Opinion ID: 1534693
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: due process and just compensation

Text: Messrs. Arnold and Allen initially argue that section 16-92-108 violates their right to due process and just compensation. We have held that there is a strong presumption of constitutionality attendant to every legislative enactment, and all doubt concerning it must be resolved in favor of constitutionality; if it is possible for the courts to so construe an act that it will meet the test of constitutionality, we not only may, but should and will do so. Further, the party challenging a statute has the burden of proving it unconstitutional. Holland v. Willis, 293 Ark. 518, 739 S.W.2d 529 (1987). We have previously addressed the constitutionality of Ark.Stat.Ann. § 43-2419 (Repl.1977) (currently section 16-92-108) in State v. Ruiz, 269 Ark. 331, 602 S.W.2d 625 (1980), where the State appealed from a circuit court decision awarding reasonable attorneys' fees to attorneys representing indigent criminal defendants and holding the statute limiting such payments to be unconstitutional. In that case, we held that the statute limiting payments to attorneys representing criminal defendants to $100 for investigation expenses and $350 for attorneys' fees did not violate the provision in the Arkansas Constitution providing for the separation of powers, and the trial court was bound by the statute. At that time, we based our decision on a quick and short reference to the historical practice of attorneys representing indigents for little or no fee and on the professional oath an attorney swears to upon admittance to the Arkansas Bar, which oath reads in pertinent part as follows: I will never reject, from any consideration personal to myself, the cause of the defenseless or oppressed, or delay any man's cause for lucre or malice. SO HELP ME GOD. We also stated in obiter dictum: It has been argued in another case that requiring an attorney to furnish services for little or no fee is a taking of property in violation of the due process clause of the United States Constitution. This argument was rejected in the case of United States v. Dillon, 346 F.2d 633 (9th Cir.1965), cert, denied, 382 U.S. 978 [86 S.Ct. 550, 15 L.Ed.2d 469] (1966). Finding no common law or statutory or constitutional authority establishing payment of attorneys fees, we are left only the sources provided by the legislature. The only other source is the services being furnished by the attorneys themselves. Lawyers clearly have an obligation to represent indigents upon court orders and to do so for existing statutory compensation or for no remuneration at all. (Citation omitted.) Subsequent to our decision in State v. Ruiz, supra , other states have addressed the constitutionality of comparable fee cap statutes and found them to be unconstitutional. DeLisio v. Alaska Superior Court, 740 P.2d 437 (Alaska 1987); State ex rel. Stephan v. Smith, 242 Kan. 336, 747 P.2d 816 (1987); and Makemson v. Martin County, 491 So.2d 1109 (Fla.1986). In Coulter v. State, 304 Ark. 527, 804 S.W.2d 348 (1991), we were presented with the issues that we now address but were unable to directly analyze at that time because the defendant in that case had neither shown nor argued that he had suffered any specific prejudice resulting from the fee cap statute. See Goldsmith v. State, 301 Ark. 107, 782 S.W.2d 361 (1990); Berna v. State, 282 Ark. 563, 670 S.W.2d 434 (1984). We noted, however, our concern and gave notice that we would reconsider our earlier decisions on the issue in an appropriate case and even outlined pertinent cases from other jurisdictions and their rationale that have dealt with the question. Coulter v. State, 304 Ark. at 542, 804 S.W.2d at 356; see also Pickens v. State, 301 Ark. 244, 783 S.W.2d 341 (1990). Rather than discuss these cases again, we single out and attach primary significance to State ex rel. Stephan v. Smith, supra , as the Supreme Court of Kansas commented at length upon the historical argument of legal representation for little or no fee: ... the tradition of requiring pro bono work of attorneys originated in commonlaw England where attorneys who were expected to provide such representation also enjoyed special rights and privileges. They were the sergeants-at-law, the elite among all English lawyers. They had special practice privileges, they commanded higher fees, and judges were selected exclusively from their ranks. They were actually public officers and were sometimes paid by the government. As officers of the court, English lawyers were exempt from suit, military service, and other compelled public service. Their modern American counterparts enjoy no such special privileges. The distinction and its consequences were recognized by the Indiana Supreme Court as early as 1854 [in Webb v. Baird, 6 Ind. 13, 17 (1854)]: The legal profession having been thus properly stripped of all its odious distinctions and peculiar emoluments, the public can no longer justly demand of that class of citizens any gratuitous services which would not be demandable of every other class. To the attorney, his profession is his means of livelihood. His legal knowledge is his capital stock. His professional services are no more at the mercy of the public, as to remuneration, than are the goods of the merchant, or the crops of the farmer, or the wares of the mechanic. The law which requires gratuitous services from a particular class, in effect imposes a tax to that extent upon such classclearly in violation of the fundamental law, which provides for a uniform and equal rate of assessment and taxation upon all the citizens. (Citations omitted.) The court in Webb noted that an attorney is under no obligation, honorary or otherwise, to volunteer his services; it devolves as much on any other citizen of equal wealth to employ counsel in the defense as on the attorney to render services gratuitously. The Kansas court concluded that: Attorneys generally have an ethical obligation to provide pro bono services for indigents. Such services may only be provided by attorneys. The individual attorney has a right to make a living. Indigent defendants, on the other hand, have the right to the effective assistance of counsel. The obligation to provide counsel for indigent defendants is that of the State, not of the individual attorney. The adjustment of these rights and obligations presents the primary difficulty of the present statutory system. The burden must be shared equally by those similarly situated. In the final analysis, it is a matter of reasonableness. Following its historical analysis, the court analyzed the fifth amendment issue before them as follows: Whether a violation of due process has occurred depends upon whether property has been taken and upon what kind of process is due.... An attorney's advice and counsel is indeed his or her stock in trade. Moreover, when attorneys are required to donate funds out-ofpocket to subsidize a defense, they are deprived of property in the form of money.... The term due process refers primarily to the methods by which the law is enforced; however the term has no fixed technical concept unrelated to time, place and circumstances. In Hannah v. Larche, 363 U.S. 420 [80 S.Ct. 1502, 4 L.Ed.2d 1307] (1960), this comment was made: `Due process is an elusive concept. Its exact boundaries are undefinable, and its content varies according to specific factual contexts.... Whether the Constitution requires that a particular right obtain in a specific proceeding depends upon a complexity of factors. The nature of the alleged right involved, the nature of the proceeding, and the possible burden on that proceeding are all considerations which must be taken into account.' Smith v. Miller, 213 Kan. 1, 514 P.2d 377 (1973). Pertinent provisions of our constitution are subject to the same analysis. Article 2, § 22 of the Arkansas Constitution provides that private property may not be appropriated for public use without just compensation. Johnson v. Wylie, 284 Ark. 76, 679 S.W.2d 198 (1984); see also U.S. Const, amend. V (No person shall ... be deprived of property, without due process of law; nor shall private property be taken for public use, without just compensation.) Focusing further on the rulings of the Kansas Court, we cannot escape the clear logic underlying their finding that although their statute, on its face, did not violate due process yet, when applied to the facts before them, the fee and expense cap limits were unconstitutional. The Kansas fee and expense cap limitations are comparable to limitations we face in section 16-92-108. The Kansas Court aptly noted: Attorneys, like the members of any other profession, have for sale to the public an intangibletheir time, advice, and counsel. Architects, engineers, physicians, and attorneys ordinarily purvey little or nothing which is tangible. It is their learned and reflective thought, their recommendations, suggestions, directions, plans, diagnoses, and advice that is of value to the persons they serve. It is not the price of the paper on which is written the plan for a building or a bridge, the prescription for medication, or the will, contract, or pleading which is of substantial value to the client; it is the professional knowledge which goes into the practice of the profession which is valuable. Attorneys are licensed by the state to practice their profession; but so are other professionals, such as architects, engineers, and physicians. One who practices his profession has a property interest in that pursuit which may not be taken from him or her at the whim of the government without due process.... Attorneys make their living through their services. Their services are the means of their livelihood. We do not expect architects to design public buildings, engineers to design highways, dikes, and bridges, or physicians to treat the indigent without compensation. When attorneys' services are conscripted for the public good, such a taking is akin to the taking of food or clothing from a merchant or the taking of services from any other professional for the public good. And certainly when attorneys are required to donate funds out-of-pocket to subsidize a defense for an indigent defendant, the attorneys are deprived of property in the form of money. We conclude that attorneys' services are property, and are thus subject to Fifth Amendment protection. (Emphasis added.) When the attorney is required to advance expense funds out-of-pocket for an indigent, without full reimbursement, the system violates the Fifth Amendment. Similarly, when an attorney is required to spend an unreasonable amount of time on indigent appointments so that there is genuine and substantial interference with his or her private practice, the system violates the Fifth Amendment. State ex rel. Stephan v. Smith, 242 Kan. at 369, 747 P.2d at 841. Like the question before the Kansas Court, the core question before us is whether the services of an attorney are a specie of property subject to Fifth Amendment protection. The answer is yes. Unfortunately, we have perpetuated, throughout the years, a system of appointment without just compensation in many instances that is long past due for correction. The only proper and permissible course for us to follow is simply to give effect to the plain language of our constitution. City of Hot Springs v. Creviston, 288 Ark. 286, 705 S.W.2d 415 (1986). In doing so, we declare that even if the rationale in State v. Ruiz, supra , was correct when it was decided, and we have strong reservations in this regard, the practice of criminal law has changed, as have the times. Arkansas has delayed in confronting the realities of contemporary criminal defense practice, particularly in the area of capital litigation, even as the concept of what constitutes due process has changed. New scientific developments and an increased awareness in areas of social consciousness have served to drastically raise the complexity of criminal litigation. As a result, our trial courts must appoint highly trained and skilled counsel if indigents are to be afforded their constitutionally mandated effective assistance of counsel. In Family Div. Trial Lawyers v. Moultrie, 725 F.2d 695 (D.C.Cir.1984), the court noted: As the scope of the constitutionally mandated right to counsel has expanded and the concomitant burden of providing pro bono representation imposed on attorneys has grown, several state courts have recognized that at some point the burden on particular attorneys could become so excessive that it might rise to the level of a taking of property. See, e.g., People ex rel. Conn. v. Randolph, 35 Ill.2d 24, 219 N.E.2d 337 (1966); Bias v. State, 568 P.2d 1269 (Okla.1977); State ex rel. Partain v. Oakley, [159 W.Va. 805] 227 S.E.2d 314 (W.Va.1976);... In this case, the burden imposed on Messrs. Arnold and Allen is excessive to the extent that it constitutes a taking of their property and to limit them to a mere award of $1,000.00 for their work and skills is constitutionally unacceptable.