Court Opinion

ID: 9788555
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-08-31 00:59:28.124412+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T07:37:04.576276
License: Public Domain

The opinion of the court was delivered by
Nuss, J.:
The issue presented is whether a defendant must use actual force to justify a jury instruction on self-defense. We answer this question “yes.” Accordingly, the judgment of the Court of Appeals is affirmed.
FACTS
The facts necessaiy to our determination are straightforward. While visiting their mother in her hospital room, Rodney Maurice Hendrix and his sister, Charlotte Brown, had a heated confrontation. According to Brown, her brother entered the room and angrily approached her. Hendrix “shoved” a piece of paper in her face so severely that when he pulled the paper away it showed traces of her makeup. Brown testified that Hendrix backed away, then again came toward her and pulled a knife. He then threatened to kill Brown if she returned to their mother s home where Hendrix lived and where Brown had been staying during her visit. According to Brown, Hendrix then left.
Hendrix’s stoiy was considerably different. According to him, he entered the hospital room and knelt by his mother while holding a piece of paper that he wanted to. show her. He testified that Brown approached him and stuck her hand in his face while loudly cussing him. Hendrix claimed he was afraid that Brown would slap him. He testified that to get her to back away, he told her he would “bréale her neck.” One fact the siblings do agree upon is the complete absence of physical force by either one.
Hendrix was charged with the crimes of criminal threat and aggravated assault. The trial court denied his request for a self-defense jury instruction on the basis of insufficient evidence. Specifically, it ruled that Hendrix did not have a reasonable belief that his conduct was necessary to defend himself against the use of imminent force by his sister. The jury then convicted Hendrix of making a criminal threat under K.S.A. 21-3419(a) (“any threat to ... [1] [c]ommit violence communicated with intent to terrorize *861another, or ... in reckless disregard of the risk of causing such terror”) and misdemeanor assault under K.S.A. 21-3408 (“intentionally placing another person in reasonable apprehension of immediate bodily harm”).
The Court of Appeals held that Hendrix was not entided to a self-defense instruction as a matter of law because no physical force was actually used. State v. Hendrix, No. 97,323, unpublished opinion filed September 19, 2008. The panel cited the statute and the standard jury instruction on self-defense: K.S.A. 21-3211 (Furse 1995) and PIK Crim. 3d 54.17. Accordingly, its rationale eliminated the need to consider the trial court’s determination of insufficient evidence of Hendrix’s reasonable belief that his conduct was necessary to defend himself against the threat of imminent force.
We granted Hendrix’s petition for review under K.S.A. 22-3602(e).
ANALYSIS
We recently set forth our standard of review for determining when a defendant is entitled to a jury instruction on his or her theory of defense in State v. Anderson, 287 Kan. 325, 334, 197 P.3d 409 (2008):
“ ‘A defendant is entitled to instructions on the law applicable to his or her theory of defense if there is evidence to support the theory. However, there must be evidence which, viewed in the light most favorable to the defendant, is sufficient to justify a rational factfinder finding in accordance with the defendant’s theory.’ ”
The statute concerning Hendrix’s theory of self-defense, K.S.A. 21-3211 (Furse 1995), in turn provides as follows:
“A person is justified in the use of force against an aggressor when and to the extent it appears to him and he reasonably believes that such conduct is necessary to defend himself or another against such aggressor’s use of unlawful force.” (Emphasis added.)
We begin by acknowledging that the fundamental rule to which all other rules are subordinate is that the intent of the legislature governs if that intent can be ascertained. Steffes v. City of Lawrence, 284 Kan. 380, Syl. ¶ 2, 160 P.3d 843 (2007). The intent of the legislature is to be derived in the first place from the words used. Griffin v. Suzuki Motor Corp., 280 Kan. 447, 460, 124 P.3d *86257 (2005). In determining whether a statute is open to construction or in construing a statute, ordinary words are to be given their ordinary meaning and courts are not justified in disregarding the unambiguous language. Perry v. Board of Franklin County Comm'rs, 281 Kan. 801, Syl. ¶ 8, 132 P.3d 1279 (2006); see Schmidtlien Electric, Inc. v. Greathouse, 278 Kan. 810, 822, 104 P.3d 378 (2005).
“When language is plain and unambiguous, there is no need to resort to statutory construction. An appellate court merely interprets the language as it appears; it is not free to speculate and cannot read into the statute language not readily found there.” Steffes, 284 Kan. 380, Syl. ¶ 2.
We agree with the State and the Court of Appeals panel that the phrase “use of force” contained in K.S.A. 21-3211 (Furse 1995) should be given its ordinary meaning — and that means actual force. “Use of force” does not mean “threat of force” or “display of force” or “presentation of force” or any interpretations which similarly dilute the actual use of force, i.e., physical contact.
Even if the statutory language were somehow ambiguous and we looked to canons of construction to assist in determining the meaning of “use of force,” we note that the legislature has been clear in other contexts to distinguish between the actual use of force and diluted variations. For example, the legislature has explicitly defined robbery as the taking of property from the person or presence of another either “by force or by threat of bodily harm” to any person. (Emphasis added.) K.S.A. 21-3426. The legislature has made the same type of explicit distinctions in the crime of kidnapping. It defines kidnapping as a taking or confining of another person “accomplished by force, threat or deception.” (Emphasis added.) K.S.A. 21-3420.
Finally the legislative distinction is again clearly made in K.S.A. 21-3213 which concerns defense of property other than a dwelling. It provides:
“A person who is lawfully in possession of property other than a dwelling is justified in the threat or use of force against another for the purpose of preventing or terminating an unlawful interference with such property. Only such degree of *863force or threat thereof as a reasonable man would deem necessary to prevent or terminate the interference may intentionally be used.” (Emphasis added.)
Hendrix’s take on the statutes would make the language of clear distinction superfluous. In short, there would be no need for the legislature to discern, on the one hand, “threats” or implied force from actual “force” and “use of force” on the other. See Hawley v. Kansas Department of Agriculture, 281 Kan. 603, Syl. ¶ 9, 132 P.3d 870 (2006) (there is a presumption that the legislature does not intend to enact useless or meaningless legislation).
Hendrix relies upon language contained in another unpublished Court of Appeals decision, State v. Kincade, No. 94,657, filed August 4, 2006. There the panel stated:
“In the present case, idle defendant offered no evidence which, if believed, would have supported a reasonable belief the defendant or another person was in imminent danger of the use of unlawful force. The use of force or the threat of force to protect another person is a defense only when such force is necessary to protect the third party from an aggressor s imminent use of force. K.S.A. 21-3211. The evidence in this case provides no basis from which to conclude that any person, other than the victim, was placed in imminent danger of the use of unlawful force justifying the defendant’s protective use of force in response. The record simply fails to support an instruction on self-defense or defense of another.” (Emphasis added.) Slip Op. at 4.
The italicized words upon which Hendrix relies are contrary to the plain language of the statute. More specifically, the Kincade panel inappropriately read into the statute words not found there. Steffes, 284 Kan. 380, Syl. ¶ 2. To the extent that Kincade is inconsistent with the holding of the instant case, it is overruled.
Hendrix primarily argues policy considerations. Among other things, he points out the alleged absurdity in denying self-defense to a defendant (purportedly like himself) who can defuse a violent situation with the mere threat of force, but then in granting the defense to one who instead chooses to actually apply force. He argues the statute — or at least our interpretation of it — promotes violence because defendants wanting to ensure their entitlement to the defense will use actual force instead of words.
We agree with the worthy goal of promoting de-escalation, e.g., defusing a violent episode with some well chosen words. However, *864policy making is the province of the legislature. See Bland v. Scott, 279 Kan. 962, 966, 112 P.3d 941 (2005) (“ ‘declaration of public policy is normally the function of the legislative branch of government’ ”); see also State v. Prine, 287 Kan. 713, 737, 200 P.3d 1 (2009) (“Of course, the legislature, rather than this court, is the body charged with study, consideration, and adoption of any statutory change that might make [the statute] more workable.”). It alone must decide whether to pursue this goal in the self-defense statute. Consequently, it alone must decide to make the explicit distinctions there as it has in the other statutory enactments mentioned earlier.
Such an approach would also be consistent with the ones chosen by a number of other states in their self-defense statutes. See, e.g., Ga. Code Ann. § 16-3-24.2 (2007) (“A person who uses threats or force ... shall be immune from criminal prosecution therefor....”); Tex. Penal Code Ann. § 9.04 (West 2003) (“The threat of force is justified when the use of force is justified by this chapter.”); Wise. Stat. § 939.48(1) (2005) (“A person is privileged to threaten or intentionally use force against another for the purpose of preventing or terminating what the person reasonably believes to be an unlawful interference with his or her person by such other person.”).
For all of these reasons, the judgment of the Court of Appeals is affirmed.