State v. Passons
State v. Passons
Opinion of the Court
This appeal arises from Russell Allen Passons's motion to correct an illegal sentence pursuant to Idaho Criminal Rule 35. The district court denied the motion on the basis of controlling precedent of the Court of Appeals. The Court of Appeals relied on that precedent to affirm the district court's decision. We granted Passons's petition for review, and now affirm the decision of the district court.
I. FACTUAL AND PROCEDURAL BACKGROUND
In 2012, Passons was charged with two counts of aggravated assault and a third count of burglary. He was later convicted by a jury of all three counts. Relevant for this appeal are the allegations particular to one of the aggravated assault counts under Idaho Code section 18-905 and a corresponding request for sentencing enhancement under Idaho Code section 19-2520. Those allegations read as follows (emphasis added):
That the defendant, Russell Allen Passons, on or about the 21st day of June, 2012, in the County of Kootenai, State of Idaho, did intentionally, unlawfully and with apparent ability threaten by word or act to do violence upon the person of [victim's name] with a deadly weapon, to-wit: a knife , which created a well-founded fear in said person that such violence was imminent;
....
The Prosecuting Attorney further informs the Court that the defendant, Russell Allen Passons, on or about the 21st day of June, *2422012, in the County of Kootenai, State of Idaho, did use a deadly weapon in the commission of a felony, to-wit: by Passons using a knife to commit the felony crime(s) of Aggravated Assault , all of which is contrary to the form, force and effect of the statute in such case made and provided and against the peace and dignity of the People of the State of Idaho.
Following his conviction, Passons was sentenced to a term of twenty years, with ten years fixed, on the relevant count, which reflects that the district court enhanced the sentence pursuant to section 19-2520. The district court also imposed concurrent sentences of five years, all fixed, on the other aggravated assault count, and ten years, with five years fixed, on the burglary count. Passons appealed the judgment of conviction, which was ultimately affirmed by the Court of Appeals. State v. Passons ,
From there, Passons filed a Rule 35 motion, contending that his enhanced sentence was illegal. The district court denied Passons's motion after finding that it was bound by the Court of Appeals' decision in State v. Hernandez ,
II. STANDARD OF REVIEW
"In cases that come before this Court on a petition for review of a Court of Appeals decision, this Court gives serious consideration to the views of the Court of Appeals, but directly reviews the decision of the lower court." State v. Garcia-Rodriguez ,
Idaho Criminal Rule 35 enables a trial court to "correct a sentence that is illegal from the face of the record at any time." I.C.R. 35(a). Whether this rule is implicated generally raises a question of law, for which this Court exercises free review. State v. Clements ,
III. ANALYSIS
Passons asks this Court to consider whether the district court erred in denying his Rule 35 motion. Before turning to the substantive arguments underlying that ruling, we must first address a pair of procedural objections raised by the State in its opposition to the motion.
A. Passons's motion was not barred by the State's procedural objections for lack of jurisdiction and res judicata.
In its response on appeal, the State contends that the district court lacked jurisdiction to consider Passon's motion because the motion was, in substance, an untimely appeal from his judgment of conviction. The State also argues that even if the district court had jurisdiction, the motion was barred under res judicata due to Passons's prior appeal of the judgment of conviction. The State's arguments are not persuasive.
Starting with the jurisdictional issue, this Court considered an identical argument from the State in State v. Kerrigan ,
*243The State's second argument is also without support. The State's theory of res judicata relies on the same logic that the State uses in its jurisdictional challenge: that is, Passons is merely attempting to once again appeal the judgment of conviction. Recognizing that this logic is without factual support, the State's contention that Passons is precluded from again raising arguments against his conviction is a nonstarter. Given this, and when recognizing the actual issue presented by Passons's motion, this Court's precedent undermines the State's argument for either issue or claim preclusion. Ticor Title Co. v. Stanion ,
B. The enhanced sentence authorized by Idaho Code section 19-2520 does not give rise to double jeopardy concerns.
Moving to the primary issue on appeal, Passons argues that his enhanced sentence for the aggravated assault conviction violated his constitutional protection from double jeopardy. The United States and Idaho Constitutions each afford the right to be protected from double jeopardy. The Fifth Amendment of the U.S. Constitution states that no person shall "be subject for the same offence to be twice put in jeopardy of life or limb." U.S. Const. amend. V ; Benton v. Maryland ,
Passons contends that the district court violated the third guarantee by subjecting him to multiple punishments for the same offense when it applied Idaho Code section 19-2520 to enhance his sentence. Section 19-2520 provides for sentencing enhancement of fifteen years when certain enumerated offenses are committed using a firearm or other deadly weapon. I.C. § 19-2520. Amongst the underlying offenses is aggravated assault, conviction of which is punishable up to five years without enhancement. I.C. §§ 18-905, 18-906.
This Court has previously explained that section 19-2520"does not prescribe a new offense but provides only for the imposition of additional punishment" upon conviction of an underlying offense where a firearm or other deadly weapon was involved. State v. Smith ,
Shortly after our decision in Smith , the U.S. Supreme Court issued its opinion in Missouri v. Hunter ,
In Hunter , the defendant was sentenced under the Missouri statutes for first-degree robbery and "armed criminal action."
Here, Passons contends that his enhanced sentence fits the mold of the punishment described in Hunter . He focuses his appeal on the second issue of legislative intent, and argues that, unlike the armed criminal action statute in Hunter , section 19-2520 does not expressly authorize his punishment, and, therefore, its imposition was unconstitutional double jeopardy. This Court has cited to Hunter in consideration of double jeopardy issues; however, we have not yet been asked to address that decision in relation to section 19-2520. See State v. Olsen ,
While Passons does not ask this Court to overrule its decision in Smith , the express holding in that case-i.e., section 19-2520 does not implicate double jeopardy concerns-reveals that we would need to depart from our earlier decision if we are to consider Passons's argument to its end. We find this to be unnecessary, however, as Passons's effort to draw this case parallel to Hunter is misguided due to a fundamental difference in the statutes at issue in each case.
Turning to the relevant statutory text, the Missouri armed criminal action statute at issue in Hunter provided:
[A]ny person who commits any felony under the laws of this state by, with, or through the use, assistance, or aid of a dangerous or deadly weapon is also guilty of the crime of armed criminal action and, upon conviction, shall be punished by imprisonment by the division of corrections for a term of not less than three years. The punishment imposed pursuant to this subsection shall be in addition to any punishment provided by law for the crime committed by, with, or through the use, *245assistance, or aid of a dangerous or deadly weapon. No person convicted under this subsection shall be eligible for parole, probation, conditional release or suspended imposition or execution of sentence for a period of three calendar years.
In contrast, section 19-2520 provides:
Any person convicted of a violation of sections 18-905 (aggravated assault defined), 18-907 (aggravated battery defined), 18-909 (assault with intent to commit a serious felony defined), 18-911 (battery with intent to commit a serious felony defined), 18-1401 (burglary defined), 18-1508(3), 18-1508(4), 18-1508(5), 18-1508(6) (lewd conduct with minor or child under sixteen), 18-2501 (rescuing prisoners), 18-2505 (escape by one charged with or convicted of a felony), 18-2506 (escape by one charged with or convicted of a misdemeanor), 18-4003 (degrees of murder), 18-4006 (manslaughter), 18-4015 (assault with intent to murder), 18-4501 (kidnapping defined), 18-5001 (mayhem defined), 18-6101 (rape defined), 18-6501 (robbery defined), 37-2732(a) (delivery, manufacture or possession of a controlled substance with intent to deliver) or 37-2732B (trafficking), Idaho Code, who displayed, used, threatened, or attempted to use a firearm or other deadly weapon while committing or attempting to commit the crime, shall be sentenced to an extended term of imprisonment . The extended term of imprisonment authorized in this section shall be computed by increasing the maximum sentence authorized for the crime for which the person was convicted by fifteen (15) years.
For the purposes of this section, "firearm" means any deadly weapon capable of ejecting or propelling one (1) or more projectiles by the action of any explosive or combustible propellant, and includes unloaded firearms and firearms which are inoperable but which can readily be rendered operable.
The additional terms provided in this section shall not be imposed unless the fact of displaying, using, threatening, or attempting to use a firearm or other deadly weapon while committing the crime is separately charged in the information or indictment and admitted by the accused or found to be true by the trier of fact at the trial of the substantive crime.
This section shall apply even in those cases where the use of a firearm is an element of the offense.
I.C. § 19-2520 (emphasis added).
When compared, the emphasized language in each statute illustrates the crucial difference: the Missouri statute expressly prescribes a second, independent crime, whereas the Idaho statute reads solely to authorize enhancement of a sentence for an underlying crime. The Missouri Supreme Court recognized this precise distinction when it was considering the armed criminal action statute, explaining that it "provide[d] for more than merely an enhanced sentence. ... The armed criminal action statute calls for conviction of a second crime and for the imposition of a second sentence." Sours ,
In other words, the double jeopardy issue in Hunter was premised on the existence of two statutes prescribing two different crimes (robbery and armed criminal action). This Court has already considered this possibility with regard to section 19-2520. In Smith , we reached the opposite conclusion, holding that the statute does not separately proscribe a substantive offense. Instead of prescribing an offense, the language of the statute reveals that the Idaho Legislature has authorized courts to impose enhanced sentences when certain crimes are committed using a firearm or deadly weapon. I.C. § 19-2520. An enhanced sentence does not place the defendant in new jeopardy but instead imposes a harsher penalty for the underlying offense. See United States v. Watts ,
The dissent correctly notes that Smith involved the use of a firearm; moreover, the version of the statute applicable to that decision dealt exclusively with the use of firearms before a later amendment added the "or other deadly weapon" language.
The holding in Smith effectively undermines the foundation of Passons's argument regarding the second issue of legislative intent. Simply, without first having multiple statutes that separately proscribe the same offense, we need not further consider whether the Legislature has expressly authorized for cumulative punishment to be imposed through such statutes. That being the case, we instead hold that Passons's double jeopardy argument fails and the district court's denial of his Rule 35 motion was proper.
As a final matter, our decision here relies on reasoning different from that found in the Court of Appeals's decisions citing to Hunter . Under Idaho's appellate system this Court does not overrule decisions of the Court of Appeals even if it disagrees with them. See State v. Rawlings ,
IV. CONCLUSION
We affirm the district court's order denying Passons's motion.
Chief Justice BURDICK, Justice BEVAN, and Justice Pro Tem TROUT concur.
Dissenting Opinion
I respectfully dissent from the majority's conclusion that Passons's enhanced sentence does not implicate double jeopardy concerns. Instead, I would hold that the district court unconstitutionally imposed cumulative punishment through its application of Idaho Code sections 19-2520 and 18-905. As a fundamental right, we are afforded protection from the risk of being punished for the same crime twice. U.S. Const. amend. V ; Idaho Const. art. I, § 13. Passons argues that the district court violated this right when it applied Idaho Code section 19-2520 to enhance his sentence because it subjected him to multiple punishments for the same offense. I agree.
The majority seeks to distinguish this case from the United States Supreme Court case of Missouri v. Hunter ,
Here, Passons was convicted of using a knife to commit aggravated assault, which is defined in section 18-905 as an assault:
(a) With a deadly weapon or instrument without intent to kill; or
(b) By any means or force likely to produce great bodily harm.[; or]
(c) With any vitriol, corrosive acid, or a caustic chemical of any kind.
(d) "Deadly weapon or instrument" as used in this chapter is defined to include any firearm, though unloaded or so defective that it cannot be fired.
I.C. § 18-905. For a sentence enhancement to apply under section 19-2520 there must be: (1) a conviction under one of the enumerated offenses, and (2) the display, use, threat, or attempted use of a firearm or other deadly weapon in commission or attempted commission of the underlying offense. I.C. § 19-2520. Because section 19-2520 requires showing that the defendant has been convicted of the underlying offense, its application cannot be had without proof of every element of that offense. Therefore, the underlying offense-i.e., Passons's conviction of aggravated assault under section 18-905-must be a lesser-included offense of section 19-2520. Therefore, the application of section 19-2520 imposes additional punishment for the same offense as the underlying conviction. The Legislature must authorize such a punishment to avoid double jeopardy concerns. See Hunter ,
When resolving issues of legislative intent, we first look to the language of the statute. See Verska v. Saint Alphonsus Reg'l Med. Ctr. ,
The plain language of section 19-2520 does not expressly authorize an enhancement in cases where the use of a non-firearm deadly weapon constitutes an element of the offense. On its face, the final sentence of section 19-2520, "[t]his section shall apply even in those cases where the use of a firearm is an element of the offense," appears to clearly authorize *248cumulative punishments when a person is convicted of one of the underlying offenses where use of a firearm is an element of that offense. However, the statute does not include an analogous provision for cases where the use of a non-firearm deadly weapon is an element of the offense. I would hold that the Legislature's failure to include any mention of a non-firearm in the final sentence is dispositive. State v. Michael ,
In light of the foregoing analysis, the majority's reliance on State v. Smith ,
Reference
- Full Case Name
- STATE of Idaho, Plaintiff-Respondent, v. Russell Allen PASSONS, Defendant-Appellant.
- Cited By
- 10 cases
- Status
- Published