State v. Madden
State v. Madden
Opinion of the Court
Lori Swanson, Attorney General, St. Paul, Minnesota; and Carl Thunem, Wilkin County Attorney, Breckenridge, Minnesota (for respondent)
Cathryn Middlebrook, Chief Appellate Public Defender, Rachel F. Bond, Assistant Public Defender, St. Paul, Minnesota (for appellant)
Considered and decided by Reyes, Presiding Judge; Jesson, Judge; and Randall, Judge.
REYES, Judge *746On appeal from his conviction of third-degree criminal sexual conduct, appellant argues that the district court's imposition of a $9,000 fine violates the Excessive Fines Clause of the Eighth Amendment to the United States Constitution and article I, section 5 of the Minnesota Constitution. We affirm.
FACTS
A.G. met appellant Garnet Frances Madden on Christmas Day of 2015 at her father's house. At that time, A.G. was 15 years old, and appellant was 26 years old. Appellant's mother and A.G.'s father were in a romantic relationship.
On January 8, 2016, A.G. went to her father's house, and appellant was there. A.G. went to bed around 10:00 p.m., and, at around 3:00 a.m., appellant woke her up and sexually penetrated her. She reported the incident to the police the next day.
On January 20, 2016, respondent State of Minnesota charged appellant with third-degree criminal sexual conduct in violation of
ISSUES
I. Is
II. Is
III. Did the district court abuse its discretion when ordered appellant to pay a $9,000 fine?
ANALYSIS
Appellant raises two issues on appeal, arguing that the $9,000 fine violates the Excessive Fines Clauses of the United States and Minnesota Constitutions as applied to him, and, if the fine passes constitutional muster, its imposition by the district court was an abuse of discretion. Appellant's first argument must be addressed in two steps. First, we review
I.
Section 609.101, subdivision 2, states that when a defendant is convicted of certain crimes, including third-degree criminal sexual conduct, the district court "must impose a fine of not less than 30 percent of the maximum fine authorized by law nor more than the maximum fine authorized by law."
In State v. Rewitzer , the supreme court held that a neighboring subdivision, section 609.101, subd. 3(a), did not violate the Excessive Fines Clauses because section 609.101, subd. 5(b), permits the district court to reduce the fine to $50, and therefore it did not establish a mandatory-minimum fine.
II.
Appellant argues that the district court violated the Excessive Fines Clauses as applied to him when it imposed a $9,000 fine for his conviction of third-degree criminal sexual conduct because he qualified for and was represented by a public defender during trial. We disagree.
Both the United States and Minnesota Constitutions provide that "[e]xcessive bail shall not be required, nor excessive fines imposed, nor cruel or unusual punishments inflicted." U.S. Const. amend. VIII ; Minn. Const. art. I, § 5. The Excessive Fines Clause "limits the government's power to extract payments, whether in cash or in kind, as punishment for some offense." Austin v. United States ,
"The touchstone of the constitutional inquiry under the Excessive Fines Clause is the principle of proportionality: The amount of the forfeiture must bear some relationship to the gravity of the offense that it is designed to punish." United States v. Bajakajian ,
In Rewitzer , the Minnesota Supreme Court endorsed the Solem factors of Bajakajian 's gross-disproportionality test when analyzing a claim brought under the Excessive Fines Clauses of the United States and Minnesota Constitutions.
A. Appellant's $9,000 fine is not grossly disproportional given the gravity of his conviction of third-degree criminal sexual conduct.
In determining the gravity of the offense, "[c]omparisons can be made in light of the harm caused or threatened to the victim or society, and the culpability of the offender." Solem ,
Appellant argues that his crime was relatively less serious than other criminal-sexual conduct offenses because: (1) he was not charged with or convicted of any sexual conduct involving force, coercion, physical injury, position of authority, a physically helpless victim, or any other such circumstance; (2) the offense involved a single incident; and (3) the offense is a purely age-based crime. His argument lacks merit.
While it is true that appellant was not charged with or convicted of criminal-sexual conduct involving force or coercion, age-based sexual assault is a serious crime. The Minnesota Legislature included third-degree criminal sexual conduct in its definition of a "crime of violence."
Appellant also argues that the offense of statutory rape does not carry a widespread social or economic impact. Not so. In 2015, the Minnesota Department of Health reported that in 2005, sexual violence, including statutory rape, cost almost $8 billion in Minnesota, or $1,500 per resident. Minn. Dep't of Health, Sexual Violence Prevention Legislative Report 6 (Jan. 2015). "Sexual violence is a major public health problem and a costly burden on our state, with many lifelong health impacts for victims."
We next review the harshness of the penalty. Appellant argues that the fine imposed places an undue financial burden on him. But during sentencing, appellant insisted that he be granted work-release privileges because he had a good job that he did not want to lose. A.G. requested that appellant not be granted work-release privileges. The district court granted appellant's work-release request specifically to allow him to keep his job and earn money to pay off the fine it imposed.
Additionally, appellant's fine need not be paid in full until February 14, 2027, and does not pose a risk of a probation violation because appellant will have completed ten years of probation by the time it is due. At the time he applied for a public defender, appellant earned $1,768 per month, with $1,090 in expenses and almost $700 of disposable income. Long term, even if appellant had not been granted work release for his year in jail, he would have to save $1,000 per year, $83.33 per month, to pay the $9,000 in full by its due date. Appellant's crime and its social and economic impact is not grossly disproportional to the fine imposed.
B. Appellant's fine is not grossly disproportional compared to the fines imposed for other sex crimes in Minnesota.
Appellant urges this court to compare the current statutory fine imposed for third-degree criminal sexual conduct with other crimes ranked as severity-level five under the 2005 Minnesota Sentencing Guidelines prior to Minnesota's creation of the sex-offender grid. We decline appellant's invitation.
More appropriately, we compare the fine for appellant's offense, which is a level-D sex offense on the sex-offender grid, with fines for other similar offenses. See Minn. Sent. Guidelines 5A (2015). Other level-D offenses include second-degree criminal sexual conduct, which carries a fine of not more than $35,000, and dissemination of pornographic works involving minors, second offense, which carries a maximum fine of $20,000.
C. Appellant's fine is not grossly disproportional compared to the fines imposed for the same crime in other jurisdictions.
Appellant argues that his fine is grossly disproportional to the fines imposed in other jurisdictions for the same crime. He cites to the state of Washington's statute for the same offense, which carries a maximum fine of $10,000, to support his argument. See Wash. Rev. Code §§ 9A.44.079, 9A.20.021 (2014). We are not persuaded.
We instead compare the fine imposed in Minnesota to the fines imposed for the same crime, both in neighboring states and federally. In Minnesota, an offender who engages in sexual penetration with a victim is guilty of criminal sexual conduct in the third degree if the victim is at least 13 years old but is less than 16 years old, and the offender is more than 24 months older than the victim.
In Iowa, an offender who engages in a sexual act with a victim who is 14 or 15 years old and at least four years younger than the offender is guilty of a class C felony.
In North Dakota, an offender who is 22 years of age or older who has sexual contact with a victim-minor who is 15 years of age or older is guilty of a class C felony.
In South Dakota, an offender who sexually penetrates a victim who is at least 13 years old, but is under 16, and is at least three years younger than the offender, is guilty of a class 3 felony.
In Wisconsin, an offender who has sexual contact or intercourse with a victim who is under the age of 16 years is guilty of a Class C felony.
Federally, an offender who engages in a sexual act with a victim who is at least 12 years old but less than 16 is guilty of sexual abuse of a minor for an offense occurring on certain federal lands.
Collectively, these jurisdictions authorize maximum fines between $10,000 and $100,000. The maximum fine imposed for third-degree criminal sexual conduct in Minnesota is $30,000. Thus, appellant's $9,000 fine is not grossly disproportional to the fines imposed in other jurisdictions for the same crime.
Because appellant's fine is not grossly disproportional compared to (1) the harm caused to both the victim and society; (2) fines imposed for other sex crimes in Minnesota; and (3) fines imposed for the same crime in other jurisdictions, it does not violate the Excessive Fines Clauses of either the United States or Minnesota Constitutions.
III. The district court did not abuse its discretion when it ordered appellant to pay a $9,000 fine.
Appellant also argues that the district court abused its discretion when it imposed a $9,000 fine because he was classified as indigent and qualified for a public defender. We disagree.
"[L]egislatures have extremely broad discretion in defining criminal offenses, and in setting the range of permissible punishments for each offense. Judicial decisions that operate within these legislatively enacted guidelines are typically reviewed for an abuse of discretion." Miller v. One 2001 Pontiac Aztek ,
*751Here, the record reflects that the district court considered both appellant's indigent status and his ability to pay the fine. Appellant has ten years to pay the fine and has the economic potential to complete payment within the allotted time. The district court granted him work-release privileges for his year in jail specifically to facilitate his payment of the fine. Therefore, the district court did not abuse its discretion when it did not decrease appellant's fine.
DECISION
Because
Affirmed.
Retired judge of the Minnesota Court of Appeals, serving by appointment pursuant to Minn. Const. art. VI, § 10.
Reference
- Full Case Name
- STATE of Minnesota v. Garnet Frances MADDEN
- Status
- Published