Court Opinion

ID: 9706743
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-08-26 01:50:52.678758+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T18:22:24.717060
License: Public Domain

TOMLJANOVICH, Justice.
On May 9, 1989, 11-year-old Ian Lund-man died at his home in Independence, Minnesota.1 Ian’s death was apparently caused by diabetic ketoacidosis, a complication of diabetes mellitus. Ian was occasionally ill in the weeks preceding his death and became seriously ill two or three days before he died.
Kathleen McKown, Ian’s mother, and William McKown, Ian’s step-father, are Christian Scientists. In accord with their religious beliefs, Ian was treated with Christian Science spiritual healing methods throughout his final illness. He did not receive conventional medical care at any time during that illness.
In late September and early October, 1989, the Hennepin County Attorney presented evidence related to Ian Lund-man’s illness and death to the Hennepin County Grand Jury. The grand jurors heard testimony from medical doctors indicating that Ian’s diabetes was apparently treatable through conventional medicine and that his condition probably could have been stabilized as late as two hours before he died. The jurors also heard testimony regarding the nature and practice of Christian Science healing, and regarding the specific healing methods used in treating Ian Lundman.
Following this testimony, the county attorney instructed the grand jury as to the definition of second degree manslaughter.2 Having heard this instruction, two of the jurors asked, “Can you explain child neglect at all. Is there any sort of * * * statute that would apply?” The county attorney replied, “Well, I can read you the statute. There’s a criminal, it’s Minnesota Statute 609.378 * * He then read the entire child neglect statute aloud to the jurors, and asked, “Did that answer your question, ma’am?” The juror who posed the question responded, “Mm-hmm.” 3 After deliberating, the grand jury returned indictments charging both Kathleen and *65William MeKown with second degree manslaughter.4
The McKowns moved the District Court for the Fourth Judicial District, the Honorable Eugene J. Farrell presiding, to dismiss the indictments against them for lack of probable cause, because the indictments violated due process of law and their rights to freely exercise their religious beliefs, and because the grand jury was improperly instructed with respect to the McKowns’ duty of care. The district court dismissed the indictments. It concluded that the child neglect statute and the second degree manslaughter statute were in pari mate-ria, such that the spiritual treatment and prayer exception to the child neglect statute also operated as a defense to the charge of second degree manslaughter. The court determined that the McKown’s rights had been prejudiced because the grand jury was not instructed as to the effect of the spiritual healing and prayer exception. It also concluded that the indictments violated due process of law in that the child neglect statute informed individuals that they might rely on spiritual healing and prayer without violating that statute, but did not state that doing so might expose them to other criminal charges if the treatment failed.
On appeal by the state, the court of appeals concluded that while the child neglect and second degree manslaughter statutes were not in pari materia, the trial court was correct to dismiss the indictments as violations of due process. 461 N.W.2d 720. The court reasoned that the child neglect statute did not provide fair notice of potential liability under other criminal statutes, that it permitted arbitrary enforcement, that the McKowns may well have relied on the spiritual treatment and prayer exception to the child neglect statute in determining the course of their son’s treatment, and that the state had not clearly enough defined when reliance on spiritual healing became criminal conduct.
The state appealed to this court for reinstatement of the indictments charging respondents with second degree manslaughter. It contends that the court of appeals was correct in concluding that the spiritual healing and prayer exception to the child neglect statute does not apply to the second degree manslaughter statute because the two provisions are not in pari materia. It argues that both the trial court and the court of appeals were incorrect, however, in concluding that the indictments violate due process of law.
I
The trial court concluded that the child neglect statute and the second degree manslaughter statute are in pari materia, requiring that they be interpreted in light of one another. We disagree.
“Statutes ‘in pari materia’ are those relating to the same person or thing or having a common purpose.” Apple Valley Red-E-Mix, Inc. v. State, 352 N.W.2d 402, 404 (Minn.1984). Such statutes should be construed in light of one another. See id.; Doe v. State Bd. of Medical Examiners, 435 N.W.2d 45, 49 (Minn.1989). In Doe, this court held that Minn.Stat. § 13.41, Subd. 4 (1986), governing all state licensing agencies, and Minn.Stat. § 147.01, Subd. 4 (1986), which applied specifically to the state Board of Medical Examiners, were indeed in pari materia. The court therefore concluded that a general phrase in section 147.01 could be read to incorporate a similar, but more specific phrase in section 13.41. See id.5
*66Unlike the statutes at issue in Doe, the child neglect and second degree manslaughter statutes are not in pari materia and thus, the spiritual treatment and prayer exception to the former cannot be imported into the latter. The child neglect provision applies specifically to individuals with legal responsibility for a child who wilfully neglect that responsibility and thereby cause the child substantial physical or emotional harm. The statute defining second degree manslaughter, however, permits the state to prosecute anyone who causes the death of another by exposing that person to an unreasonable risk of death or great bodily injury. The two statutes are therefore clearly based on separate and distinct purposes. Further, nothing in the language of either provision suggests they are so closely related as to require they be interpreted in light of one another, and neither contains an explicit mandate to construe them together. See Apple Valley Red-E-Mix, 352 N.W.2d at 406 (that two statutes have different purposes and that neither mentions the other is evidence that the two are not in pari materia).
In State v. Bolsinger, 221 Minn. 154, 21 N.W.2d 480 (1946), the appellant contended that a statute allowing the prosecution of an individual who took the life of another by operating a vehicle in a “reckless or grossly negligent manner,” Minn.Stat. § 169.11 (1941), was unconstitutionally vague. This court disagreed, relying in part on the definitions assigned to “reckless” and “grossly negligent” in other contemporary homicide statutes. See Bolsinger, 221 Minn, at 156, 21 N.W.2d at 486. The court explained that this was appropriate because
[t]he statute in question and those relating to homicide in force at the time of its enactment relate to one common subject matter, that of homicide. As such, they should be construed as constituting one systematic body [of] law. Each statute should be construed in the light of, with reference to, and in connection with the others. So construed, the statute in question should be fitted to the statutes in force at the time of its enactment and carried into effect conformably to them.
Id. at 162, 21 N.W.2d at 486. Thus, the words “reckless” and “grossly negligent” as used in section 169.11 carried the same meaning as they did in other, then-existing homicide statutes.
Respondents here suggest a significantly different application of the doctrine of in pari materia. First, they contend that “culpable negligence” as used in the second degree manslaughter statute, adopted in 1963, should be defined in light of “neglect of a child” as used in section 609.378, enacted by the legislature in 1983. The statutory language at issue in Bolsinger, however, was construed in light of identical language in existing homicide provisions— the question was whether “reckless” and “grossly negligent” meant the same thing in the one statute as in the others. Second, respondents argue for interpreting the earlier of two statutes in light of the later, while in Bolsinger the court adopted precisely the opposite approach. Finally, the court in Bolsinger noted several times that the statute at issue and those considered in pari materia with it were all homicide statutes, “relate[d] to one common subject matter * * *.” Id. Here the statutes do not appear to bear the same sort of common purpose. Therefore, application of the doctrine of in pari materia in this case is neither necessary nor appropriate.
Respondent also contends that the legislative history underlying the spiritual treatment and prayer exception establishes that it was intended to exempt those who rely on such treatment methods from all criminal prosecution related to their reliance on spiritual treatment and prayer in caring for their children. Although legislative history may be useful in interpreting an ambiguous statute, this court generally does not consider it when faced with a clearly worded provision. See Handle *67With Care, Inc. v. Dept. of Human Services, 406 N.W.2d 518, 522 (Minn.1987); Molberg v. Marsden, 294 Minn. 493, 494, 200 N.W.2d 298, 299 (1972) (where language of statute is clear, it defines legislative intent leaving no room for further judicial interpretation). The language of the exception is not ambiguous; it expressly states that relying on spiritual treatment and prayer does not in itself constitute child neglect. See Minn.Stat. § 609.378(a) (1988). Thus, we need not consult the exception’s legislative history in our interpretation of it.6
We therefore conclude that the child neglect statute and the second degree manslaughter statute are not in pari materia. The doctrine of in pari materia is simply an interpretive tool this court relies on in certain instances to determine the meaning of ambiguous statutory language. Because neither statute is ambiguously worded, we have no need of the doctrine in this instance. Further, because the statutes at issue are not so closely related in either language or purpose as to suggest that they ought be interpreted together, application of the doctrine here would be inappropriate.
II
Both the trial court and the court of appeals concluded the indictments issued against respondents violate the constitutional guarantee of due process of law. We agree.
The essence of respondents’ argument is not that either the manslaughter statute or the child neglect statute is so vaguely worded as to make it unreasonably difficult to discern what conduct each prohibits. See Kolender v. Lawson, 461 U.S. 352, 357, 103 S.Ct. 1855, 1858, 75 L.Ed.2d 903 (1983) (due process requires criminal statutes to define offenses clearly enough that ordinary people can determine what they prohibit). Rather, respondents contend the child neglect statute misled them in that it unequivocally stated they could, in good faith, select and depend upon spiritual means or prayer without further advising them that, should their chosen treatment method fail, they might face criminal charges beyond those provided in the child neglect statute itself. In short, respondents argue that the child neglect statute does not go far enough to provide reasonable notice of the potentially serious consequences of actually relying on the alternative treatment methods the statue itself clearly permits. Neither the United States Supreme Court nor this court has directly addressed a similar due process claim.7 In United States v. Colon-Ortiz, 866 F.2d 6 (1st Cir.1989), cert. denied, 490 U.S. 1051, 109 S.Ct. 1966, 104 L.Ed.2d 434 (1989), however, the United States Court of Appeals for the First Circuit relied on a due process rationale much like that suggested here by respondents.
In Colon-Ortiz, the appellant challenged a federal statute prohibiting the distribution of cocaine. That statute, 21 U.S.C. § 841(b)(1)(B), provides that a person convicted of violating it “shall be sentenced to a term of imprisonment * * *, a fine ⅜ * *, or both.” It goes on to state that “the *68court shall not place on probation or suspend the sentence of any person sentenced under this [provision]. No person sentenced under this [provision] shall be eligible for parole during the term of imprisonment imposed * * *.” 21 U.S.C. § 841(b)(1)(B). Relying on this latter statement and on several remarks in the underlying legislative history clearly indicating the intention to impose mandatory prison sentences, the trial court concluded it was required to sentence the appellant to prison, despite the language in section 841 indicating that a court could choose to impose only a fine. Colon-Ortiz, 866 F.2d at 9-10.
The First Circuit agreed with the appellant’s contention that the statute did not provide fair notice conviction would necessarily result in the imposition of a prison sentence. It reasoned that
[t]he person of ordinary intelligence * * * should not have to guess at the meaning of penalty provisions, or else those provisions are not sufficiently clear to satisfy due process concerns. It is not enough for the congressional intent to be apparent elsewhere if it is not apparent by examining the language of the statute. No amount of explicit reference in the legislative history of the statute can cure this deficiency.
Id. at 9. This concern that individuals be given unambiguous notice of the boundaries within which they must operate directly contravenes the state’s contention that nothing in the spiritual treatment and prayer exception to the child neglect provision reasonably suggests immunity from all prosecution. The exception is broadly worded, stating that a parent may in good faith “select and depend upon” spiritual treatment and prayer, without indicating a point at which doing so will expose the parent to criminal liability.8 The language of the exception therefore does not satisfy the fair notice requirement inherent to the concept of due process.
Further, the indictments issued against respondents violate the long-established rule that a government may not officially inform an individual that certain conduct is permitted and then prosecute the individual for engaging in that same conduct. See Cox v. Louisiana, 379 U.S. 559, 85 S.Ct. 476, 13 L.Ed.2d 487 (1965) (where police official informed protesters they could picket across the street from courthouse, state could not prosecute those protestors for violating a statute prohibiting demonstrations near courthouse); Raley v. Ohio, 360 U.S. 423, 79 S.Ct. 1257, 3 L.Ed.2d 1344 (1959) (state could not prosecute individuals for refusing to testify before legislative committee when committee members informed those individuals they could invoke state privilege against self-incrimination).
The spiritual treatment and prayer exception to the child neglect statute expressly provided respondents the right to “depend upon” Christian Science healing methods so long as they did so in good faith. Therefore the state may not now attempt to prosecute them for exercising that right. By virtue of this conclusion, we do not introduce the proposition that conduct complying with one statute necessarily complies with all other statutes absent explicit notice to the contrary. Further, we do not here conclude that the state could never prosecute an individual whose good faith reliance on spiritual methods of treatment results in the death of a child. Rather, we hold that in this particular instance, where the state has clearly expressed its intention to permit good faith reliance on spiritual treatment and prayer as an alternative to conventional medical treatment, it cannot *69prosecute respondents for doing so without violating their rights to due process.9
We therefore conclude that the indictments issued against respondents, charging them with second degree manslaughter in the death of Ian Lundman, violate the constitutional guarantee of due process of law and must be dismissed.
Court of appeals affirmed and indictments dismissed.
COYNE and SIMONETT, JJ., dissent.
GARDEBRING, J., took no part in the consideration or decision of this case.

. The facts upon which the appealed indictments are based and upon which the district court dismissed those indictments are drawn from testimony delivered before a Hennepin County Grand Jury.

. The county attorney relied primarily on the established jury instruction for second degree manslaughter, see 10 Minn.Dist. Judges Ass’n, Minnesota Practice, CRIMJIG 11.24 (3d ed. 1990), including the instructions defining "culpable negligence,” and “recklessness.”

. The child neglect provision read to the jurors is found at Minn.Stat. § 609.378 (1988):
(a) A parent, legal guardian, or caretaker who wilfully deprives a child of necessary food, clothing, shelter, health care, or supervision appropriate to the child’s age, when the parent, guardian, or caretaker is reasonably able to make the necessary provisions and which deprivation substantially harms the child’s physical or emotional health, * * * is guilty of neglect of a child and may be sentenced to imprisonment for not more than one year or to payment of a fine of not more than $3,000, or both.
******
If a parent, guardian, or caretaker responsible for the child’s care in good faith selects and depends upon spiritual means or prayer for treatment or care of disease or remedial care of the child, this treatment shall constitute "health care” as used in clause (a).

Id.

. Minn.Stat. § 609.205 (1988) reads:
[a] person who causes the death of another by any of the following means is guilty of manslaughter in the second degree and may be sentenced to imprisonment for not more than seven years or to payment of a fine of not more than $14,000, or both:
(1) by the person’s culpable negligence whereby the person creates an unreasonable risk, and consciously takes chances of causing death or great bodily harm to another * * *.

Id.

. At issue in Doe was whether "final decision of the Board” as used in section 147.01 should be read in concert with "findings of fact, conclusions of law and specification of the final disciplinary action contained in the record of [a licensing agency disciplinary action]” as used in section 13.41. This court concluded that because the two provisions were founded on the same purpose — regulation of licensing agency *66procedure — "final decision" included findings, conclusions and final disposition. See Doe, 435 N.W.2d at 49.

. Respondent correctly indicates that the legislative history underlying the spiritual treatment and prayer exception contains at least one statement suggesting one representative's intention to protect those who rely on such treatment methods from all prosecution. However, this court has noted that the legislative intent underlying a particular statute is not necessarily reflected in the recorded statements of a particular member and that such statements must "be treated with caution.” Handle With Care, 406 N.W.2d at 522, 522 n. 8,

. Decisions addressing the issue of "fair notice” in the context of a due process challenge typically involve consideration of whether the language of a particular statute was sufficient to provide an individual charged with violating that statute fair notice of the potential criminality of her or his conduct. See, e.g., State v. Newstrom, 371 N.W.2d 525, 528 (Minn.1985) (concluding that statute requiring non-public school teachers hold qualifications "essentially equivalent” to those of public school teachers was unconstitutionally vague). Appellant contends Walker v. Superior Court, 47 Cal.3d 112, 253 Cal.Rptr. 1, 763 P.2d 852 (1988), Hermanson v. Florida, 570 So.2d 322 (FIa.Dist.Ct.App.1990), and Hall v. State, 493 N.E.2d 433 (Ind.1986), support its position that the indictments do not violate due process. None of these decisions, however, substantively address the issue of fair notice as raised by respondents.

. As the court of appeals indicated, at least one other state has attempted to avoid the problem presented in this case by statutorily establishing a point beyond which parents may not rely solely on spiritual means of treatment. Okla. Stat. Tit. 21, § 852 (1988), provides:
Nothing in this section shall be construed to mean a child is endangered for the sole reason the parent or guardian, in good faith, selects and depends upon spiritual means alone through prayer, in accordance with the tenets and practice of a recognized church or religious denomination, for the treatment or cure of disease or remedial care of such child; provided, that medical care shall be provided where permanent physical damage could result to such child * * *.

. The Church of Christ, Scientist, as amicus curiae, argues that prosecuting respondents for relying on Christian Science healing methods in the treatment of their son constitutes a violation of the right to freely exercise religious beliefs guaranteed by both the federal and state constitutions. Because of our disposition of this appeal, however, we need not address this issue.
Also participating as amicus curiae, the Minnesota Civil Liberties Union contends that the spiritual treatment and prayer exception violates the first amendment’s prohibition against state-established religion. Although we find the MCLU’s arguments persuasive, our disposition based on due process grounds makes it unnecessary for us to consider the establishment clause issue at this time.