditions set forth on April 17, 1979 [sic], on the charge of robbery.”

Appellant was subsequently convicted in the Maricopa County Superior Court in Cause CR-105855 of sexual assault, a violation of A.R.S. § 13-1406, a felony. Section 13-1406 provides:

*213 “A. A person commits sexual assault by intentionally or knowingly engaging in sexual intercourse or oral sexual contact with any person not his or her spouse without consent of such person.”

The sexual assault for which appellant was convicted was the same offense which was the basis for the petition to revoke his probation on the conviction for the crime of robbery.

As a consequence of the sexual assault conviction, appellant’s probation for robbery was ordered revoked and he was committed to the custody of the Department of Corrections. From the order revoking his probation and from the sentence imposed, appellant filed this appeal. Appellant also has appealed from his conviction on the charge of sexual assault. Because the appeal from the order revoking probation raised one of the same questions appellant raised as grounds for reversal for the conviction for sexual assault, the two appeals were consolidated for decision in the Court of Appeals.

It is appellant’s position that collateral estoppel precludes his prosecution for sexual assault after the petition to revoke his probation had been denied, but we do not think so.

Collateral estoppel attaches only to a judgment.

“There is, of course, a fundamental difference between a verdict and a judgment, the one being the jury’s finding on the facts; and the other, the Judge’s determination of the case upon the verdict. A verdict, before judgment has been entered thereon, has no finality, cannot be executed (Sharp v. State, 117 Tenn. 537, 97 S.W. 812), and cannot be pleaded in bar as res judicata or offered in evidence as collateral estoppel. Smith v. McCool, 83 U.S. [(16 Wall)] 560, 21 L.Ed. 324; 2 Freeman on Judgments (5th Ed.), sec. 718; 30A Am.Jur., Judgments, sec. 339.” Neely v. State, 210 Tenn. 52, 356 S.W.2d 401 (1962).

The force of the estoppel is the judgment itself. It is not the finding of a court but, rather, the judgment entered thereon which concludes the parties. We find no dissent to this proposition.

In Ashe v. Swenson, 397 U.S. 436, 443, 90 S.Ct. 1189, 1194, 25 L.Ed.2d 469 (1970), the Court said:

“ ‘Collateral estoppel’ is an awkward phrase, but it stands for an extremely important principle in our adversary system of justice. It means simply that when an issue of ultimate fact has once been determined by a valid and final judgment, that issue cannot again be litigated between the same parties in any future lawsuit.”

By Rule 26.1 of the Arizona Rules of Criminal Procedure, 17 A.R.S., a judgment is defined:

“The term judgment means the adjudication of the court based upon the verdict of the jury, upon the plea of the defendant, or upon its own finding following a non-jury trial, that the defendant is guilty or not guilty.”

Palpably, the conclusion of the judge at the revocation hearing does not rise to the respectability of a judgment. We therefore hold that the finding that the State had failed to establish a violation of probation did not preclude appellant’s prosecution for sexual assault.

Appellant requested the court to instruct the jury in his sexual assault trial as follows:

“The State and the Defendant are both entitled to the individual opinion of each juror. It is the duty of each of you, after considering all the evidence in the case, to determine, if possible, the guilt or innocence of the defendant. When you have reached a conclusion in that respect, you should not change it merely because one or more of your fellow jurors may. have come to a different conclusion, or merely to bring about a unanimous verdict. However, each of you should freely and fairly discuss with your fellow jurors the evidence and the deductions to be drawn therefrom. If, after doing so, any of you should be satisfied that a conclusion first reached was wrong, you should unhesitatingly abandon the original opinion and *214 render your verdict according to your final decision.” (Emphasis added.)

The court instructed as requested, except that the phrase “if possible” appearing in the second sentence was deleted. Appellant urges that the court by the deletion rendered the instruction a “dynamite” instruction such as is disapproved in State v. Thomas, 86 Ariz. 161, 342 P.2d 197 (1959). The instruction disapproved in State v. Thomas read:

“There is no reason to suppose that this case will ever be submitted to twelve more intelligent, more impartial or more competent jurors to decide it, or that more or clearer evidence will be produced on one side or the other. With this in view it is your duty to decide this case if you can without yielding your conscientious convictions.

Free access — add to your briefcase to read the full text and ask questions with AI

Related

State v. Holt
Court of Appeals of Arizona, 2022
State v. Eschrich
Court of Appeals of Arizona, 2019
State v. Greenberg
343 P.3d 462 (Court of Appeals of Arizona, 2015)
State of Arizona v. Debbie Lynn Copeland
310 P.3d 46 (Court of Appeals of Arizona, 2013)
Doan, Ex Parte Dustin
369 S.W.3d 205 (Court of Criminal Appeals of Texas, 2012)
State v. Gautier
871 A.2d 347 (Supreme Court of Rhode Island, 2005)
Byrd v. People
58 P.3d 50 (Supreme Court of Colorado, 2002)
Chavez v. McKinna
41 F. App'x 319 (Tenth Circuit, 2002)
State v. Huskey
66 S.W.3d 905 (Court of Criminal Appeals of Tennessee, 2001)
State v. Saenz
4 P.3d 1030 (Court of Appeals of Arizona, 2000)
Elia v. Pifer
977 P.2d 796 (Court of Appeals of Arizona, 1998)
Zamarripa v. City of Mesa
125 F.3d 792 (Ninth Circuit, 1997)
State, Dept. of Admin. v. Schallock
941 P.2d 1275 (Arizona Supreme Court, 1997)
Commonwealth v. Cosgrove
629 A.2d 1007 (Superior Court of Pennsylvania, 1993)
Commonwealth v. Davis
17 Pa. D. & C.4th 439 (Montgomery County Court of Common Pleas, 1992)
State v. Martinez
837 P.2d 1172 (Court of Appeals of Arizona, 1992)
State v. Chase
588 A.2d 120 (Supreme Court of Rhode Island, 1991)
State v. Nunez
806 P.2d 861 (Arizona Supreme Court, 1991)
Lucido v. Superior Court
795 P.2d 1223 (California Supreme Court, 1990)

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
639 P.2d 1036, 131 Ariz. 211, 1982 Ariz. LEXIS 157, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/state-v-williams-ariz-1982.