State v. Defatte
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State v. Defatte
Opinion of the Court
This case requires that we decide whether the felony-enhancement provision in the domestic-assault statute,
FACTS
The underlying facts in this case are not in dispute. On June 22, 2009, appellant John Wesley Defatte broke into the Hubbard County home of his estranged wife, D.L.D., and assaulted her. Defatte was charged by the Hubbard County Attorney with five counts, including third-degree assault causing substantial bodily harm,
On March 11, 2018, police received a call from M.R.D., whom they referred to as Defatte's wife. She alleged that Defatte and M.R.D.'s daughter were arguing, that Defatte "went after [M.R.D.'s daughter] and made a fist at her," and that Defatte had pushed M.R.D. to the ground when she "got in between" Defatte and her daughter. M.R.D.'s daughter gave a statement consistent with her mother's. M.R.D. subsequently told police that Defatte had threatened "to burn the house down while [M.R.D. and her daughter] were sleeping."
Defatte was charged by the Cass County Attorney with four offenses, including domestic assault with intent to cause fear in another of immediate bodily harm,
Defatte moved to strike Count 3 and Count 4 for lack of probable cause. He argued that using his Hubbard County convictions to enhance Counts 3 and 4 to felonies was inconsistent with
The State appealed under Minn. R. Crim. P. 28.04, subd. 1(1), which allows prosecutors to appeal "probable cause dismissal orders based on questions of law." The court of appeals, in a published decision, reversed. It concluded that "[t]o affirm ... we would have to read an additional requirement into an otherwise unambiguous statute," and declined to "add terms or meanings that are absent from unambiguous statutory language." State v. Defatte ,
We granted Defatte's petition for review.
ANALYSIS
Subdivision 4 designates acts that allegedly violate the domestic-abuse statute as felonies if those acts are committed "within ten years of the first of any combination of two or more previous qualified domestic violence-related offense convictions."
"The first step in statutory interpretation is to 'determine whether the statute's language, on its face, is ambiguous.' " Larson v. State ,
"If a statute does not define a ... phrase, we give that ... phrase its 'plain and ordinary meaning.' " State v. Prigge ,
There is no question that Defatte had more than one conviction -as opposed to more than one sentence -in his Hubbard County case. Perhaps recognizing this, Defatte shifted his argument here and deemphasized Section 609.035. Now, he emphasizes that the Hubbard County convictions were entered at the same time. Such convictions, he argues, do not fall within the plain language of Subdivision 4, because "when multiple convictions are so entered, one conviction cannot be first relative to the other." The State agrees that the statute is unambiguous, but argues that the *341facts of this case fit squarely within the plain meaning of Subdivision 4.
Under Minnesota Statutes § 609.2242, titled "Domestic Assault," it is a misdemeanor to (1) "commit[ ] an act with intent to cause fear in another of immediate bodily harm or death" or (2) "intentionally inflict[ ] or attempt[ ] to inflict bodily harm upon another" when the victim is "a family or household member."
Subd. 4. Felony . Whoever violates the provisions of this section or section 609.224, subdivision 1, within ten years of the first of any combination of two or more previous qualified domestic violence-related offense convictions ... is guilty of a felony....
(emphasis added). This language requires only (a) that the individual have "any combination" of two or more previous qualifying convictions, and (b) that the alleged violation must be within 10 years of the first of those convictions. The plain language of the statute refers to convictions, not sentences. It contains no limiting language that requires the previous qualified convictions to come from separate behavioral incidents or be entered on different dates.
We are not persuaded by Defatte's argument that, when two convictions are entered at the same time, neither can be "first." As used in Subdivision 4, the adjective "first" means "being number one in a countable series." Webster's Third New International Dictionary 856 (1961). There is no statutory language, express or implied, or logic that two convictions entered on the same day are not "a countable series." Cf. Overweg ,
According to the Hubbard County District Court certificate of conviction, Defatte was convicted first of third-degree assault causing substantial bodily harm, see
CONCLUSION
For the foregoing reasons, we affirm the decision of the court of appeals.
Affirmed.
Reference
- Full Case Name
- STATE of Minnesota v. John Wesley DEFATTE
- Cited By
- 14 cases
- Status
- Published