Case Name: Linda KNAPP, Petitioner, v. The Honorable Frederick J. MARTONE, a Judge of the Superior Court of the State of Arizona, in and for Maricopa County, Respondent. and John Henry KNAPP, Real Party in Interest
Court: Arizona Supreme Court
Jurisdiction: Arizona
Decision Date: 1992-01-07
Citations: 170 Ariz. 237
Docket Number: No. CV-91-0356-SA
Parties: Linda KNAPP, Petitioner, v. The Honorable Frederick J. MARTONE, a Judge of the Superior Court of the State of Arizona, in and for Maricopa County, Respondent. and John Henry KNAPP, Real Party in Interest.
Judges: GORDON, C.J., and CAMERON and CORCORAN, JJ., concur.
Reporter: Arizona Reports
Volume: 170
Pages: 237–241

Head Matter:
823 P.2d 685
Linda KNAPP, Petitioner, v. The Honorable Frederick J. MARTONE, a Judge of the Superior Court of the State of Arizona, in and for Maricopa County, Respondent. and John Henry KNAPP, Real Party in Interest.
No. CV-91-0356-SA.
Supreme Court of Arizona, En Banc.
Jan. 7, 1992.
Carmen L. Fischer, Phoenix, for petitioner.
Meyer, Hendricks, Victor, Osborn & Mal-edon, P.A. by Andrew D. Hurwitz and Sigmund G. Popko, Larry A. Hammond, Jon M. Sands, and Henze, Ronan & Clark by Tom Henze, Phoenix, for real party in interest.

Opinion:
OPINION
MOELLER, Justice.
STATEMENT OF THE CASE
Petitioner Linda Knapp asks that we accept jurisdiction of this special action and vacate the trial court's order compelling her to submit to a court-ordered deposition requested by her former husband, John Henry Knapp (defendant). Ariz. Const. art. 6, § 5(1) grants us jurisdiction over common law writs, which are now presented as special actions pursuant to Rules 4(a) and 7(a), Ariz.R.P.Spec. Act., 17B A.R.S.
QUESTION PRESENTED
Is Linda Knapp a "victim" within the meaning of the Arizona Victims' Bill of Rights, Ariz. Const, art. 2, § 2.1?
FACTS AND PROCEDURAL BACKGROUND
In 1973, defendant was charged with two counts of first degree murder of his daughters, aged two and three. Defendant's first trial ended in a mistrial. At his second trial, defendant was convicted of murdering his children and sentenced to death. The convictions and sentences were affirmed on appeal to this court. State v. Knapp, 114 Ariz. 531, 562 P.2d 704 (1977), cert. denied, 435 U.S. 908, 98 S.Ct. 1458, 55 L.Ed.2d 500 (1978). In post-conviction proceedings in 1987, the trial court granted defendant a new trial based on newly discovered scientific evidence. In December 1987, the trial court dismissed the case without prejudice.
In October 1990, the state re-charged defendant with first degree murder. Because of defendant's earlier claims that his confession was given to protect his wife, the state, in the 1990 information, added an alternative allegation charging defendant as an accessory. In oral arguments in the trial court, the state acknowledged that, under the accessory theory, the co-conspirator would be Mrs. Knapp. However, the state has never charged her with a crime nor has it named her in an information or indictment. Although the state disclaimed any intent to call Mrs. Knapp as a witness, defendant sought to depose her. He claims she is a potential defense witness, and he is entitled to depose her although he has access to all the transcripts of her earlier interviews and testimony. Mrs. Knapp objected to the proposed deposition, arguing that, as a victim under the Victims' Bill of Rights, Ariz. Const, art. 2, § 2.1, she has the right to refuse to submit to a deposition. The trial court overruled her objection and ordered her to submit to a deposition based on its finding that she was not a victim "within the definition of the Victim Bill of Rights," and that "it could not have been the intent of the draftspersons (of the Victims' Rights Amendment) to exclude a person, such as Ms. Knapp, who was, is, or could be a suspect in the case."
Mrs. Knapp challenged the trial court's ruling in an unsuccessful special action in the court of appeals. She then filed this special action in this court. We stayed the deposition pending oral argument. Following oral argument, by majority vote, we vacated the trial court's order, stating that an opinion would follow in due course. This is that opinion.
DISCUSSION
Petitioner argues that, as the mother of the two children alleged to have been murdered, she is a "victim" under the Victims' Bill of Rights and may therefore properly refuse defendant's request to depose her. Although the Victims' Bill of Rights did not become effective until November 1990, after this case was filed, it nevertheless applies. State v. Warner, 168 Ariz. 261, 812 P.2d 1079 (App.1990) (Victims' Bill of Rights giving victim right to refuse an interview is procedural and therefore applies to cases pending on date amendment became effective). The Victims' Bill of Rights defines "victim" as:
a person against whom the criminal offense has been committed or, if the person is killed or incapacitated, the person's spouse, parent, child or other lawful representative, except if the person is in custody for an offense or is the accused.
Ariz. Const. art. 2, § 2.1(C) (emphasis added). As mother of the children involved, Mrs. Knapp is a "victim" under the constitutional definition. The only victims excluded from the protection of the Victims' Bill of Rights are those "in custody for an offense" or those who are "the accused." Mrs. Knapp is not "in custody for an offense" nor is she "the accused" in any commonly accepted usage of the term. While the Victims' Bill of Rights itself does not define "accused," the Victims' Rights Implementation Act, A.R.S. § 13-4401(1), which became effective December 31, 1991, defines an "accused" as "a person who has been arrested for committing a criminal offense and who is held for an initial appearance or other proceeding before trial." Mrs. Knapp is therefore not an accused under the constitutional provision, nor will she be one under the prospective statutory provision.
Although the dissent would affirm the trial court's order compelling Mrs. Knapp to submit to a deposition on the theory that she is "the accused" or "an accused," the trial court did not consider her to be an "accused." Instead, the trial court held that Mrs. Knapp was not a "victim" at all on the theory that the drafters of the constitutional amendment did not intend to include as a victim a person "who was, is, or could be a suspect" in a case. Although petitioner at one time may have been a suspect in this case and has received a grant of immunity in exchange for her testimony, she has never been charged with or held for any offense.
This is the first published opinion of this court involving application of the recently-enacted Victims' Bill of Rights. It is important to emphasize that Arizona courts must follow and apply the plain language of this new amendment to our constitution. If trial courts are permitted to make ad hoc exceptions to the constitutional rule based upon the perceived exigencies of each case, the harm the Victims' Bill of Rights was designed to ameliorate will, instead, be increased. Permitting such ad hoc exceptions will encourage defendants or others to assert that the person designated as the victim should, instead, be considered a suspect. These assertions will lead to hearings, such as the one held in this case, to determine whether the rights expressly granted to victims by the Victims' Bill of Rights should be overridden. Such proceedings can only increase the harassment of victims that the Victims' Bill of Rights was designed to decrease.
DISPOSITION
Petitioner is a victim as defined in the Victims' Bill of Rights. As such, she has a constitutional right to refuse defendant's request for a deposition. The trial court's order overriding that refusal was error and it is hereby reversed.
GORDON, C.J., and CAMERON and CORCORAN, JJ., concur.
. In published opinions, we avoid using the victim's real name when the victim's identity is not material to a discussion of the case and when disclosure might further traumatize the victim. In this case we use petitioner's real former married name because the facts of the case make her identity obvious, and because it has already been widely disseminated by the news media for many years.
. We note that Mrs. Knapp is also a "victim" within the provisions of Rule 39, Ariz.R.Crim.P. 17 A.R.S., a court-enacted rule which became effective on August 1, 1989. However, that rule does not provide a victim an absolute right to refuse to submit to an interview.