Title: State v. Arizona Mines Supply Co.

State: arizona

Issuer: Arizona Supreme Court

Document:

107 Ariz. 199 (1971) 484 P.2d 619 The STATE of Arizona, Petitioner, v. ARIZONA MINES SUPPLY CO., and the Honorable Kenneth C. Chatwin, Judge of the Superior Court of the State of Arizona, County of Maricopa, Respondents. No. 10298. Supreme Court of Arizona, In Banc. April 23, 1971. *200 Moise Berger, Maricopa County Atty., by Albert I. Firestein, Thomas W. Meissner, H. Charles Eckerman, Deputy County Attys., Phoenix, for petitioner. O'Connor, Cavanagh, Anderson, Westover, Killingsworth & Beshears, by Ralph Hunsaker, Phoenix, for respondents. UDALL, Justice: This is a special action, filed by the State of Arizona ex rel Moise Berger, Maricopa County Attorney, on December 10, 1970, seeking relief from a ruling by a Superior Court judge requiring that the State prove criminal intent as a pre-requisite to a conviction for violation of this state's Air Pollution Act, A.R.S. §§ 36-771 to 36-790. On December 15, 1970, we accepted jurisdiction of the state's petition for special action allowing time for both parties to submit additional briefs. The facts out of which this controversy arose are as follows: On September 23, 1970, an information was filed by the County Attorney's office in the Superior Court of Maricopa County, charging defendant-respondent, Arizona Mines Supply Co., with two counts of "air pollution", a misdemeanor. The information charged specifically that the defendant-respondent: on or about June 19, 1970 (Count I), and June 29, 1970 (Count II), This case was set for trial on December 10, 1970. Prior to selection of the jury, the State filed a "Motion in Limine", in which it sought to exclude certain anticipated evidence, requesting that the court exclude: (1) any evidence as to the amount of money expended by Arizona Mines Supply Co. for air pollution equipment; and (2) any testimony which defendant might seek to introduce with regard to its lack of criminal intent to violate the statute and regulations. The court ruled in favor of the defendant on both points, ordering that the motion in limine be denied. From the denial the State filed this petition for special *201 action. In response thereto, defendant-respondent has advanced eight arguments which we shall consider in the order submitted. We find this argument to be totally without merit since the legislature expressly provided that rules, regulations and standards adopted by a board of supervisors or the state board of health prior to the effective date of Article 8, consisting of sections 36-771 to 36-790, need not be readopted. See footnote to § 36-770, A.R.S. Respondent was charged by information, as quoted above, with violating Section IV, Regulation 1, Maricopa County Air Pollution Control Regulations and §§ 36-779 and 36-789.01 A.R.S. While it is true that of these three sections the only section actually violated was Section IV, Regulation 1, supra, the other two sections, A.R.S. §§ 36-779 and 36-789.01, were cited in the information for Arizona Mines' benefit, in order that the corporation might be better informed as to the possible penalty and the authority under which the Maricopa County Air Pollution Control Regulations were formulated. Respondent was adequately and appropriately charged. Though we have already ruled that defendant was appropriately charged we feel it worthwhile to answer the above-stated argument. Rule 118, Rules of Criminal Procedure, 17 A.R.S., specifically provides that an information need not contain an allegation of the time of the commission of the offense other than "on or about such time", unless such allegation is necessary to charge the offense under Rule 115, Rules of Criminal Procedure, A.R.S. In State v. Maxwell, 103 Ariz. 478, 445 P.2d 837 (1968), we held that an information is sufficient and Rule 115 satisfied where the information fairly indicates the crime charged, states the essential elements of the alleged offense and is sufficiently definite to apprise the defendant of the crime charged so as to allow him to prepare his defense. Here, defendant-respondent was sufficiently informed of the crime with which it was charged. The exact hour in which the offense was committed need not be alleged since time is not an essential element of the offense of polluting the air. An identical issue was raised and similarly disposed of in People v. Plywood Mfg's of California, 137 Cal. App. 2d Supp. 859, 291 P.2d 587 (1955), appeal dismissed, Union Oil Co. v. People of the State of California, 351 U.S. 929, 76 S. Ct. 787, 100 L. Ed. 1458, rehearing denied 351 U.S. 990, 76 S. Ct. 1046, 100 L. Ed. 1503. The argument that the information failed to sufficiently define the place of occurrence fails for basically the same reasons mentioned above. The law does not require that the precise place the offense was committed be given. See Rule 118, Rules of Criminal Procedure, A.R.S., wherein it is stated that an information need not contain an allegation of the place of commission of the offense, "unless such allegation is necessary to charge the offense under Rule 115." Here the information sufficiently alleged that the offense occurred in Maricopa County. An information is sufficient if the offense is set forth in such manner that a person of common understanding would know what was intended. State v. Suarez, 106 Ariz. 62, 470 P.2d 675 (1970). State v. Terrell, 103 Ariz. 453, 445 P.2d 429 (1968). It should be remembered that in the event such additional information should prove to be essential for defendant to prepare a defense, his remedy would be by way of a request for a bill of particulars pursuant to Rule 116, Rules of Criminal Procedure, 17 A.R.S. See also State v. Lombardo, 104 Ariz. 598, 457 P.2d 275 (1969); State v. Terrell, supra. In any event, respondent has shown no resulting prejudice. We find no error here. We find this argument totally unacceptable. In almost every jurisdiction in which the use of the Ringelmann Chart has been contested, its use as a standard for prosecution has been upheld. Northwestern Laundry v. City of Des Moines, 239 U.S. 486, 36 S. Ct. 206, 60 L. Ed. 396 (1916); People v. Plywood Mfg's of California, supra; People v. International Steel Corp., 102 Cal. App. 2d Supp. 935, 226 P.2d 587 (1951); Sittner v. Seattle, 62 Wash. 2d 834, 384 P.2d 859 (1963); Board of Health v. New York Central Railroad Co., 10 N.J. 294, 90 A.2d 729 (1952); Penn-Dixie Cement Corporation v. City of Kingsport, 189 Tenn. 450, 225 S.W.2d 270 (1949); City of Miami v. City of Coral Gables, 233 So. 2d 7 (Fla.App., 1970). In People v. International Steel Corp., supra, the use of the Ringelmann Chart was explained and upheld in the face of an attack on the California Air Pollution Act as having set forth no ascertainable standard of guilt by reason of its reference to the Ringelmann Chart. To this argument the court responded: For the foregoing reasons we find the Ringelmann Chart sets forth a reasonable standard for detection of air pollution and is not void for vagueness. In support of this argument respondent refers us to St. Regis Paper Co. v. State of Florida, 237 So. 2d 797 (1970), wherein the Florida court held that the Air Pollution Control Commission had acted prematurely in instituting an independent judicial action seeking civil and criminal penalties prior to having complied with the mandatory administrative procedures of § 403.121, Florida Statutes, 1967, F.S.A. This statute required that notice be given the alleged violator and that an administrative hearing and corrective action follow, if necessary, before any independent judicial action was commenced. Such required administrative procedure was not followed. We find this case to be inapposite to the case at bar, since § 36-781, A.R.S., does not provide for an administrative hearing as a prerequisite to instituting suit as did the Florida Air & Water Pollution Control Act. § 36-781, A.R.S., as amended, reads as follows: Clearly, under § 36-781, supra, petitioner was authorized to take either of three approaches. Petitioner might have served defendant-respondent with an order of abatement; petitioner might have "filed a complaint alleging violation pursuant to § 36-789.01"; or petitioner might have done both. Here, petitioner properly chose to institute suit. The fact that the legislature saw fit to grant petitioner the choice of utilizing his discretion as to which procedure to follow does not thereby render this Act invalid. Having found no abuse of that discretion, we hold that the action was not wrongfully or prematurely filed. With respect to the case at bar it is common knowledge that air pollution today poses a serious threat to the health of this nation and, as such, clearly falls within the scope of the state's regulatory powers. That air pollution bears a substantial relation to public health is beyond dispute and has on a number of occasions been the subject of judicial notice: As early as 1916, the United States Supreme Court, realizing the imminent adverse effects of industry's uncontrolled pollution of the air, held that so far as the Federal Constitution was concerned a state might, by itself or through authorized instrumentalities, declare the emission of dense smoke in cities or populous neighborhoods to be a nuisance and, therefore, subject to restraint; further holding that the harshness of such legislation or its effects on business interests, short of mere arbitrary enactment, would not be a valid constitutional objection. Northwestern Laundry v. City of Des Moines, 239 U.S. 486, 36 S. Ct. 206, 60 L. Ed. 396 (1916). Under a state's police power the legislature is vested with the power and duty to enact all manner of wholesome and reasonable laws, either with or without penalties as the legislature shall determine to be in the best interests of the state and its inhabitants. Promotion and improvement of public health is a fundamental obligation of national, state and local governments. Hitchcock v. Collenberg, 140 F. Supp. 894 (1956). And it is within the legislature's sole discretion to determine when and in what manner a business or occupation shall be subjected to reasonable restrictions: Article III of our Constitution, A.R.S. provides for the separation of government into three separate and distinct departments: The fundamental principle involved in Article III is that governmental powers are to be divided among the three departments of government; each to maintain its sovereignty within its own sphere. Yet, Under the doctrine of "separation of powers" the legislature alone possesses the lawmaking power and, while it cannot completely delegate this power to any other body, it may allow another body to fill in the details of legislation already enacted. Since the power to make a law includes discretion as to what it shall be, this particular power cannot be delegated. But the decisions display an increasing tendency, due to the complexity of our social and industrial activities, to hold as nonlegislative the authority conferred upon commissions and boards to formulate rules and regulations and to determine the state of facts upon which the law intends to make its action depend. Delegation of "quasi-legislative" powers to administrative agencies, authorizing them to make rules and regulations, within proper standards fixed by the legislature, are normally sustained as valid, and, barring a total abdication of their legislative powers, there is no real constitutional prohibition against the delegation of a large measure of authority to an administrative agency for the administration of a statute enacted pursuant to a state's police power. And the standards which must accompany such grant of legislative power need not necessarily be set forth in express terms if they might reasonably be inferred from the statutory scheme as a whole. In State v. Wacker, 86 Ariz. 247, 344 P.2d 1004 (1959), we upheld § 3-103, Title 3, Chapter 1 of the Agricultural Administrative Act, A.R.S., which authorized the Commission of Agricultural and Horticulture to promulgate rules and regulations designed to suppress and eradicate an insect pest, known as the "pink bollworm of cotton." In distinguishing the Wacker case, supra, from State v. Marana Plantations, Inc., 75 Ariz. 111, 252 P.2d 87 (1953), we upheld the following minimal standard: Here we have two separate, distinct and adequate standards. The first is that the rules and regulations shall be such as are determined to be "necessary and feasible." In Wacker, supra, we upheld an act whose only standard was that the rules and regulations were to be such as were "necessary." The rules and regulations in the case at bar must, in addition to being necessary, be "feasible." In addition, the rules and regulations to be promulgated by the county board of supervisors, were to contain pollution standards "at least equal to or more restrictive than those adopted by the board of health." We find no difficulty in upholding the legislative delegation of authority since adequate standards were set up. The fact that Arizona Mines had applied for and been granted a permit does not mean the corporation has been granted a license to pollute. Section 1, Regulation 2(c), Maricopa County Air Pollution Control Regulations, states in part that on or after the date these regulations are adopted a written permit from the Air Pollution Control Officer will be required for the continued use or operation of all existing machines, equipment, or other devices which may cause or contribute to air pollution or are used to prevent or control the emission of air contaminants. The permits *207 which Arizona Mines was issued merely certified that Arizona Mines had complied with the minimal requirements of the Maricopa County Health Code and the laws of the State of Arizona pertaining to the operation of such pollution control equipment; and that if Arizona Mines properly operated and maintained such equipment it should be sufficient to enable them to comply with the Maricopa County Air Pollution Control Regulations. Issuance of the permits does not constitute actual or implied permission to emit excessive contaminants; nor does it relieve a party from compliance with the Air Pollution Control Regulations or any other law or ordinance. Section IV, Regulation 1, Maricopa County Air Pollution Control Regulations, provides that: Nowhere does this regulation (or the Air Pollution Act, for that matter) provide, either expressly or impliedly, that before the state may convict someone of "air pollution" it must first prove that the air contaminant was discharged knowingly or intentionally. Defendant argues that some degree of knowledge or intent is pre-requisite to conviction. The State, on the other hand, contends that it need not prove intent or knowledge since this offense is more in the nature of "malum prohibitum". After having carefully considered the apparent intent of the legislature, arguments advanced by opposing counsel, the circumstances surrounding this case and the consequences of unabated air pollution to public health; we find that the state need not prove intent or knowledge on the part of the accused as a pre-requisite to conviction. That the legislature may make the doing of an act or the neglect to do something a crime without requiring criminal intent is well-settled. Troutner v. State, 17 Ariz. 506, 154 P. 1048 (1916); Borderland Construction Co. v. State of Arizona, 49 Ariz. 523, 68 P.2d 207 (1937); Fitzpatrick v. Board of Medical examiners, 96 Ariz. 309, 394 P.2d 423 (1964). The intent of the legislature therefore, is the controlling factor. With regard to the introduction by a defendant of evidence of expenditures made in installing pollution control equipment and precautions taken to avoid pollution, such will not constitute a defense to prosecution and conviction, and are, therefore, inadmissible at trial. Evidence of "extenuating circumstances" may, however, be presented to the court after verdict in mitigation of the penalty to be imposed. The basic premise of the concept of "strict liability" or "malum prohibitum" offenses is that the mere doing of the act constitutes the offense and the fact that the act was done without intent or in "happy ignorance" will not exonerate the party, nor does this make the prohibited act any less harmful to society. In conclusion, legislation in aid of the state's police power carries with it a presumption of validity which must be overcome by him who attacks its validity. American Federation of Labor v. American S. & D. Co., 67 Ariz. 20, 189 P.2d 912 (1948). Here, defendant has failed to carry his burden. We find this act to be a proper enactment under this state's police power. In accordance with the foregoing, we hold that the state need not prove criminal intent as a pre-requisite to conviction. It is therefore ordered that the petitioner's "Motion in Limine" be granted without prejudice to defendant-respondent's right to introduce evidence after verdict of extenuating circumstances, in mitigation of the penalty to be imposed. STRUCKMEYER, C.J., JACK D.H. HAYS, V.C.J., and LOCKWOOD and CAMERON, JJ., concur.