Barnes v. Bernini
Barnes v. Bernini
Opinion of the Court
*315¶ 1 In this special action, petitioner Jarrad Barnes challenges the respondent judge's order scheduling a jury trial to determine whether his conviction for negligent homicide is punishable as a dangerous offense. He maintains empaneling a new jury to determine a fact necessary to enhance his sentence violates double jeopardy principles. He also contends the state waived the issue pursuant to Rule 19.1, Ariz. R. Crim. P. For the following reasons, we accept jurisdiction but deny relief.
Jurisdiction
¶ 2 While our acceptance of special-action jurisdiction is highly discretionary, Randolph v. Groscost ,
Factual and Procedural Background
¶ 3 According to the state's recitation of the facts, in May 2016, Barnes was driving at excessive speeds with both marijuana and Clonazepam in his bloodstream when he lost control of his car, hit a center median, and was "launched into oncoming traffic," colliding with victim A.D.'s car head-on. A.D. died as a result of her injuries, and the state indicted Barnes on seven charges, including manslaughter, based on A.D.'s death (Count One), and endangerment, a count "relating to [E.F.], who was driving behind [A.D.]" (Count Three). The indictment apparently did not include dangerous-nature allegations,
¶ 4 At the close of trial in April 2018, the respondent judge instructed the jury on manslaughter and endangerment, and, consistent with jury instructions proposed by the state, advised the jury, "The State has alleged *316that the offenses in Count One, Manslaughter[,] and Count Three, Endangerment[,] are of a dangerous nature." The jury was also instructed on negligent homicide, as a lesser-included offense of manslaughter, but not that the state had alleged dangerousness as to that offense. Similarly, although the verdict forms included interrogatories on the issue of dangerousness for the offenses of manslaughter and endangerment, there was no dangerousness interrogatory for negligent homicide.
¶ 5 The jury found Barnes not guilty of manslaughter, but guilty of the lesser-included offense of negligent homicide and some of the other charges alleged. It also found the offense of endangerment "to be of a dangerous nature involving the use and/or discharge and/or threatening exhibition of a deadly weapon or dangerous instrument, to wit a motor vehicle."
¶ 6 After reading the verdicts, the respondent judge asked the jurors, "[A]re these your verdicts and the verdicts of each of you?" to which they collectively responded, "Yes." The respondent then asked whether either side wished to have the jury polled, and the prosecutor responded that the state did not, but asked to approach the bench, where the following discussion ensued:
[PROSECUTOR]: I don't-I didn't hear the Court read out the verdict as far as whether Count One was of a dangerous nature or not.
THE COURT: Because we didn't put dangerous nature on homicide. And I'm not sure you can have dangerous nature negligent homicide. But it is dangerous nature as to the endangerment. So he's going into custody.
[PROSECUTOR]: You can certainly have dangerous nature on negligent homicide.
[DEFENSE COUNSEL]: Yeah, you can.
THE COURT: Well, it didn't go to them on it. So that was the Court's mistake and that's how it went to the jury.
[PROSECUTOR]: Judge, I would ask that we ask them to ask-answer that question for us. That makes a huge difference in not just custody status but sentencing range.
THE COURT: It makes a huge difference. But you think I can send them back now to make that decision?
[PROSECUTOR]: I would ask the Court [to] do that since we alleged dangerous nature as to manslaughter and any ... lessers given.
THE COURT: Okay.
[DEFENSE COUNSEL]: I don't think you can do that. I mean it-the jury's verdict has been rendered. It's not an aggravating factor. It's something they have to consider and it has to be proven beyond a reasonable doubt to the jury. The forms were approved by the parties. We evidently didn't catch that we didn't put it on the lesser.
¶ 7 The respondent judge then reviewed the jury instructions to determine whether the jury had been instructed about dangerousness for the negligent homicide offense, even though the dangerousness interrogatory was missing from the verdict form. She then stated, "We didn't instruct them on it. So I'm not going to send them back. And we can discuss it later as to what we're going to do. Sorry." The respondent then asked if the defense wished to have the jury polled and, after defense counsel said he did not, she discharged the jury.
¶ 8 The following week, the state filed a "Request for Trial on Aggravating Factors," asking the respondent to "empanel a jury in order to make a Dangerousness finding as to the Negligent Homicide conviction." Citing Rule 19.1, Ariz. R. Crim. P., State v. Patterson ,
¶ 9 In his response to the state's request, Barnes acknowledged that bifurcated consideration of dangerousness was the "usual procedure" set forth in Rule 19.1, but he cited a revision to Rule 19.1(a)(2), effective January 1, 2018, that provides, "With permission of the court, the parties may agree to a different method of proceeding than described in this rule." See Ariz. Sup. Ct. Order R-17-0002 (Aug. 31, 2017). According to Barnes, the *317state waived "the option of requesting a separate trial to determine sentencing allegations" because "the parties and the Court tried the case with an understanding that the interrogatories for dangerousness ... would be presented to the jury for consideration at the same time as they were to decide guilt."
¶ 10 Barnes maintained this procedure "was with the agreement of the parties, and thus permitted by Rule 19.1 [ (a)(2) ]," the respondent judge "correctly ruled that the State's requested remedy" of presenting the question to the jury after guilty verdicts were returned "was impermissible," and the state "is now collaterally estopped from securing a different procedure after the jury was released." Citing State v. Choate ,
¶ 11 After hearing argument, the respondent judge granted the state's request and scheduled a trial "as to the allegation of dangerous nature on the lesser of Negligent Homicide." Barnes filed this petition for special action, and the respondent stayed further proceedings pending our decision.
Discussion
¶ 12 In his petition, Barnes asks us to consider whether the state waived bifurcated consideration of dangerousness, and whether a trial to determine dangerousness of the negligent homicide conviction is barred by double jeopardy. We address these issues in order.
Waiver of Bifurcated Consideration of Dangerousness
¶ 13 We review decisions regarding requested jury instructions and proposed alterations to verdict forms for an abuse of discretion but we review questions of law de novo. Larin ,
¶ 14 In that case, the state argued on cross-appeal "the trial court erred by 'refusing to submit dangerous offense enhancement interrogatories after the jury returned guilty verdicts.' " Larin ,
¶ 15 Consistent with our supreme court's decision in Patterson ,
¶ 16 Because we are aware of no Arizona case that has considered the new modification provision in Rule 19.1(a)(2), we address an issue of first impression. Alleging an "agreement" to modify the bifurcated procedure called for in Rule 19.1(c), Barnes asserts, without citation to authority, that the state "was collaterally estopped from securing a different procedure after the jury rendered its verdict, recorded in open court, and was released." But unlike Barnes, the state does not characterize its submission of dangerousness during the guilt phase, as to voluntary manslaughter and endangerment, as an agreed-upon deviation from Rule 19.1(c). Instead, it concedes error, albeit harmless, under that rule.
¶ 17 In another context, we have cautioned that contested, "off-the-record conversations" may be "too feeble a reed" to support a finding of waiver. Choate ,
¶ 18 For similar reasons, we reject Barnes's attempt to distinguish Larin on the ground that, in that case, the jury had not been instructed on dangerousness as to any offense,
¶ 19 Nor are we willing to conclude the respondent judge's acquiescence in unchallenged jury instructions and verdict forms constituted her "permission" under Rule 19.1(a)(2) to proceed in a manner contrary to the bifurcated trial ordinarily required by Rule 19.1(c), Patterson , and Larin . That procedure serves the important policy of "prevent[ing] the jury from considering inadmissible propensity evidence during the guilt phase of trial," Larin ,
Timing of State's Request to Submit Dangerousness to Original Jury
¶ 20 Noting the state's missed opportunities to correct the omission of a dangerousness jury interrogatory, Barnes argues it "did not bring the omission to the Court's attention until after the verdicts were announced and recorded." "At that point," Barnes contends, "it was too late; the Respondent Court was required to discharge the jury under Rule 22.5, Ariz.[ ]R.[ ]Crim.[ ]P." The state contends, as it did below, that it filed the dangerousness allegation for negligent homicide in a timely manner and had informed the court of its inadvertent omission "before the jury was dismissed." It maintains "there was no waiver" because the jury "was still empaneled and available to consider the interrogatory." In other words, the state asserts "there was still time to act" by presenting the issue to the original jury.
¶ 21 In support of this argument, as well as his claim of double jeopardy, Barnes relies on our 1986 decision in Choate , characterizing that decision as a determination that a second jury trial on dangerousness constituted double jeopardy because "the trial court mistakenly failed to have the jury decide the dangerous nature allegation before the verdict was rendered, recorded, and the jury dismissed." But, as the state pointed out below, this court's conclusion in Choate was premised on our determination that dismissal of the original jury "was without the defendant's consent."
¶ 22 Now, in his petition for special action, Barnes invokes Rule 22.5 to argue his objection to the original jury's consideration of dangerousness-the remedy the state initially requested-was of no moment, because *320the respondent judge was already "required to discharge the jury under Rule 22.5."
¶ 23 Our own research suggests that the verdicts had not yet been "recorded"-as contemplated by Rule 22.5 and as Barnes claims-when the state approached the bench and asked for further deliberations by the jury, because the jury had not yet been polled. For example, in State v. Hansen , we observed that Arizona courts have followed federal authorities in holding "that '[a] verdict is final if (1) the deliberations are over, (2) the result is announced in open court, and (3) the jury is polled and no dissent is registered.' "
¶ 24 In addition, as the state suggests, our rules clearly contemplate a jury rendering an "[a]ggravation [v]erdict" "[a]fter a guilty verdict and an aggravation phase," Ariz. R. Crim. P. 23.2(e), through the procedure found in Rule 19.1(c). A final guilty verdict on a substantive charge may not be reconsidered during deliberations on aggravating factors. See Kiper ,
¶ 25 As addressed above, the record before us does not support a finding that the state agreed, with the respondent judge's permission, to waive the jury's consideration of dangerousness in an aggravation phase. See supra ¶¶16-19. As in Larin , the respondent apparently concluded-at Barnes's urging-that she lacked authority to instruct the original jury to consider, in an aggravation phase, whether the negligent homicide was a dangerous offense. See
Whether a Trial to Determine Dangerousness of Negligent Homicide is Barred by Double Jeopardy
¶ 26 Barnes maintains Choate is "binding authority" that warrants relief on his double jeopardy claim. The state raises several arguments in response, contending that (1) under *321Monge v. California ,
¶ 27 With respect to the state's first argument, the United States Supreme Court "has not squarely addressed" whether a state court must "consider sentencing enhancements as an element of an offense for purposes of the Double Jeopardy Clause," and "fairminded jurists could disagree as to the constitutional principle." Smith v. Hedgpeth ,
¶ 28 Secondly, we agree with the state that the prohibition against double jeopardy does not bar retrial because the record does not suggest Barnes was "acquitted" of the allegation of dangerousness in committing the negligent homicide. In Evans v. Michigan , the Supreme Court concluded a defendant's midtrial acquittal barred retrial under double jeopardy principles, even though the acquittal was based on the trial court's "clear misunderstanding of what facts the State needed to prove" to sustain a conviction for arson.
¶ 29 Here, the jury found endangerment to be a dangerous offense, and the respondent judge's dismissal of the jury in no way reflected a finding that the evidence was insufficient to support the same determination with respect to negligent homicide. Instead, consistent with Barnes's objection, the respondent denied the state's request for further deliberations on the issue because it had not been included in instructions or verdict forms for the guilt phase of the trial. This is an example of a "[p]rocedural dismissal[ ]"-one that is " 'unrelated to factual guilt or innocence' " and, accordingly, does not implicate double jeopardy. Evans ,
*322¶ 30 Finally, we agree with the state that Barnes's consent to the discharge of the jury, and his affirmative objection to having the original jury deliberate further on the dangerousness issue, precludes his double jeopardy claim. Cf. Scott ,
¶ 31 Barnes is correct that in Choate , we found the trial court's dismissal of the jury without the defendant's consent was "analogous to a mistrial without manifest necessity."
¶ 32 But where "the defendant himself has elected to terminate the proceedings against him, ... the 'manifest necessity' standard has no place in the application of the Double Jeopardy Clause." Kennedy ,
Authority to Empanel a New Jury
¶ 33 Barnes also relies on State ex rel. Neely v. Sherrill (Segelson) ,
¶ 34 The court in Segelson observed that, although Rule 19.1 and the sentence-enhancement statute "suggest that the same jury should hear both issues, neither the rule nor the statute requires this procedure."
¶ 35 But the court also recognized that "precedent exists for allowing a second jury to try a prior conviction allegation" in some circumstances. Segelson ,
¶ 36 In this court's 1995 decision in Johnson , also cited by Barnes, we modified the defendant's sentence because the trial court, rather than the jury, found he had committed his offense while on release and enhanced his sentence on that basis.
¶ 37 As an initial matter, although we do not question the result in Johnson , some of our language in that decision may sweep more broadly than is warranted by Segelson . In addressing whether a second jury may be empaneled after the original jury is dismissed, Segelson requires courts to consider "the State's responsibility for necessitating the second jury."
¶ 38 Thus, we disagree with any suggestion in Johnson that empaneling a second jury is precluded if the state bore any "share of the blame" for a premature dismissal of the original jury, or that a second jury is prohibited unless the state was absolutely "blameless" for that dismissal.
¶ 39 Moreover, although Barnes emphasizes the state's failure to recognize the omissions of dangerousness from the negligent homicide instructions and verdict forms, we conclude this misses the point of the relevant inquiry. It is the dismissal of the original jury that necessitates the need to empanel a second one-not the state's failure to submit all dangerousness allegations during the guilt phase, as Barnes maintains, or its submission of any sentencing factors before verdicts on the substantive offenses were announced, as the state now contends. The state did not ask that the jury be dismissed and, as already addressed, the jury was not subject to mandatory dismissal, as Barnes argues, when the state asked the respondent judge to "send them back" to consider, on the existing record, whether negligent homicide was a dangerous offense. See supra ¶¶23-24; cf. Corrales ,
Disposition
¶ 40 For all the foregoing reasons, special-action jurisdiction is accepted and relief is denied.
A copy of the indictment was not included in the limited record provided for this special action, but this point is not in dispute.
As already noted, the record provided by the parties is limited, containing only the state's post-trial "Request for Trial on Aggravating Factors," Barnes's response to that request, the state's reply, and the respondent judge's order granting the request, which is the subject of this special action. We are restricted to the documents contained in Barnes's appendix to his petition and we assume their accuracy. We note, however, that the parties do not dispute the facts, but disagree about their legal significance with respect to the issue raised.
Rule 19.1(a) is now titled "Generally," and Rule 19.1(a)(2) provides, "Modification . With permission of the court, the parties may agree to a different method of proceeding than described in this rule." For the purpose of this decision, we assume, without deciding, that the rule's reference to "method of proceeding" encompasses the bifurcated procedure identified in Rule 19.1(c). The only modification authorized in the previous version of Rule 19.1 was limited to the "Order of Proceedings" then identified in Rule 19.1(a). See Ariz. Sup. Ct. Order Promulgating "The 1973 Rules of Criminal Procedure" (May 3, 1973). Thus, the previous rule did not authorize modification of the provisions in Rule 19.1(c). We need not decide now whether our supreme court intended a substantive change to Rule 19.1 or merely a stylistic one. See Ariz. R. Crim. P. prefatory cmt. to 2018 amends. (noting amendments include both stylistic and substantive changes).
Rule 19.1(c) now provides as follows:
(c) Proceedings if the Defendant Is Charged with Prior Convictions or Noncapital Sentencing Allegations.
(1) During Determination of Guilt or Innocence. If a prior conviction or noncapital sentencing allegation must be found following a guilty verdict, the trial must proceed initially as though there were no prior conviction or sentencing allegations, unless the conviction or sentencing allegation is an element of the charged crime.
(A) When the court reads the indictment, information or complaint, it must omit all references to prior conviction or sentencing allegations.
(B) During trial, the court must not instruct, refer to, or admit evidence concerning a prior conviction or noncapital sentencing allegation, except as permitted by the Arizona Rules of Evidence.
(2) After a Guilty Verdict. If the jury renders a guilty verdict:
(A) the defendant may admit any noncapital sentencing allegation;
(B) the State must prove to the jury any noncapital sentencing allegation not admitted by the defendant, but it need not do so for any aggravator that is already an element of the offense; and
(C) the court decides the existence of any prior conviction allegation.
Whether any error in submitting the allegations of dangerousness during the guilt phase was harmless is an issue that is not before us.
Although we expressed concern in Choate that "[t]he jury ... was dismissed without reaching a verdict" on dangerousness "after it had resolved other charges,"
Barnes maintains that, although he did not cite Rule 22.5 on the day the jury returned its guilty verdict, "that was the central thrust of [his] objection."
Rule 23.1 provides, as to the "Form of Verdict," that "[t]he jury's verdict must be in writing, signed by the foreperson, and returned to the judge in open court." Rule 23.2 only identifies "Types of Verdicts" and does not address procedures for recording them. And Rule 23.3 provides for "Polling the Jury," to occur "[a]fter the jury returns a verdict and before the court dismisses the jury ..., at the request of any party or on the court's own initiative." "If the jurors' responses to the poll do not support the verdict, the court may direct them to deliberate further or the court may dismiss the jury."
When Hansen was decided, this provision was found in Rule 23.4. See Hansen ,
Persuaded by applicable, but erroneous, Michigan Criminal Jury Instructions, the trial court had concluded the state was required to prove, as an element of the offense, that the burned property was not a dwelling house, notwithstanding Michigan law holding the offense of burning "other" real property was a lesser-included offense of burning a dwelling house and "disproving the greater offense is not required." Evans ,
Although an acquittal is a "merits-related ruling [that] concludes proceedings absolutely," "no expectation of finality attaches to a properly granted mistrial" on a procedural ground. Evans ,
Case-law data current through December 31, 2025. Source: CourtListener bulk data.