Opinion ID: 2448564
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: The received or accepted element

Text: Although the evidence clearly shows that Mr. Allen did not pay for sewer or sanitation services, where is the evidence that he received or accepted those particular services? The terms of § 14-42-108(a)(1) do not impose criminal liability on an individual for paying for a particular service at a different rate or in a different manner unless there is proof that the individual is first receiving or accepting that particular service. The State proved only that Mr. Allen received or accepted the water service, and no one disputes that he paid the monthly minimum charge for that particular service. There is no proof, however, that he received or accepted any service for which he did not make payment. Not a single witness testified that he (1) drew from a faucet any water that had been treated or purified in the sewer system; (2) contributed wastewater to the sewer system for purification or other treatment; (3) generated garbage for collection by sanitation personnel; or (4) otherwise received or accepted any form of sewer and sanitation services. In sum, there was no evidence that he committed the wrongful deed which renders the actor criminally liable under § 14-42-108(a)(1), BLACK'S LAW DICTIONARY 36 (6th ed. 1990), and his conviction should therefore be reversed. If it is the view of the majority that the conviction is supported by the showing that Mr. Allen received water service without paying for sewer and sanitation services, the statute is being badly misconstrued. The proscribed conduct is receiving or accepting a particular municipal service without paying for it at the same rate and in the same manner that the general public pays for that particular service. If an individual does not receive or accept that particular service, and he therefore does not pay for it, he does not become criminally liable under the terms of § 14-42-108(a)(1) by receiving or accepting an entirely different service for which payment is made in the usual manner. If it is the position of the majority that Mr. Allen committed the offense by maintaining a connection to the sewer system and failing to pay the minimum sewer fee, the majority again fails in its construction of the statute. While Mr. Allen, by receiving the water service and by maintaining a connection to the sewer system, had the means of receiving or accepting sewer services for which he had not made payment, that is not proscribed by the statute. It is conceivable that Mr. Allen might, one day, consume water treated in the sewer system or contribute wastewater to the sewer system for treatment. In fact, he indicated that he had retained water services at his store so that he could periodically flush out the building's pipes in order to keep them from rusting. If there were any evidence whatever that he had acted upon that intention, that would constitute evidence that he was in violation of the statute unless he paid for the sewer service at the same rate and in the same manner as everyone else. There is no such evidence. Section 14-42-108(a)(1) requires proof of actual receipt or acceptance of a particular service. Proof that Mr. Allen had the means of receiving or accepting a particular service or that he intended to receive or accept it does not suffice to sustain a conviction under this statute. One basic premise of Anglo American criminal law is that no crime can be committed by bad thoughts alone. Something in the way of an act, or of an omission to act where there is a legal duty to act, is required too. LEFAVE & SCOTT, CRIMINAL LAW § 3.2, at p. 196 (2d ed. 1986). There simply was no evidence that Mr. Allen acted so as to utilize his sewer connection or his water service to receive or accept sewer service. Acknowledging that a penal statute must not be construed so strictly as to defeat the obvious intent of the legislature, Thomas v. State, 315 Ark. 79, 80, 864 S.W.2d 835, 836 (1993), there can be no question that the General Assembly only intended to punish municipal officials for receiving or accepting a municipal service without paying for it at the same rate and in the same manner as the general public pays for the service. There is no other way to construe this provision. Because the State did not satisfy this critical element of the offense, the conviction under § 14-42-108(a)(1) should be reversed.