Title: State v. Johnson

State: minnesota

Issuer: Minnesota Supreme Court

Document:

216 N.W.2d 904 (1974) STATE of Minnesota, Respondent, v. Ernest JOHNSON, Appellant. No. 44114. Supreme Court of Minnesota. April 12, 1974. *905 Neil B. Dieterich, Minneapolis, for appellant. R. Scott Davies, City Atty., A. Keith Hanzel, Philip B. Byrne, Asst. City Attys., St. Paul, for respondent. Heard before SHERAN, C. J., and OTIS, SCOTT, and KNUTSON, JJ., and considered and decided by the court. KNUTSON,[*] Justice. Defendant was convicted in the municipal court of St. Paul of disorderly conduct and simple assault in violation of city ordinances and was sentenced to 60 days in the Ramsey County Workhouse, 45 days of which were suspended and 15 days of which were to be actually served. He appealed from the municipal court convictions and secured, under Minn.St. 488.20, a trial de novo in the district court. The jury in the district court proceedings found defendant not guilty of simple assault but guilty of disorderly conduct. The judge of the district court sentenced defendant to 60 days in the Ramsey County Workhouse *906 and assessed costs in the sum of $200 under Minn.St. 633.23 and 633.25. Defendant appeals to this court, requesting that the sentence imposed by the district court be reduced to that imposed by the municipal court and in addition that the assessment of costs against him be vacated. Three issues are presented: (1) Whether it is constitutionally permissible after trial de novo in district court to impose upon defendant a sentence more severe than that imposed at the prior municipal court proceeding; (2) whether the sentence imposed in district court was improperly more severe because of defendant's juvenile record; and (3) whether assessment of costs against defendant was proper where defendant was convicted of one charge and acquitted of the other. 1. In State v. Holmes, 281 Minn. 294, 161 N.W.2d 650 (1968), we held that where a defendant is granted a new trial on appeal, the trial court may not impose a greater sentence after a subsequent conviction than was imposed after the first conviction. Defendant argues that the same rule should prevail where a defendant appeals to the district court from a lower court and there is a trial de novo. We did not base our decision in Holmes on constitutional grounds but instead adopted the rule recommended by the Advisory Committee on Sentencing and Review, A.B.A. Standards for Criminal Justice, Post-Conviction Remedies (Approved Draft, 1968), § 6.3(a), Commentary, where we find the following: After our decision in the Holmes case, the Supreme Court of the United States decided North Carolina v. Pearce, 395 U.S. 711, 89 S. Ct. 2072, 23 L. Ed. 2d 656 (1969). That court did not hold that it was constitutionally impermissible to impose a more severe sentence after the second trial but instead required that the judge, if such increased sentence were to be imposed, state the reasons for so doing. The court said (395 U.S. 726, 89 S. Ct. 2081, 23 L.Ed.2d 670): In State v. Holmes, supra, we expressly excluded from determination the question now posed before us. We said (281 Minn. 303, note 3, 161 N.W.2d 656): Prior to Holmes, in Village of Elbow Lake v. Holt, 69 Minn. 349, 350, 72 N.W. *907 564 (1897), in an opinion written by Mr. Justice Mitchell, we held: Appeals from municipal court are governed by the same statutes as appeals from justice court. Minn.St. 488.20. The United States Supreme Court in Colten v. Kentucky, 407 U.S. 104, 92 S. Ct. 1953, 32 L. Ed. 2d 584 (1972), had occasion to address itself to the issue involved in the case now before us. The court distinguished North Carolina v. Pearce, supra, from a case involving a two-tier court system where the second trial is de novo and not a new trial granted on errors at law. Among other things, the court said (407 U.S. 116, 92 S. Ct. 1960, 32 L.Ed.2d 593): In Chaffin v. Stynchcombe, 412 U.S. 17, 25, 93 S. Ct. 1977, 1982, 36 L. Ed. 2d 714, 723 (1973), the Supreme Court clarified its reasons for establishing the Pearce rule as follows: We are inclined to adopt and follow the reasoning of the Supreme Court in Colten. On appeal from municipal court to the district court in a case permitting a trial de novo, the defendant need not show any error in the original trial. Even on appeal on questions of law alone, a trial court after the de novo trial may impose a sentence greater than that originally imposed by the justice court. State v. Hedstrom, 233 Minn. 17, 45 N.W.2d 715 (1951). As a matter of fact, he may appeal even after a plea of guilty. The trial is in a different court and is not before the same judge who conducted the first trial. Unless there is an actual showing of vindictiveness on the part of a district court judge resulting in his penalizing a defendant for taking the appeal, we think it is clear that the judge of the district court after a trial de novo may impose such sentence as is within the scope permitted by the statutes or ordinances involved. 2. Defendant next contends that the court improperly took into consideration his juvenile record in imposing a greater sentence than had been imposed by the municipal court. The record fails to show that the judge did so. It is probably true that he was familiar with the juvenile record of defendant, but we see nothing *908 improper in the court's taking into consideration the past conduct of a juvenile in determining what sentence would be proper. How else could he evaluate the past performance of a juvenile who had been in trouble before he came before the court? The records of any juvenile proceedings were not introduced and it does not appear that the district court attached any greater significance to these records than he would to any other evidence showing the past conduct of defendant. 3. The final question is whether the court properly assessed costs against defendant under Minn.St. 633.23 and 633.25. It is the contention of defendant that inasmuch as he was acquitted of the charge of assault by the jury on retrial, he should not have been assessed for all of the costs of trial. However, there is no showing in the record that the evidence would have been any different if he had been tried only on the charge of disorderly conduct. There is no way of allocating the costs of trial between the two separate offenses. We think the court acted within its discretionary power in assessing costs as it did. Affirmed. [*] Retired Chief Justice acting pursuant to Minn.St. 2.724.