Opinion ID: 2640649
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: Merits of the Challenge for Cause

Text: We next address the issue of whether the trial court should have granted Ma's challenge for cause to a prospective juror who is an Army military police reservist. Ma argues that the Army Military Police Corps is a law enforcement agency because it is the law enforcement arm of the Army, just as a city's police department is the law enforcement arm of that city. The People, on the other hand, contend that the Army Military Police Corps is not a law enforcement agency because it is a subdivision of the Department of Defense, which is not a law enforcement agency. Before we begin our analysis of this issue, we note that the rationale underlying a challenge for cause to a compensated employee of a public law enforcement agency is to ensure that the jury in a criminal case remains impartial in both fact and appearance. People in the Interest of R.A.D., 196 Colo. 430, 432, 586 P.2d 46, 47 (1978); see Tate v. People, 125 Colo. 527, 538-540, 247 P.2d 665, 670-71 (1952). The concern is that one who is employed by a law enforcement agency will favor, or will be perceived to favor, the prosecution side of a criminal case. People in the Interest of R.A.D., 196 Colo. at 432, 586 P.2d at 47. Because a criminal defendant has the constitutional right to a fair trial by an impartial jury, see U.S. Const. amend. VI; Colo. Const. art. II, § 16, a trial court in a criminal case must grant all valid challenges for cause, see § 16-10-103; Carrillo v. People, 974 P.2d 478, 486-87 (Colo.1999). Even so, a trial court's failure to grant a valid challenge for cause requires retrial only if the defendant used a peremptory challenge to excuse the prospective juror and then exercised all available peremptory challenges. [4] Carrillo, 974 P.2d at 486-87.
We now begin our analysis of this issue, which requires us to construe the definition of the term law enforcement agency as it is used in section 16-10-103(1)(k). Words and phrases are to be construed according to their common usage unless they have acquired a technical or particular meaning, whether by legislative definition or otherwise. § 2-4-101, C.R.S. (2004); Binkley v. People, 716 P.2d 1111, 1113 (Colo.1986). The term law enforcement agency is not defined by section 16-10-103 or by any of the other statutes that govern jury selection and composition. See §§ 16-10-101 to 110, C.R.S. (2005). Therefore, we construe the term's meaning according to its common usage. The word agency is defined as a division of government. American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language 32, (4th ed.2000). The phrase law enforcement is defined as the detection and punishment of violations of the law. Black's Law Dictionary 891 (7th ed.1999). Detecting and punishing violations of law is commonly understood to be the job of the police or other police-like agencies. See American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language, supra at 1358 (defining the word police as the governmental department ... established to maintain order, enforce the law, and prevent and detect crime). Police officers are responsible for enforcing criminal laws. They do this by investigating crimes, and arresting, detaining, and assisting in the prosecution of suspected criminals. See, e.g., Denver Police Dep't, Denver Police Dep't Operations Manual (2004). Therefore, the common understanding of the phrase law enforcement conjures up images of police officers carrying out typical police functions in order to enforce criminal laws. In the broadest sense, the phrase law enforcement means not only the enforcement of criminal laws but also the enforcement of civil regulations. Black's Law Dictionary, supra at 891. However, when a word can be defined in either a broad or a narrow sense, the definition that will best effectuate the General Assembly's intent should be applied. Fifteenth St. Inv. Co. v. People, 102 Colo. 571, 581, 81 P.2d 764, 769 (1938). The broad meaning of the phrase law enforcement includes the enforcement of both criminal laws and civil regulations. But, to apply this meaning would enlarge the pool of dismissible jurors to a size that was not contemplated by the General Assembly. See People v. Simon, 100 P.3d 487, 491 (Colo.App.2004) (observing that the General Assembly did not intend for all employees of the EPA to be disqualified under the statute). The narrow meaning of the phrase law enforcement is limited to the enforcement of criminal laws. To apply this meaning would keep the pool of dismissible jurors to an appropriate size and would also achieve the General Assembly's goal of maintaining actual and apparent jury impartiality. See People in Interest of R.A.D., 196 Colo. at 432, 586 P.2d at 47. When we construe a statute, our goal is to ascertain and to give effect to the General Assembly's intent. People v. Guenther, 740 P.2d 971, 975 (Colo.1987). Thus, we construe the phrase law enforcement to mean the enforcement of criminal laws by the police or other police-like agencies. In addition to reflecting the phrase's common definition and the General Assembly's intent, our construction of the phrase law enforcement finds support throughout Colorado statutory and case law. The statutes that define the term law enforcement agency also identify several types of law enforcement agencies, including: any police department, sheriff's department, or district attorney's office; the office of the state attorney general; the Colorado bureau of investigations; and the Colorado state patrol. §§ 8-47-203.3(2), 8-72-111(2), 24-50-127(2)(b), 26-1-114(3)(a)(III)(B), C.R.S. (2005) (statutes about state employee benefits and protections); § 42-5-201(6), C.R.S. (2005) (a statute about traffic regulations). Notably, each of these agencies enforces criminal laws, thus reinforcing the notion that the phrase law enforcement does not imply the enforcement of civil regulations. In a number of cases, the court of appeals has held that agencies responsible for enforcing civil regulations are not law enforcement agencies for the purpose of section 16-10-103(1)(k). See, e.g., People v. Zurenko, 833 P.2d 794, 796 (Colo.App.1991) (Department of Social Services and Equal Employment Opportunity Commission); People v. Topping, 764 P.2d 369, 370 (Colo.App.1988) (State Department of Administration), aff'd on other grounds, 793 P.2d 1168 (Colo.1990); People v. Urrutia, 893 P.2d 1338, 1346 (Colo.App.1994) (Department of Defense); Simon, 100 P.3d at 491 (Environmental Protection Agency); cf. People v. Scott, 41 Colo.App. 66, 583 P.2d 939, 941 (1978) (holding that the Department of Corrections is a law enforcement agency because some of the agency's personnel have the power to arrest); People v. Maes, 43 Colo.App. 365, 609 P.2d 1105, 1107 (1979) (holding that a challenge for cause to a mechanic in the Denver Police Department's garage should have been granted). Through these cases, the court of appeals has implicitly construed the phrase law enforcement, contained in section 16-10-103(1)(k), to connote only the enforcement of criminal laws. Combining the common meanings of the phrase law enforcement and the word agency, we reason that the term law enforcement agency means a division of government that detects and punishes criminal violations of the law by performing police-like duties such as investigating crimes and arresting, prosecuting, or detaining suspected criminals. Put in a less cumbersome way, a law enforcement agency is a police-like division of government that has the authority to investigate crimes and to arrest, to prosecute, or to detain suspected criminals.
Having construed what the term law enforcement agency means as it is used in section 16-10-103(1)(k), we turn to the specifics of this case and consider two questions: first, whether the Army Military Police Corps is an agency; and second, if so, whether it is a law enforcement agency. As to the first question, the court of appeals determined that the Army Military Police Corps is not an agency in and of itself. Ma, 104 P.3d at 277-78. Because of this determination, the court of appeals did not analyze whether the Army Military Police Corps is a law enforcement agency, but instead analyzed whether the Department of Defense, which oversees the Army, is one. Id. Contrary to the court of appeals, we see no reason why the Army Military Police Corps should not be considered an agency in and of itself. It is true that the Army Military Police Corps is a subdivision of the Army, which is overseen by the Department of Defense. See Dep't of the Army, Pamphlet 10-1, Organization of the U.S. Army 2, Fig. 1-1 (1994). And, it appears that the court of appeals correctly concluded that the Department of Defense is not a law enforcement agency. See Urrutia, 893 P.2d at 1345-46; Ma, 104 P.3d at 277-78 (adopting the conclusion and reasoning of Urrutia ). However, the common definition of the word agency is not bound by bureaucratic happenstance, and we should not construe the word so as to undermine the rationale behind section 16-10-103(1)(k). See Guenther, 740 P.2d at 975. An agency is a division of government, and a subdivision of government is, practically speaking, also a division of government. Thus, a subdivision of government is an agency for the purpose of section 16-10-103(1)(k), especially, in our view, when that subdivision is the law enforcement arm of a larger agency. In addition to being a subdivision of government, the Army Military Police Corps is the law enforcement branch of the Army. See Organization of the U.S. Army, supra, App. H: Branches of the Army, at 50. Hence, we conclude that the Army Military Police Corps is an agency. As to the second question of whether the Army Military Police Corps is a law enforcement agency, the purpose of the Army Military Police Corps is to maintain law and order on Army military bases and installations by enforcing Army regulations and the Uniform Code of Military Justice. See Dep't of the Army, Pamphlet 600-3-31, Branch Code 31  Military Police (1987); Dep't of the Army, Field Manual No. 19-10, Military Police: Law and Order Operations (1987). To carry out that purpose, military police officers  including reservists  are trained and authorized to arrest suspected criminals, to investigate crimes, and to detain prisoners. See id. Like civilian police officers, military police officers wear police uniforms, are armed with weapons, and patrol in marked police cars. See id. Because the duties and responsibilities of a military police officer are analogous to those of a civilian police officer, whose job it is to detect and punish violations of the criminal law, we conclude that the Army Military Police Corps, just like a civilian police department, embodies the common understanding of the phrase law enforcement. Therefore, we hold that the Army Military Police Corps is a law enforcement agency for the purpose of section 16-10-103(1)(k) and that an Army military police reservist is a compensated employee of a public law enforcement agency.