Case Name: STATE of Minnesota, Respondent, v. Steven Mark LOGE, Appellant
Court: Minnesota Supreme Court
Jurisdiction: Minnesota
Decision Date: 2000-03-02
Citations: 608 N.W.2d 152
Docket Number: No. C9-98-842
Parties: STATE of Minnesota, Respondent, v. Steven Mark LOGE, Appellant.
Judges: 
Reporter: North Western Reporter 2d
Volume: 608
Pages: 152–163

Head Matter:
STATE of Minnesota, Respondent, v. Steven Mark LOGE, Appellant.
No. C9-98-842.
Supreme Court of Minnesota.
March 2, 2000.
John M. Stuart, MN State Public Defender, Scott G. Swanson, Assistant State Public Defender, Minneapolis, for appellant.
Michael A. Hatch, MN Attorney General, James B. Early, Assistant Attorney General, St. Paul, for respondent.

Opinion:
OPINION
GILBERT, Justice.
This case presents the question of whether knowledge is an element of the crime under the open bottle law when the driver is the sole occupant of a motor vehicle. Appellant Steven Mark Loge was cited on September 2, 1997, for a violation of Minn.Stat. § 169.122, subd. 8 (1998), which makes it unlawful for the driver of a motor vehicle, when the owner is not present, "to keep or allow to be kept in a motor vehicle when such vehicle is upon the public highway any bottle or receptacle containing intoxicating liquors or 8.2 percent malt liquors which has been opened." Violation of the statute is a misdemeanor. See Minn.Stat. § 169.122, subd. 4 (1998). After a bench trial, the district court held that subdivision 3 imposed "absolute liability" on the driver/owner. Loge appealed. The court of appeals affirmed the conviction, holding that proof of knowledge that the open container was in the motor vehicle was not required. See State v. Loge, 589 N.W.2d 491, 494 (Minn.App.1999). We affirm.
On September 2, 1997, Loge borrowed his father's pick-up truck to go to his evening job. Driving alone on his way home from work, he was stopped by two Albert Lea city police officers on County Road 18 at approximately 8:15 p.m. because he appeared to be speeding. Loge got out of his truck and stood by the driver's side door. While one officer was talking with Loge, the second officer, who was standing by the passenger side of the truck, observed a bottle, which he believed to be a beer bottle, sticking partially out of a brown paper bag underneath the passenger's side of the seat. He retrieved that bottle, which was open and had foam on the inside. He searched the rest of the truck and found one full, unopened can of beer and one empty beer can. After the second officer found the beer bottle, the first officer asked Loge if he had been drinking. Loge stated that he had two beers while working and was on his way home. Loge passed all standard field sobriety tests. The officers gave Loge citations for having no proof of insurance and for a violation of the open bottle statute but not for speeding. The no proof of insurance charge was later dismissed. Loge did not raise a probable cause challenge to either the stop or the officer's actions in observing the open bottle on the floor of the truck.
The trial on the open bottle charge took place on January 29, 1998. Loge testified that the bottle was not his, he did not know it was in the truck and had said that to one of the officers. That officer did not remember any such statements. At the close of the testimony, the trial court requested memoranda from Loge's counsel and the city attorney on the question of whether knowledge is an element of subdivision 3 of the open bottle statute. Both attorneys came to the same legal conclusion that proof of knowledge was required. The trial court found that one of the police officers "observed the neck of the bottle, which was wrapped in a brown paper sack, under the pickup's seat of the truck being operated by defendant." Based on an analysis of section 169.122 as a whole, the trial court held that subdivision 3 creates "absolute liability" on a driver/owner to "inspect and determine whether there are any containers" in the motor vehicle in violation of the open bottle law and found Loge guilty. Loge was sen tenced to five days in jail, execution stayed, placed on probation for one year, and fined $150 plus costs of $32.50.
Loge appealed the verdict. The city attorney did not file a respondent's brief but sent a letter to the Clerk of Appellate Court stating that he "coneur[red] with the reasoning and rationale in the Appellant's brief and therefore there [was] no reason for the State of Minnesota to file a Respondent's brief." In a published opinion, the court of appeals affirmed the decision of the trial court finding that the evidence, which establishes that one of the officers saw an open bottle containing intoxicating liquor underneath the passenger seat of the truck Loge was driving on a public highway, was sufficient to support Loge's conviction. See Loge, 589 N.W.2d at 494. The court of appeals held that proof of knowledge that the bottle was in the truck is not required to sustain a conviction. See id.
Loge's petition for further review was granted. The Attorney -General then assumed responsibility for this case and filed a respondent's brief in which the Attorney General argues, contrary to the previous position of the state, that there is no knowledge requirement under subdivision 3.
Loge is seeking reversal of his conviction because, he argues, the trial court and court of appeals erroneously interpreted subdivision 3 of the open bottle statute not to require proof of knowledge. Loge argues that the words "to keep or allow to be kept" implicitly and unambiguously require a defendant to have knowledge of the open container in the motor vehicle in order for criminal liability to attach. He argues that "keep" means "to maintain, or cause to stay or continue, in a specified condition, position, etc." Loge argues that that definition suggests that a person must purposely choose to continue possession. Further, Loge argues that the word "allow" from the phrase "allow to be kept" means "to permit; to grant license to," suggesting awareness at the minimum.
The state argues that the language of subdivision 3 creates a strict liability offense. The statute was enacted in 1959 and subdivision 3 has not had any substantive change since its enactment. The state relies heavily on the presumption that the legislature intends the statute as a whole to be effective and certain, with no surplusage. See Minn.Stat. § 645.16, 645.17(2) (1998); State v. Orsello, 554 N.W.2d 70, 75-76 (Minn.1996). The state argues that subdivision 3's "keep or allow to be kept" language must mean more than mere possession of alcohol because owners/drivers are already subject to liability under subdivision 2 for mere possession, which applies to all persons in the motor vehicle. The state further argues that to read subdivision 3 as requiring conscious or continuing possession would make it mere surplusage.
Statutory construction is a legal determination reviewed by this court under a de novo standard. See In re A.A.E., 590 N.W.2d 773, 776 (Minn.1999). An analysis of a statute must begin with a careful and close examination of the statutory language. See Orsello, 554 N.W.2d at 74. We undertake such a review to ascertain and effectuate legislative intent. See Minn.Stat. § 645.16. If the meaning of the statute is "clear and free from all ambiguity, the letter of the law shall not be disregarded under the pretext of pursuing the spirit." Id.
Except for search and seizure issues, this is the first time we have reviewed this statute since its enactment 40 years ago. We are asked only to interpret this statute under the facts presented. Although this statute addresses two potential, alternate situations involving a driver of "any private motor vehicle when such vehicle is upon the public highway," only one is presented under these facts. Minn.Stat. § 169.122, subd. 3. The statute establishes liability for such a driver when that driver "keep[s] or allow[s] to be kept" any open bottle containing intoxicating liquor within the area normally occupied by the driver and passengers. Id. (emphasis added). These two alternate concepts are separated by the disjunctive "or," not "and." Unlike the use of the word "and," "or" signifies the distinction between two factual situations. We have long held that in the absence of some ambiguity surrounding the legislature's use of the word "or," we will read it in the disjunctive and require that only one of the possible factual situations be present in order for the statute to be satisfied. See, e.g., Amaral v. Saint Cloud Hosp., 598 N.W.2d 379, 385 (Minn.1999); Aberle v. Faribault Fire Dept. Relief Ass'n, 230 Minn. 353, 360, 41 N.W.2d 813, 817 (1950) ("The word 'or' is a disjunctive and ordinarily refers to different things as alternatives."). Accordingly, we limit our opinion to the words "to keep." Minn.Stat. § 169.122, subd. 3.
Further, even though this was a court trial, we note that similar to the statute, CRIMJIG 29.30 also recognizes the significance of the use of the disjunctive "or" and provides for separate, alternate instructions on "(kept) (allowed to be kept)." See 10a Minn. Dist. Judges Ass'n, Minnesota Practice-Jury Instruction Guides, Misdemeanor and Gross Misdemeanor, CRIMJIG 29.30 (4th ed.1999); see also 10 Minn. Dist. Judges Ass'n, Minnesota Practice-Jury Instruction Guides, Misdemeanor and Gross Misdemeanor, Explanatory Note (4th ed. 1999) ("[PJarentheses indicate options for factual variations ."). In prior versions of the jury instructions, the comment noted that the trial judges are divided as to whether knowledge is required under the statute. See 10a Minn. Dist. Judges Ass'n, Minnesota Practice-Jury Instruction Guides, Misdemeanor and Gross Misdemeanor, M-JIG 3.17 Comment (1989 ed.). The comment noted that "[s]inee the [question of proof of knowledge] has not been ruled upon by the Minnesota appellate courts, the trial judge should include or omit the bracketed portion according to his or her own reading of the statute." Id. Thus, the instruction included then, as it does now, an optional portion in brackets which reads "[This means that defendant knew the (bottle) (receptacle) was in the vehicle.]." 10a Minn. Dist. Judges Ass'n, Minnesota Practice-Jury Instruction Guides, Misdemeanor and Gross Misdemeanor, M-JIG 3.17 (1989 ed.); see also 10a Minn. Dist. Judges Ass'n, Minnesota Practice-Jury Instruction Guides, Misdemeanor and Gross Misdemeanor, CRIMJIG 29.30 (4th ed. 1999) ("[Brackets indicate optional element choices, depending on the portion of the statute that has been charged."). We take this opportunity to review Minn. Stat. § 169.122, subd. 3 as it relates to the facts in the record where there was only a sole occupant in the vehicle.
We are guided in our interpretation of section 169.122, subdivision 3 by the statutory presumption that the legislature intends an entire statute to be effective and certain. See Minn.Stat. § 645.17(2). We must therefore look to all subdivisions of section 169.122 together to help us determine whether the legislature intended to impose liability under subdivision 3 on a driver/owner without proof of knowledge. Subdivision 1 prohibits the consumption of alcohol by any person in a motor vehicle on a public highway. See Minn.Stat. § 169.122, subd. 1 (1998). Subdivision 2 prohibits the actual possession of, or conscious exercise of dominion and control over, an open bottle of alcohol by any person in the vehicle. See id. § 169.122, subd. 2 (1998). In contrast, subdivision 3 provides that the owner, or if the owner is not present, the driver is responsible for ensuring that no open bottles of alcohol are present in a vehicle on a public highway, regardless of consumption, actual possession or conscious exercise of dominion and control. See id. § 169.122, subd. 3. Consumption, possession and presence of an open container of alcohol in a motor vehicle are each separate risks. The legislature separately addressed each risk in section 169.122, subdivisions 1 through 3 in an effort to promote highway safety by decreasing the opportunity for alcohol consumption and drunken driving that an open container of alcohol anywhere in the vehicle creates. It is clear from reading the statute as a whole that the legislature intended to categorically prohibit open bottles of alcohol in a motor vehicle on a public road except under the limited circumstances that the legislature expressly addressed and carved out. Thus, we find no ambiguity in the legislature's use of the word "keep."
We are mindful of Loge's argument that, as a criminal statute, section 169.122 must be strictly construed. See State v. Zacher, 504 N.W.2d 468, 473 (Minn.1993). Where we have found a statute ambiguous, we have said, "if criminal liability, particularly gross misdemeanor or felony liability, is to be imposed for conduct unaccompanied by fault, the legislative intent to do so should be clear." State v. Neisen, 415 N.W.2d 326, 329 (Minn.1987). However, we have held that the rule of strict construction does not require this court to assign the narrowest possible interpretation to the statute or to adopt a construction that would render the statute or one of its subdivisions meaningless. See Zacher, 504 N.W.2d at 473. Furthermore, where, as here, we have interpreted the statute and find no ambiguity, "the so-called 'rule of lenity,' which holds that ambiguity concerning the ambit of criminal statutes should be resolved in favor of lenity towards the defendant," has no application. Orsello, 554 N.W.2d at 74 (emphasis added) (citations omitted). As we did in Gullings v. State Bd. of Dental Examiners, 200 Minn. 115, 119, 273 N.W. 703, 705 (1937), we adhere to the rule of strict construction for a penal statute but hold that where the language of the stat ute is clear, the court is bound to give effect thereto.
In delineating the elements of the crime, we have also held that the legislature is entitled to consider what it deems "expedient and best suited to the prevention of crime and disorder." State v. Morse, 281 Minn. 378, 382, 161 N.W.2d 699, 702 (1968) (citations omitted). The Supreme Court has addressed the dichotomy between the opportunity to discover and the difficulty of proof in arranging a statutory scheme establishing criminal liability for an unknowing individual:
Congress weighed the possible injustice of subjecting an innocent seller to a penalty against the evil of exposing innocent purchasers to danger from the drug, and concluded that the latter was the result preferably to be avoided. Doubtless considerations as to the opportunity of the seller to find out the fact and the difficulty of proof oí knowledge contributed to this conclusion.
United States v. Balint, 258 U.S. 250, 254, 42 S.Ct. 301, 66 L.Ed. 604 (1922) (emphasis added). Here, if knowledge was a necessary element of the open container offense, there would be a substantial, if not insurmountable, difficulty of proof. The legislature may have weighed the possible injustice of subjecting a driver to a penalty against the opportunity of the driver to discover any open bottle and the difficulty of proof of knowledge. It is therefore reasonable to conclude that the legislature, weighing the significant danger to the public, decided that proof of knowledge under subdivision 3 was not required.
The legislature has made knowledge distinctions within its traffic statutes that also guide our interpretation. For example, with respect to marijuana in a motor vehicle, the Minnesota legislature has used language similar to the language found in section 169.122, subdivision 3 ("keep or allow to be kept") but added a knowledge requirement. An owner, or if the owner is not present, the driver, is guilty of a misdemeanor if he "knowingly keeps or allows to be kept" marijuana in a motor vehicle. Minn.Stat. § 152.027, subd. 3 (1998) (emphasis added). The use of the word "knowingly" in section 152.027, subdivision 3 to modify the same language as contained in section 169.122, subdivision 3 indicates that the legislature does not perceive the word "keep" alone to imply or contain a knowledge element. Section 152.027 became effective in August of 1989, 30 years after section 169.122 was enacted. If the legislature had intended section 169.122 to have a knowledge requirement, it could have added the word "knowingly," as the legislature did in section 152.027, when section 169.122 was amended in 1990, 1991, 1993 and 1994 or at any other time.
In the absence of such a modifier, we believe that the parallels between subdivision 3 and other non-alcohol related traffic statutes also support our holding. The phrases "it shall be unlawful" or "no person shall" appear throughout the traffic code and have never been understood to require a showing of intent to prove a violation of the statute. See generally Minn.Stat. § 169.14 (1998) (speeding); Butler v. Engel, 243 Minn. 317, 336, 68 N.W.2d 226, 238 (1954). In fact, Loge concedes that other provisions of the traffic code that use such language are strict liability offenses. See generally Minn.Stat. § 169.14, 169.48 (1998).
Lastly, Loge argues that an interpretation excluding knowledge as an element could lead to absurd results. While it is true that the legislature does not intend a result that is absurd or unreasonable, see Minn.Stat. § 645.17(1) (1998), we do not believe such a result exists here. Loge's conviction resulted from an officer standing outside the truck observing the open container of beer sticking partially out of a brown bag underneath the seat on the passenger side of the truck Loge was driving. By simply taking control of the truck, Loge took control and charge of the contents of the truck, including the open bottle, even if he did not know the open bottle was in the truck.
Though the dissent acknowledges the authority of the legislature to create criminal statutes without regard to intent or knowledge, it cites to the rule enunciated in Kremer as a limitation: "it is not essential that the wrongdoer should intend to commit the crime to which his act amounts, but it is essential that he should intend to do the act which constitutes the crime." State v. Kremer, 262 Minn. 190, 191, 114 N.W.2d 88, 89 (1962) (citations omitted). However, although dicta, we also stated:
If the defendant went through a stop light that he did not see, and was defending on the ground that he did so without any criminal intent, a court could be justified in finding him guilty of a violation of the ordinance involved. When the driver intends to proceed forward, or is negligent in any way, he can be held liable for his acts.
Id. at 192, 114 N.W.2d at 89. Similarly, here, even though Loge did not see the open bottle and argues therefore that he had no criminal intent, he, as the driver, intended to proceed forward. As in the Kremer hypothetical, not seeing a stop sign or, as here, not seeing an open bottle, a court is justified in finding a defendant guilty of a violation of the statute if the defendant intended to proceed forward. In order to avoid violating this statute, Loge had an affirmative duty to ensure that there were no open containers in the area of a motor vehicle normally occupied by the driver or passenger on a public highway. He had the opportunity and was in the best position to find out the fact of the open bottle?s presence "with no more care than society might reasonably expect and no more exertion than it might reasonably exact from one who assumed his responsibilities." Id. (citing Morissette v. United States, 342 U.S. 246, 256, 72 S.Ct. 240, 96 L.Ed. 288 (1952)). Here, all Loge had to do was observe an open beer bottle protruding from a bag under the passenger's seat, which the trial court found was visible even to the officer who was standing outside the truck looking in.
The "to keep" an open bottle language of subdivision 3 means more than knowingly continuing possession because such conduct is already made illegal by subdivision 2. Any other interpretation would render subdivision 3 mere surplusage and would violate the statutory presumption that the legislature intends an entire statute to be effective and certain. See Minn.Stat. § 645.17(2); Orsello, 554 N.W.2d at 75-76. Therefore, we hold that in a prosecution under section 169.122, subdivision 3, the state need not prove that the driver and sole occupant of a motor vehicle on a public highway knew of the existence of the open bottle containing intoxicating liquors in the motor vehicle.
Affirmed.
. Minnesota Statutes § 169.122 reads in part:
Subdivision 1. No person shall drink or consume intoxicating liquors or 3.2 percent malt liquors in any motor vehicle when such vehicle is upon a public highway.
Subdivision 2. No person shall have in possession while in a private motor vehicle upon a public highway, any bottle or receptacle containing intoxicating liquor or 3.2 percent malt liquor which has been opened, or the seal broken, or the contents of which have been partially removed. For purposes of this section, "possession" means either that the person had actual possession of the bottle or receptacle or that the person consciously exercised dominion and control over the bottle or receptacle. This subdivision does not apply to a bottle or receptacle that is in the trunk of the vehicle if it is equipped with a trunk, or that is in another area of the vehicle not normally occupied by the driver and passengers if the vehicle is not equipped with a trunk.
Subdivision 3. It shall be unlawful for the owner of any private motor vehicle or the driver, if the owner be not then present in the motor vehicle, to keep or allow to be kept in a motor vehicle when such vehicle is upon the public highway any bottle or receptacle containing intoxicating liquors or 3.2 percent malt liquors which has been opened, or the seal broken, or the contents of which have been partially removed except when such bottle or receptacle shall be kept in the trunk of the motor vehicle when such vehicle is equipped with a trunk, or kept in some other area of the vehicle not normally occupied by the driver of passengers, if the motor vehicle is not equipped with a trunk. A utility compartment or glove compartment shall be deemed to be within the area occupied by the driver and passengers.
. A 1986 amendment removed gender specific references throughout the Minnesota Statutes but did not change the substance of the statutes amended. See Act of March 25, 1986, ch. 444, § 1-4, 1986 Minn. Laws 775, 775-77. A 1991 amendment instructed the revisor of statutes to substitute "3.2 percent malt liquor" for "nonintoxicaling malt liquor." See Act of May 31, 1991, ch. 249, § 31, 1991 Minn. Laws 782, 794.
. The use of the word "allow" may have other implications that are not present in this record which we decline to address.
. Minnesota Statutes § 169.122, subd. 5 (1998) exempts charter buses and limousines from the scope of the statute.
. One year after the original open bottle statute was enacted, the Attorney General for the State of Minnesota issued an opinion construing the "keep or allow to be kept" language not to require proof of knowledge. See Op. Att'y Gen. No. 54, at 103-05 (Jan. 5, 1960). Attorney general opinions are entitled to "careful consideration" by this court particularly when the opinion is long-standing. See Billigmeier v. County of Hennepin, 428 N.W.2d 79, 82 (Minn.1988). Furthermore, this court has held that where the legislature amends a statute after it has been construed by an attorney general opinion without changing that construction, it is evidence of legislative intent to adopt the meaning attributed to the statute by the attorney general. See Stoecker v. Moeglein, 269 Minn. 19, 22-23, 129 N.W.2d 793, 796 (1964).
. The dissent also cites State v. Dombroski, 145 Minn. 278, 176 N.W. 985 (1920) and In re A.A.E., 590 N.W,2d 773 (Minn. 1999) for support for this rule. In Dombroski, we held that with respect to a statute criminalizing the rape of an incompetent woman, the legislature had "clearly eliminate[d] the element of knowledge and intent" about a victim's incompetence. See 145 Minn, at 281, 176 N.W. at 986. We found in A.A.E. that other statutory language ("under circumstances") compelled us to hold that a person must act recklessly in endangering another. 590 N.W.2d at 777. Dombroski and A.A.E. involved construing the language of specific statutes; neither altered our basic understanding of the rule enunciated in Kremer.