Title: City of St. Paul v. Whidby

State: minnesota

Issuer: Minnesota Supreme Court

Document:

203 N.W.2d 823 (1972) CITY OF ST. PAUL, Respondent, v. Forest WHIDBY, Appellant. No. 43024. Supreme Court of Minnesota. December 29, 1972. *824 Paul H. Ray, St. Paul, for appellant. Daniel A. Klas, City Atty., Pierre N. Regnier, Asst. City Atty., St. Paul, for respondent. Michael F. Fetsch, Legal Assistance of Ramsey County, Inc., Phyllis Gene Jones, Gen. Counsel, Esther M. Tomljanovich, Legal Consultant, Minnesota Urban County Attorney's Board, St. Paul, C. Paul Jones, Public Defender, R. Michael Wetherbee, Minnesota Civil Liberties Union, Minneapolis, amicus curiae. Heard before MURPHY, PETERSON, KELLY, and NELSON, JJ. Reconsidered on the record en banc. KELLY, Justice. Defendant appeals from a conviction for violating St. Paul City Legislative Code, § 469.01, which prohibits the visiting of a disorderly house. He contends that the district court erred in (1) refusing to instruct the jury that defendant is presumed innocent and must be proved guilty beyond a reasonable doubt; (2) in instructing the jury that after 6 hours of deliberation it would be permitted to return a verdict upon an agreement by five-sixths of its number; (3) by permitting a police officer who had secured a search warrant to testify as to what he saw when he entered the premises in which defendant was arrested; and (4) in denying defendant's motion to dismiss the case on the grounds that the ordinance was unconstitutionally vague and overbroad. We agree with defendant as to issue (1) and reverse as to it. While we find no reversible error in this case as to issue (2), because the jury's verdict was unanimous and defendant did not have the jury polled, we direct that the five-sixths verdict instruction not be given on the new trial. On issues (3) and (4) we find no error in the trial court's ruling. Several plainclothesmen from the vice squad of the city of St. Paul visited the residence at 144 Mackubin Street shortly after 1 a. m. on December 2, 1970. There they observed what appeared to be an "after-hours" bar. One of the officers ordered a drink from the bartender and gave the bartender a $10 bill. The bartender gave the bill to defendant who was sitting near the bar, and defendant produced change for the bill. Shortly thereafter, police with a search warrant arrived at the residence. Defendant was charged with the ordinance violation and pled guilty in municipal court. He was sentenced to 30 days in the workhouse. Thereupon, defendant appealed to the district court for a trial by jury. Minn.St. 488 A. 27, subd. 6. After the jury had been selected, the following conversation took place among the court and the two attorneys: After the evidence was in, the trial court instructed the jury as follows: The jury found defendant guilty, and he was sentenced to 30 days. The maximum sentence for the offense is a fine of $100 or imprisonment for 90 days. The trial court instructed the jury on the burden of proof appropriate for a civil case. Minn.St. 611.02 provides in part as follows: The basic question before us is whether a judicial proceeding which may result in the accused's incarceration for 90 days is civil or whether it is criminal. A long line of Minnesota decisions has held that a case involving the violation of a municipal ordinance is governed by civil procedure although such ordinances are criminal enactments which are historically sui generis. The defendant is not presumed innocent and may be found guilty by a mere preponderance of the evidence.[1] The policy considerations of the rule are explained best *826 in State v. Ketterer, 248 Minn. 173, 177, 79 N.W.2d 136, 139 (1956): A leading authority on the subject of municipal corporations, Eugene McQuillin, has traced the historical basis for the rule which treats municipal ordinance violations differently than crimes: Whatever may have been the practice in Elizabethan England, modern conceptions of justice will not permit a person to be incarcerated in a city workhouse for 90 days without having first been proved guilty beyond a reasonable doubt. To characterize such proceedings as civil or sui generis is nothing more than a historical fiction. Any citizen imprisoned for violation of a city ordinance would be incredulous if informed that he was not experiencing a criminal sanction. The city of St. Paul argues that ordinance violations are not crimes because they are not proscribed by the state of Minnesota. Municipal corporations are created by state law. See, e. g., Minn.St. 410.04. Their legislative authority is conferred upon them by the constitution and the laws of the state and, "as to matters of municipal concern they have all the legislative power possessed by the Legislature of the state, save as such power is expressly or impliedly withheld." Park v. City of Duluth, 134 Minn. 296, 298, 159 N.W. 627, 628 (1916).[2] The fact that certain acts are proscribed by ordinances enacted by a municipal corporation in its legislative capacity rather than by state criminal statutes makes them no less criminal in nature. The judicial power to try defendant for an ordinance violation springs from the same organic law which created the courts of general jurisdiction. Minn.Const. art. 6, § 1. Mr. Chief Justice Burger, speaking for the United States Supreme Court in Waller v. Florida, 397 U.S. 387, 90 S. Ct. 1184, 25 L. Ed. 2d 435 (1970), described the relationship between the state and the city as analogous to that existing between the Federal government and a Federal territory. In Waller, the unanimous court held that prosecution of an ordinance violation *828 bars prosecution under a state statute for the same act. Considerations such as the reduction of congested court calendars do not support the fiction that ordinance violations are merely civil matters. At least 33 states require proof beyond a reasonable doubt to convict a defendant of an ordinance violation.[3] Other than Minnesota, only seven states, Illinois,[4] Indiana,[5] Louisiana,[6] Massachusetts,[7] Nebraska,[8] South Dakota,[9] and Tennessee,[10] characterize such violations as purely civil. There appears to be no correlation between the rule followed by a particular state and the congestion of its court calendar. The decisions and laws of other states, however, illustrate the minority position of the rule followed thus far by Minnesota. The United States Supreme Court, as well as a majority of the states, has looked with disfavor upon the use of mere nomenclature to rationalize the application of a less rigorous standard in criminal procedure. In the case of In re Winship, 397 U.S. 358, 90 S. Ct. 1068, 25 L. Ed. 2d 368 (1970), the court held that the New York juvenile procedure whereby a juvenile could be found guilty by a preponderance of the evidence violated the due process clause of the 14th Amendment. The majority, emphasizing the importance of the reasonable doubt standard, stated (397 U.S. 364, 90 S. Ct. 1073, 25 L.Ed.2d 375): The contention of the state that the proceedings are "civil" was rejected since the court had earlier ruled that certain due process standards were required in juvenile *829 proceedings. In re Gault, 387 U.S. 1, 87 S. Ct. 1428, 18 L. Ed. 2d 527 (1966).[11] Under Winship, defendant here would be entitled to the protection of the presumption of innocence and the requirement that his conviction be based upon proof beyond a reasonable doubt unless a distinction can be made because the charge in the present case was a misdemeanor with punishment by incarceration limited to 90 days rather than a felony with a possibility of a loss of liberty for a longer period of time. However, this court and the Supreme Court of the United States in different settings from the instant case have refused to make such a distinction. In State v. Borst, 278 Minn. 388, 154 N.W.2d 888 (1967), this court held that, in a trial of a charge defined as a misdemeanor where the court may impose a sentence involving incarceration in a penal institution or jail, a defendant unable to afford private counsel is entitled to have counsel appointed to represent him. The reasoning which requires the appointment of counsel for indigents in any case where the court may impose a sentence involving incarceration should also require that an accused in such cases be held entitled to the presumption of innocence and that he cannot be convicted unless he is proved guilty beyond a reasonable doubt. In Borst, this court reasoned as follows (278 Minn. 391, 396, 154 N.W.2d 890, 893): Subd. 2 defines felony: Subd. 3 defines misdemeanor: Subd. 4 defines gross misdemeanor: About four years after Borst, the United States Supreme Court held that no accused may be deprived of his liberty as a result of any criminal prosecution, whether felony or misdemeanor, in which he was denied the assistance of counsel. Argersinger v. Hamlin, 407 U.S. 25, 92 S. Ct. 2006, 32 L. Ed. 2d 530 (1972). In Argersinger, the court stated (407 U.S. 37, 92 U.S. 2012, 32 L.Ed.2d 538): *831 "We hold, therefore, that absent a knowing and intelligent waiver, no person may be imprisoned for any offense, whether classified as petty, misdemeanor, or felony, unless he was represented by counsel at his trial. Mr. Justice Powell, with whom Mr. Justice Rehnquist joined in a special opinion, concurred in the result in that case, noting (407 U.S. 47, 92 S. Ct. 2018, 32 L.Ed.2d 544): Waller v. Florida, supra, involved a defendant who was convicted of two ordinance violations and was subsequently tried for violating a state statute for the same acts. The Supreme Court held that double jeopardy was a bar for the state prosecution. Since cities are a creation of the state, the prosecutions are from the same sovereign. The court cited State v. End, 232 Minn. 266, 45 N.W.2d 378 (1950), as one of the many contrary state decisions which are in error. Finally, in Mayer v. City of Chicago, 404 U.S. 189, 92 S. Ct. 410, 30 L. Ed. 2d 372 (1971), a unanimous court held that an Illinois rule which prevented free transcripts for city ordinance violations and nonfelonies violated the Fourteenth Amendment. The distinction between felony and nonfelony cases was termed "unreasoned." An even more compelling reason for requiring proof beyond a reasonable doubt to sustain a conviction for violation of an ordinance is the passage of L.1971, c. 951, by our state legislature. This act, commonly known as the County Court Act, established the county court system in Minnesota, and in the process, revised certain rules of criminal procedure. All municipal courts are abolished, and the county courts are given jurisdiction over violations of municipal ordinances. C. 951, §§ 1, 18. Section 25, subd. 11, provides: None of the provisions of the County Court Act, however, apply to Ramsey, Hennepin or St. Louis Counties. C. 951, § 1. The passage of the County Court Act demonstrates that the legislature believes it to be sound policy to require the criminal standard of proof in certain ordinance violation cases. The uniformity attained by making that standard universal in this state will promote more even-handed justice. We have decided that the result reached in the present case should be based on the exercise of our supervisory and inherent power to insure the fair administration of justice although we are mindful of the guarantees of the Fifth and Fourteenth Amendments to the United States Constitution *832 and similar provisions in our state constitution that property as well as life and liberty may not be taken from a person without affording him due process of law. We therefore hold that in all proceedings for violation of a municipal ordinance which may result in the penalty of incarceration and which are commenced after the date of this decision the defendant is presumed innocent until the contrary is proved and, in case of reasonable doubt, is entitled to acquittal.[12] As a corollary to our decision on this issue, we announce that in the trial of all such cases occurring after the issuance of this opinion, the rules of criminal procedure shall apply rather than the rules of civil procedure. It follows that on the new trial granted hereby Minn.St. 546.17, which provides for a verdict by five-sixths of a jury in civil cases, shall have no application. We have purposely limited our decision on issues (1) and (2) to ordinance violations for which incarceration may be imposed as a penalty. We see no reason for treating petty offenses as defined in Minn.St. 609.02, subd. 4a, and in § 169.89, subd. 2, as criminal cases because they do not provide for incarceration as a penalty. However, because Minn.St. 574.35 provides that "in all cases of the imposition of a fine pursuant to statute, as punishment for any offense, the offender may be committed until the same is paid * * *," any case where that statute is applicable shall be tried as a criminal case.[13] If such a case is not tried as a criminal case, the court shall not thereafter impose a sentence of confinement under § 574.35. We affirm the trial court on the third and fourth issues and hold that, respecting the fourth issue, St. Paul Legislative Code, § 469.01 entitled "Disorderly Houses," is not unconstitutionally vague and overbroad under the facts in this case. City of St. Paul v. Franklin, 286 Minn. 194, 175 N.W.2d 16 (1970). Here defendant could have been found by the jury to have actually participated in a place where loud noise was heard after 1 a. m., where liquor drinks were sold and drunk without a license, and where gambling was taking place. See, City of St. Paul v. Page, 285 Minn. 374, 173 N.W.2d 460 (1969); State v. Wilson, 221 Minn. 224, 21 N.W.2d 521 (1946); State v. Siporen, 215 Minn. 438, 10 N.W.2d 353 (1943). Reversed and remanded with instructions. [1] City of St. Paul v. Azzone, 287 Minn. 136, 177 N.W.2d 559 (1970); City of Bloomington v. Kossow, 269 Minn. 467, 131 N.W.2d 206 (1964); State v. Miller, 253 Minn. 112, 91 N.W.2d 138 (1958); State v. Ketterer, 248 Minn. 173, 79 N.W.2d 136 (1956); State v. Nelson, 157 Minn. 506, 196 N.W. 279 (1923); State v. Lee, 29 Minn. 445, 13 N.W. 913 (1882). Periodically, this court has termed municipal violations as "crimes" synonymous with violations of state statutes. Village of Crosby v. Stemich, 160 Minn. 261, 199 N.W. 918 (1924); City of Madison v. Martin, 109 Minn. 292, 123 N.W. 809 (1909); State ex rel. Erickson v. West, 42 Minn. 147, 43 N.W. 845 (1889). Such inconsistencies were recognized and the present rule firmly established by State v. Ketterer, supra. [2] The interest of a municipal corporation in suppressing the operation of disorderly houses, and its power to suppress them, rather than being withheld by the state, has been expressly recognized by statute. See, Minn.St. 411.40(40). [3] Shuttlesworth v. City of Birmingham, 43 Ala.App. 68, 180 So. 2d 114 (1965); Qualls v. City of Anchorage, 378 P.2d 405 (Alaska 1963); Ark.Stat.Ann. § 44-102 (1947); Matter of Application of Clark, 24 Cal. App. 389, 141 P. 831 (1914); Douglas v. Municipal Court, 151 Colo. 358, 377 P.2d 738 (1963); Hanjaras v. City of Atlanta, 6 Ga.App. 575, 65 S.E. 356 (1909); City of Des Moines v. Rosenberg, 243 Iowa 262, 51 N.W.2d 450 (1952); City of Paducah v. Ragsdale, 122 Ky. 425, 92 S.W. 13 (1906); State v. Goldberg, 131 Me. 1, 158 A. 364 (1932); White v. City of Philadelphia, 197 Miss. 166, 19 So. 2d 493 (1944); Kansas City v. Howe, 416 S.W.2d 683 (Mo.App.1967); Jersey City Land and Improvement Co. v. Mayor and Aldermen of Jersey City, 95 N.J.L. 34, 111 A. 275 (1920); City of Roswell v. Gallegos, 77 N.M. 170, 420 P.2d 438 (1966); City of Berea v. Petcher, 119 Ohio App. 165, 188 N.E.2d 605 (1963); Commonwealth v. Toth, 20 Cumb.L.J. 106 (Pa., Cumberland County, 1970); Salt Lake City v. Robinson, 39 Utah 260, 116 P. 442 (1911); Washington & Old Dominion R. R. v. City of Alexandria, 191 Va. 184, 60 S.E.2d 40 (1950); City of Seattle v. Jones, 3 Wash. App. 431, 475 P.2d 790 (1970). Cf. Ariz.Rev.Stat.Ann. § 22-423 (1956); Md.Ann.Code art. 38, § 1 (1957); Mich.Comp.Laws Ann. § 66.7 (1967); City of Miles City v. Drum, 60 Mont. 451, 199 P. 719 (1921); Nev.Rev.Stat. § 189.080 (1971); N.H.Rev.Stat.Ann. § 47:21 (1970); N.C.Gen.Stat. § 14-4 (1969); City of Minot v. Whitfield, 71 N.W.2d 766 (N.D.1955); Okla.Stat.Ann. tit. 21, § 3, and tit. 22, §§ 10 and 836 (1971); Ore.Rev.Stat. § 30.315 (1971); Bautsch v. City of Galveston, 27 Tex.Civ.App. 342, 11 S.W. 414 (1889); City of Charleston v. Beller, 45 W.Va. 44, 30 S.E. 152 (1898); State ex rel. Suchta v. District Court, 74 Wyo. 48, 283 P.2d 1023 (1955). See, also, Mayor and Council of Wilmington v. Durham, 51 Del. 423, 147 A.2d 516 (1958); People v. Scott, 26 N.Y.2d 286, 309 N.Y.S.2d 919, 258 N.E.2d 206 (1970). [4] City of Chicago v. Joyce, 38 Ill. 2d 368, 232 N.E.2d 289 (1967). [5] State ex rel. Town of Lowell v. Meredith, 247 Ind. 273, 215 N.E.2d 183 (1966). [6] City of New Orleans v. Adjmi, 249 La. 346, 186 So. 2d 616 (1966). [7] Cf., Commonwealth v. Hayden, 354 Mass. 727, 242 N.E.2d 431 (1968). [8] State v. Neimer, 147 Neb. 284, 23 N.W.2d 81 (1946). [9] City of Redfield v. Wharton, 79 S.D. 557, 115 N.W.2d 329 (1962). [10] City of Sparta v. Lewis, 91 Tenn. 370, 23 S.W. 182 (1892). [11] See, also, McKeiver v. Pennsylvania, 403 U.S. 528, 91 S. Ct. 1976, 29 L. Ed. 2d 647 (1971). Cf. Murel v. Baltimore City Criminal Court, 407 U.S. 355, 358, 92 S. Ct. 2091, 2093, 32 L. Ed. 2d 791, 793 (1972) (Douglas, J., dissenting). [12] Cf. State v. Hoben, 256 Minn. 436, 98 N.W.2d 813 (1959). [13] We do not reach the issue of the right to a jury trial at the municipal court level where a jury trial de novo is afforded on appeal to the district court.