State v. Schulz
| Citation | 151 Idaho 863,264 P.3d 970 |
| Decision Date | 30 November 2011 |
| Docket Number | No. 37354.,37354. |
| Court | United States State Supreme Court of Idaho |
| Parties | STATE of Idaho, Plaintiff–Appellant, v. John Alan SCHULZ, Defendant–Respondent. |
The Honorable Lawrence G. Wasden, Idaho Attorney General, Boise, for appellant. Kenneth K. Jorgensen argued.
Greg S. Silvey, Star, argued, for respondent.
This is an appeal from the dismissal of an information against John Schulz, who was charged with felony domestic battery under I.C. § 18–903 and –918(2) and attempted strangulation under I.C. § 18–923 of his 15–year–old daughter, E.S. Both charges required the State to prove that E.S. was Schulz' "household member" as defined in I.C. § 18–918(1)(a). The district court granted Schulz' motion to dismiss based on the fact that she did not fall within that definition. Because we find that the definition of " household member" plainly limits its application to intimate partners and, thus, does not extend to a child living with her father, we affirm.
John Schulz was charged in Kootenai County in July of 2009 with felony domestic battery under I.C. § 18–903 and –918(2) and attempted strangulation under I.C. § 18–923 for allegedly injuring his 15–year–old daughter, E.S. Following a preliminary hearing probable cause for the charges was found, based on E.S.' testimony. The State thereafter filed an information that was consistent with the charges in the complaint but which amended the dates of the alleged incidents to match the preliminary hearing testimony.
According to E.S.' testimony, she was living with Schulz on a part-time basis under a shared custody arrangement with E.S.' step-mother at the time of the charged incidents. The felony domestic battery charge was based on an incident allegedly occurring April 12, 2009, where Schulz made E.S. lie on the ground while he struck her with a belt 10 to 15 times. The attempted strangulation charge was based on a second incident allegedly occurring June 28, 2009, where Schulz grabbed E.S. by the neck and squeezed for about one minute.
Schulz filed a motion to dismiss the information, asserting that an element of each charge is that the victim be a "household member" as defined in I.C. § 18–918(1)(a) and that E.S. did not meet that definition because it did not extend to the parent-child relationship. Schulz asserted that the term "cohabiting" within the definition of "household member" is ambiguous and, thus, turned to statutory construction to support his argument that the definition only applies to intimate partners. The State countered that the definition of "household member" unambiguously includes anyone living together, as it was interpreted by the Idaho Court of Appeals in State v. Hansell, 141 Idaho 587, 114 P.3d 145 (Ct.App.2005).
The district court entered its Memorandum Decision Re: Defendant's Motion to Dismiss on January 12, 2010, granting Schulz' motion to dismiss. The district court found that: (1) the term "cohabiting" made the definition of "household member" ambiguous; (2) the Hansell interpretation was non-binding dicta as applied to the present case; (3) a plain-meaning reading of "cohabiting" to include all persons living under the same roof would lead to absurd results; (4) the text and legislative history of the definition indicated a focus on intimate relationships to the exclusion of the parent-child relationship; and (5) the Legislature provided child victims protection from parents separately under the injury to child statute, I.C. § 18–1501. On January 14, 2010, the district court entered its Order to Dismiss reflecting the decision in its prior memorandum. The State filed its Notice of Appeal on January 21, 2011, designating the district court's Memorandum Decision as the document from which it was appealing, rather than the subsequent Order to Dismiss. The State filed an amended notice of appeal on December 15, 2010, designating the Order to Dismiss along with the Memorandum Decision as the decisions from which the appeal was taken.
Whether an appeal is taken from an appealable order implicates the subject matter jurisdiction of this Court; thus, it can be raised at any time by the parties or by the Court sua sponte. State v. Loomis, 146 Idaho 700, 702, 201 P.3d 1277, 1279 (2009). Further, it is a question of law that this Court reviews de novo. T.J.T. v. Mori, 148 Idaho 825, 826, 230 P.3d 435, 436 (2010). The interpretation of a statute is also a question of law this Court reviews de novo. State v. Anderson, 145 Idaho 99, 103, 175 P.3d 788, 792 (2008).
On appeal, Schulz asserts that this Court lacks jurisdiction to hear this appeal because the State's Notice of Appeal designates the district court's January 12, 2011 Memorandum Decision Re: Defendant's Motion to Dismiss, rather than its January 14, 2011 Order to Dismiss, as the document from which the appeal is taken. Schulz argues that the Memorandum Decision is not an appealable order under Idaho Appellate Rule 11(c), so the State's reliance on that decision in its notice is fatal to this Court's subject matter jurisdiction. The State counters with two related but distinct alternative arguments: (1) the Memorandum Decision is in substance a final, appealable order in compliance with Rule 11(c) despite the fact that it lacks the proper title; and (2) regardless of the status of the Memorandum Decision, the appeal was timely filed from the date of the undeniably final Order to Dismiss and, thus, any improper designation was a non-jurisdictional defect.
The Memorandum Decision is appealable as "[an] order granting a motion to dismiss an information or complaint." I.A.R. 11(c)(3). The concluding paragraph in the Memorandum Decision states:
It is for the above cited reasons that this Court Grants Defendant's Motion to Dismiss, and specifically finds that the legislative history and intent of I.C. § 18–918 does not extend domestic violence protections to crimes committed by parents against their minor children. The alleged conduct of Defendant is prosecutable under other criminal law statutes.
"Whether an instrument is an appealable order or judgment must be determined by its content and substance, and not by its title." Howell v. Reimann, 77 Idaho 84, 87, 288 P.2d 649, 651 (1955). Because the Memorandum Decision clearly grants Schulz' motion to dismiss the information, it is an appealable order under I.A.R. 11(c)(3).
C. The district court did not err in dismissing the State's charges because the definition of "household member" plainly limits its application to intimate partners and, thus, does not extend to a child living with a parent.
On appeal, the State argues that the definition of "household member" unambiguously includes a child living with her parent because the plain meaning of "cohabiting" within that definition contemplates anyone living together and, therefore, the district court erred in engaging in statutory construction. The State relies heavily on the Court of Appeals' decision in State v. Hansell, 141 Idaho 587, 114 P.3d 145 (Ct.App.2005), which interpreted the statute accordingly. Schulz responds that (1) the definition is ambiguous, (2) the Hansell interpretation is overbroad and would lead to absurd results, (3) the text and legislative history indicate a limitation to intimate relationships, (4) the Legislature provided protection for children elsewhere in the code, and (5) the rule of lenity requires construction in the defendant's favor.
I.C. § 18–918(1)(a) (emphasis added). The parties' focus on appeal is the only section of the definition arguably applicable to a child victim of a parent, "a person with whom a person is cohabiting." Thus, at issue is the meaning of "cohabiting."
In order to determine this issue, we employ the following principles of statutory interpretation:
The objective of statutory interpretation is to derive the intent of the legislative body that adopted the act. Statutory interpretation begins with the literal language of the statute. Provisions should not be read in isolation, but must be interpreted in the context of the entire document. The statute should be considered as a whole, and words should be given their plain, usual, and ordinary meanings. It should be noted that the Court must give effect to all the words and provisions of the statute so that none will be void, superfluous, or redundant. When the statutory language is unambiguous, the clearly expressed intent of the legislative body must be given effect, and the Court need not consider rules of statutory construction.
Farber v. Idaho State Ins. Fund, 147 Idaho 307, 310, 208 P.3d 289, 292 (2009) (internal citations omitted).
We agree with the State that the statute is unambiguous but disagree with the State's contention that cohabiting extends to all persons living in the household. The term "cohabiting" is a long-recognized term of art plainly denoting an intimate relationship. See State v. Oar, 129 Idaho 337, 340, 924 P.2d 599, 602 (1996) (...
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