State v. Granger

• Decision Date: 21 May 2008
• Docket Number: No. 2007-KA-2285.,2007-KA-2285.
• Citation: 982 So.2d 779
• Parties: STATE of Louisiana v. Alexander GRANGER.
• Court: Louisiana Supreme Court

982 So.2d 779

STATE of Louisiana v. Alexander GRANGER.

No. 2007-KA-2285.

Supreme Court of Louisiana.

May 21, 2008.

James D. Caldwell, Attorney General, Mary Ellen Hunley, Assistant Attorney General, Douglas P. Moreau, District Attorney, for appellant.

Delatte, Edwards & Marcantel, Glynn Joseph Delatte, Jr., Baton Rouge, for appellee.

KIMBALL, Justice.

This is a direct appeal from a judgment of the district court that declared La. R.S. 15:578.1 unconstitutional. La. R.S. 15:578.1 provides that any person arrested for driving while intoxicated ("D.W.I.") in violation of La. R.S. 14:98 and placed into a pretrial diversion program shall have his or her arrest record and placement into the pretrial diversion program made a public record after exiting that program. The statute additionally provides that this public record shall be maintained for five years from the date of arrest before becoming subject to expungement or destruction. The issue presented to this court is whether La. R.S. 15:578.1 unconstitutionally discriminates against these D.W.I. offenders, and thus violates the equal protection guarantees of Article I, Section 3 of the Louisiana Constitution and the Fourteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution. For the reasons that follow, we conclude that La. R.S. 15:578.1 is not unconstitutional because it suitably furthers an appropriate state interest, and defendant has failed to satisfy his burden of proving otherwise. The judgment below is therefore reversed.

FACTS AND PROCEDURAL HISTORY

On October 29, 2005, defendant Alexander Granger, was arrested for driving while intoxicated in the Parish of East Baton Rouge. On January 6, 2006, the District Attorney charged defendant, by bill of information, with operating a vehicle while intoxicated, first offense, in violation of La. R.S. 14:98(B),¹ and failure to drive only upon the right half of the roadway, in violation of La. R.S. 32:71(A).² On April 3, 2006, defendant entered into a pretrial diversion program, which he successfully completed on June 13, 2006. Defendant then filed a "Motion to Expunge Criminal Records under Provisions of [La. R.S.] 44:9" ("Motion to Expunge") on August 1, 2006, asserting that, since the time for prosecution had run, he was entitled to have that record destroyed pursuant to La. R.S. 44:9(A).³ On December 12, 2006, the State of Louisiana filed a "Statement in Opposition to Motion for Expungement" ("Statement in Opposition"), in which it argued that defendant's D.W.I. arrest, in violation of La. R.S. 14:98(B), was presently ineligible for expungement under the provisions of La. R.S. 15:578.1.⁴ The district court dismissed defendant's Motion to Expunge on January 18, 2007.

On February 21, 2007, defendant filed a "Motion to Reconsider Ruling" ("Motion to Reconsider") in the district court, contending that La. R.S. 15:578.1 is unconstitutional.⁵ In support of his Motion to Reconsider, defendant asserted that La. R.S. 15:578.1 violates equal protection principles by denying, for five years, misdemeanor D.W.I. pretrial diversion participants the opportunity to have their arrest records expunged, while all other misdemeanor pretrial diversion participants can have their records expunged pursuant to La. R.S. 44:9 once the time to prosecute their offenses has run. Citing State v. Bradley, 360 So.2d 858 (La.1978), defendant argued that "affording different treatment to [defendant] because he was arrested for D.W.I., as opposed to some other misdemeanor charge, is not rationally related to a legitimate state interest and, therefore, is a violation of equal protection guaranteed [sic] by the [Fourteenth] Amendment [to the United States Constitution] and [Article I], Section 3 of the Louisiana Constitution of 1974." R. at 45.

In response, the State filed a "Memorandum in Opposition to Reconsidering the Ruling of the Trial Court" ("Memorandum in Opposition"), in which it asserted that defendant voluntarily entered into a pretrial diversion program to avoid the harsher penalties that would be imposed if he were convicted for violating La. R.S. 14:98(B). Citing La. R.S. 44:9, the State argued that pretrial diversion was, as a method of disposition for defendant's D.W.I. violation, wholly different than "dismissal, sustaining of a motion to quash, or acquittal[.]" See La. R.S. 44:9(A)(1)(b). Thus, the State contended that La. R.S. 44:9 simply should not apply to defendant's situation. The State sought to distinguish State v. Bradley on these grounds, noting that Bradley had held unconstitutional a portion of La. R.S. 44:9 within which all first and second D.W.I. misdemeanor arrests were treated differently than all other misdemeanor arrests for expungement purposes, while La. R.S. 15:578.1 applied only to misdemeanor D.W.I. defendants that chose to enter into a pretrial diversion program to avoid the risks associated with continued prosecution. Further, the State asserted that, even through an equal protection analysis of La. R.S. 15:578.1 itself, defendant could not show that the statute fails to serve a legitimate government purpose. To the contrary, the State argued that the importance of protecting the public from the dangers of drunk driving had become much more clear since the Bradley decision was issued and that the State had several valid interests in not allowing the expungement of arrest records for individuals who participate in pretrial diversion programs.

On August 27, 2007, the district court held a hearing on defendant's Motion to Reconsider. At this hearing, defendant argued that the completion of a pretrial diversion program "equals a dismissal just like required [sic] under [La. R.S.] 44:9 in order to expunge any record." R. at 68. Defendant argued further that the State had been unable to show any specific interest furthered by keeping misdemeanor D.W.I. offenders' arrest records public for five years under La. R.S. 15:578.1. Accordingly, defendant again cited State v. Bradley, 360 So.2d 858 (La.1978), and asserted that, by denying only misdemeanor D.W.I. offenders the right to have their misdemeanor arrest records expunged under La. R.S. 44:9, La. R.S. 15:578.1 violates the equal protection principles espoused in the Constitutions of the United States and the State of Louisiana.

In response, the State argued that the five-year public record requirement within La. R.S. 15:578.1 does, in fact, suitably further a legitimate state interest. Specifically, the State asserted that, because La. R.S. 15:578.1 deters pretrial diversion participants from re-offending and allows Louisiana's prosecuting authorities to more efficiently deny previous offenders any offers to participate in pretrial diversion programs by consulting those public records, the statute protects the public from drunk drivers. Nevertheless, the district court remained troubled by the fact that a misdemeanor D.W.I. pretrial diversion participant's arrest record becomes public for five years under La. R.S. 15:578.1, while certain similar misdemeanor D.W.I. offenders who were actually adjudicated guilty can seek record expungement under La.C.Cr.P. art. 894⁶ after a period of probation (usually two years). Unpersuaded by the State's justifications, the district court thus found "no compelling governmental interest in treating those people who have gone through a diversionary program any different [sic] from the other class of D.W.I. arrestees or offenders," and declared La. R.S. 15:578.1 unconstitutional. R. at 82-83.

Pursuant to La. Const. art. V, § 5(D),⁷ the instant appeal followed.

LAW AND DISCUSSION

The issue presented in this appeal is whether La. R.S. 15:578.1 unconstitutionally discriminates against D.W.I. offenders who enter into pretrial diversion programs, and thus violates the equal protection guarantees of Article I, Section 3 of the Louisiana Constitution and the Fourteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution. To resolve this issue, we begin below with a brief discussion of the applicable burden of proof, followed by an analysis of the equal protection standards set forth in the constitutions of the United States and the State of Louisiana. Thereafter, we turn our discussion to the constitutionality of La. R.S. 15:578.1 in particular. Specifically, we will address the classification that the statute creates, the level of equal protection scrutiny applied to that classification, and finally, whether that classification suitably furthers an appropriate state interest.

Burden of Proof

Statutes are presumed to be constitutional and their constitutionality will be preserved "when it is reasonable to do so." State v. Fleury, 01-0871, p. 5 (La.10/16/01), 799 So.2d 468, 472; see also Moore v. Roemer, 567 So.2d 75, 78 (La. 1990); State v. Griffin, 495 So.2d 1306, 1308 (La.1986). Since statutes are presumed to be constitutional, "the party challenging the validity of a statute generally has the burden of proving unconstitutionality." Moore v. RLCC Techs., Inc., 95-2621, pp. 7-8 (La.2/28/96), 668 So.2d 1135, 1140; see also Roemer, 567 So.2d at 79. To satisfy this burden, the challenging party must cite the specific constitutional provision that prohibits the legislative action.⁸ Fleury, 01-0871, p. 5, 799 So.2d at 472; see also Soloco, Inc. v. Dupree, 97-1256, p. 3 (La.1/21/98), 707 So.2d 12, 14; RLCC, 95-2621, p. 8, 668 So.2d at 1140. In the case sub judice, defendant challenges the constitutionality of La. R.S. 15:578.1 by arguing that it violates the equal protection guarantees of the Fourteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution and Article I, Section 3 of the Louisiana Constitution.

Equal Protection

Our federal equal protection standard is rooted in the Fourteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution, which provides, in pertinent part:

Section 1. All persons born or naturalized in the United States, and subject to the jurisdiction thereof, are citizens of the United States and of the State wherein they res...