Opinion ID: 1198152
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: Development of Arizona Law to Date

Text: Arizona has long provided its citizens with greater access to jury trials than is required by the federal constitution. Federal constitutional law has evolved such that, unless the crime is punishable by more than six months incarceration, it is presumptively a petty offense not entitled to a jury trial. Lewis v. United States, ___ U.S. ___, ___, 116 S.Ct. 2163, 2166, 135 L.Ed.2d 590 (1996); Blanton v. North Las Vegas, 489 U.S. 538, 543, 109 S.Ct. 1289, 1293, 103 L.Ed.2d 550 (1989). The United States Supreme Court has indicated that some exceptions to this presumptive rule may exist where there are other significant consequences flowing from the conviction in addition to incarceration, but the exception has rarely, if ever, been applied. See Blanton, 489 U.S. at 543, 109 S.Ct. at 1293. Arizona has looked to the length of possible incarceration as highly important, but not controlling, on whether a jury is required. In Rothweiler v. Superior Ct., 100 Ariz. 37, 410 P.2d 479 (1966), this court concluded that Arizona courts also would examine the moral quality of the act charged, and its relationship to common law crimes. Thus, in Rothweiler this court held that a defendant charged with driving under the influence was entitled to a jury trial. Id. at 44-45, 410 P.2d at 484-85. Rothweiler was subject to no more than six months jail time, so he was not eligible for a jury trial under current federal constitutional standards. See Lewis, ___ U.S. at ___, 116 S.Ct. at 2166. In State v. Superior Court, 121 Ariz. 174, 589 P.2d 48 (App.1978), the court of appeals, applying Rothweiler, held that a person charged with shoplifting was entitled to a jury trial because the crime was one of moral turpitude and the consequences of a conviction were sufficiently serious. Id. at 175-76, 589 P.2d at 49-50. In so holding, the court noted the relationship between the statutory crime of shoplifting and the common law crime of larceny. Id. at 176, 589 P.2d at 50. In the most recent case in which this court spoke on this issue, we held that a defendant charged with possession of marijuana was entitled to a jury trial. State ex rel. Dean v. Dolny, 161 Ariz. 297, 778 P.2d 1193 (1989). We first noted that our legislature had defined petty offense to exclude any offense for which any sentence of incarceration could be imposed. Id. at 299-300, 778 P.2d at 1195-96. Although the statutory definition was not controlling with respect to the right to a jury trial, we concluded it was entitled to considerable deference. Id. We then discussed the three-part test of Rothweiler. We determined that the moral quality prong of the Rothweiler standard was not strictly limited to crimes that involved moral turpitude in its classic sense. Id. at 300, 778 P.2d at 1196. We further concluded that a conviction for possession of marijuana involved consequences sufficiently grave to warrant a jury trial. Id. We observed that anyone convicted for possession of an illegal drug could expect, as a result of such a conviction, decreased employment opportunities or the imposition of employment conditions such as drug counseling, treatment, or testing. Id. Moreover, we noted that certain occupational and professional licenses could be unavailable to a person convicted of possession of an illegal drug. Id. Petitioner points out that although a conviction may have a deleterious effect on defendant's employment, it does not automatically warrant a jury trial. This court held, in Spitz v. Municipal Court, 127 Ariz. 405, 621 P.2d 911 (1980), that suspending Spitz' liquor license, which prevented him from working in liquor sales, was not a sufficiently grave consequence to warrant a jury trial. Id. at 408, 621 P.2d at 914. In the present case, the effect on defendant's employment more closely aligns with the sanction in Spitz than in Dolny. Here, in contrast to Dolny, defendant will not be subject to employment conditions such as counseling, testing or treatment. Moreover, a drug possession conviction potentially could prevent a defendant from getting any job, whereas prohibiting a defendant from possessing a gun would only potentially affect employment opportunities in limited areas. Notwithstanding the fact that Arizona has granted jury trials in cases where a jury was not required by the federal constitution, we have never extended jury status to misdemeanor assault cases. Indeed, we have twice expressly refused to do so. In Goldman v. Kautz, 111 Ariz. 431, 531 P.2d 1138 (1975), this court rejected the request for a jury trial where the charge was simple assault and battery. Id. at 433, 531 P.2d at 1140. Harking back to an earlier case, O'Neill v. Mangum, 103 Ariz. 484, 445 P.2d 843 (1968), in which the court refused a jury trial for a defendant charged with drunk and disorderly conduct, the Goldman court rejected the argument that simple assault and battery required a jury trial because it involved moral turpitude, stating: We are not convinced, however, that simple battery involves any appreciable degree of moral turpitude in American society today. Goldman, 111 Ariz. at 433, 531 P.2d at 1140. In Bruce v. State, 126 Ariz. 271, 614 P.2d 813 (1980), the defendant was charged in city court with two counts of simple assault. The defendant argued that because she might receive consecutive sentences which would total more than six months, she was entitled to a jury trial. Id. at 272, 614 P.2d at 814. This court held that where a defendant is charged with several petty offenses, factually related or arising out of a single event, there is no constitutional requirement of a jury trial, but the actual punishment may not exceed that which would be permissible without a jury trial in case of a single offense. Id. In so holding, the court noted that the maximum statutory penalty is the most relevant objective criterion in determining a defendant's constitutional right to a jury trial, but is not the sole criteria. Id. at 273, 614 P.2d at 815. The court discussed the other criteria that had been applied in Arizona and then stated: The assaults charged herein are the equivalent of a simple battery at common law, which was not a crime requiring a jury trial, nor are the charges crimes involving moral turpitude which would require a jury trial. Id. Thus, although Arizona case law provides a broader-based right to jury trial than does the federal constitution, historically there has been no right to a jury trial in Arizona in simple assault cases. The question this case presents is whether the Arizona domestic violence statutes, which now permit a charge of simple assault to be designated as domestic violence related, together with the enactment of 18 U.S.C. § 922(g)(9), which would prohibit possession of firearms by some persons convicted of misdemeanor domestic violence assaults, requires a jury trial. We turn first to the Arizona statutes that permit the designation of an assault as domestic violence.