Advisory Opinion to the Governor, 81-268-M

• Decision Date: 20 November 1981
• Docket Number: No. 81-268-M,81-268-M
• Parties: ADVISORY OPINION TO The GOVERNOR. P.
• Court: Rhode Island Supreme Court

Page 542

437 A.2d 542

ADVISORY OPINION TO The GOVERNOR.

No. 81-268-M.P.

Supreme Court of Rhode Island.

Nov. 20, 1981.

Dennis J. Roberts, II, Atty. Gen., amicus curiae.

William F. Reilly, Public Defender, Merlyn O'Keefe, Asst. Public Defender, Barbara Hurst, Chief Appellate Atty., Providence, amicus curiae.

To His Excellency J. Joseph Garrahy

Governor of the State of Rhode Island

and Providence Plantations

We have received from Your Excellency, pursuant to section 2 of article XII of the amendments to the State Constitution, a request for our advice on the constitutionality of P.L.1981, ch. 104, "An Act Relating To Criminal Procedure," which is to become effective on January 1, 1982. Because of the significant impact this act may have on the administration of our criminal-justice system, we have requested and received amici curiae briefs from the offices of the Attorney General and the Public Defender. After completing our research and analyzing the arguments of these amici curiae, the undersigned Justices of the Supreme Court respectfully submit their response to the following questions presented in your inquiry:

"1. Can this act constitutionally declare the State of Rhode Island to be a single district for the purpose of prosecuting and punishing criminal offenses over which the Superior Court has jurisdiction?

"2. Can this act constitutionally empower the Presiding Justice of the Superior Court with discretion as to venue regarding specified offenses?"

As a preliminary matter, we feel it necessary to reiterate our remarks in Opinion to the Senate, 108 R.I. 628, 630, 278 A.2d 852, 853 (1971). In posing questions such as the ones presented, the body seeking our advice should specify the particular provisions of the Federal and State Constitutions which might be violated by the legislation under review. Insofar as the act purports to declare Rhode Island a single judicial district for purposes of prosecutions cognizable in the Superior Court and vests discretion in the Presiding Justice of the Superior Court to designate the location of such prosecutions, it sanctions the trial of an accused in a county other than that in which the offense occurred. Therefore, we assume the first question posed relates to the issue of whether the act constitutes an impermissible intrusion by the Legislature into the arena reserved to the judiciary under art. III of our State Constitution. We construe the second question to relate to the issue of whether the act infringes the jury-trial right of an accused guaranteed by the Sixth Amendment to the United States Constitution and art. I, sec. 10, and art. XLIII, sec. 1, of the amendments to the Rhode Island Constitution. Each issue will be addressed in turn.

I

We find no constitutional impediment in the Legislature's designating the state a single judicial district for purposes of Superior Court criminal proceedings. In State v. Edwards, 89 R.I. 378, 385-86, 153 A.2d 153, 158 (1959), we upheld the Legislature's treatment of Providence and Bristol Counties as a single judicial unit with respect to preindictment criminal proceedings while continuing to recognize their geographical distinctness as counties for other purposes. We stated:

"(T)here is no provision in our state constitution requiring the establishment, existence or continuance of counties. Counties in Rhode Island are creatures of the legislature." Id. at 384, 153 A.2d at 157.

As creatures of the Legislature, in the absence of a prohibition contained in the specific constitutional guarantees afforded an accused, the General Assembly is free to disregard geographical county boundaries for purposes of both preindictment and postindictment criminal proceedings.

Of course, when enacting legislation governing criminal proceedings, the General Assembly may not overstep the bounds of its authority to "subvert the power of the judiciary." Creditors' Service Corp. v. Cummings, 57 R.I. 291, 300, 190 A. 2, 8 (1937). Nor can it "exercise judicial power." Lemoine v. Martineau, 115 R.I. 233, 238, 342 A.2d 616, 620 (1975). The latter proscription has been defined as "the control of a decision in a case or the interference with its progress, or the alteration of the decision once made." (Emphasis in original.) Id. at 238, 342 A.2d at 620. But no attempt is made by enactment of this statute to control or interfere impermissibly with the business of the courts. The "details and extent of jurisdiction" of the Superior Court is a matter within the province of the Legislature. Floyd v. Quinn, 24 R.I. 147, 152, 52 A. 880, 882 (1902). Under art. X, sec. 1, of our State Constitution:

"The judicial power of this state shall be vested in one supreme court, and in such inferior courts as the general assembly may, from time to time, ordain and establish."

Section 2 of that article further provides:

"The several courts shall have such jurisdiction as may from time to time be prescribed by law. Chancery powers may be conferred on the supreme court, but on no other court to any greater extent than is now provided by law."

Historically, the General Assembly has not only dictated the jurisdiction of the lower courts but has assigned the venue of criminal proceedings within their jurisdiction as well. ¹ Clearly, the act does not represent an unprecedented encroachment by the Legislature into the domain reserved exclusively to the judicial branch of government under art. III of the State Constitution. Moreover, there is no conflict between the current criminal venue procedures of the Superior Court and the venue features of the act.

Rule 18 of the Superior Court Rules of Criminal Procedure provides, " Except as otherwise permitted by statute, or by these rules, the prosecution and trial shall be had in the county in which the offense was committed." (Emphasis added.) The underscored language reflects judicial acknowledgment of the Legislature's power to authorize criminal prosecutions in a county other than that in which the crime occurred. For example, one of the major statutory exceptions to the rule is G.L. 1956 (1969 Reenactment) § 12-17-1, as amended by P.L. 1974, ch. 118, § 3, directing venue in Providence County for crimes committed in Bristol County. ²

Although the act contains no explanation of its purpose, we fully concur with the views expressed by the Attorney General's office that the legislative objective is to enhance the ability of the judiciary to administer the criminal-justice system effectively. The effect will be to facilitate the Superior Court's control of its criminal caseload by assignment of cases, without regard to county lines, to courts with less-crowded dockets. This is a proper and permissible exercise of the police power of the General Assembly. See Creditors' Service Corp. v. Cummings, 57 R.I. at 300, 190 A. at 8.

In short, far from wresting control from the hands of the judiciary, the Legislature has chosen to empower the Presiding Justice of the Superior Court with the discretion to prescribe exceptions to the general rule of venue within the county of the crime.

II

We next focus on the jury-trial right constitutionally guaranteed an accused. The United States Constitution preserves only such characteristics of the common-law jury system which, in light of their particular function in relation to the purposes of the jury trial, may be considered indispensable components of the jury-trial right. See Williams v. Florida, 399 U.S. 78, 98-99, 90 S.Ct. 1893, 1904-05, 26 L.Ed.2d 446, 459-60 (1970). On the other hand, under our State Constitution, an accused is entitled to such jury-trial right as was enjoyed at the time of the adoption of the Rhode Island Constitution. State v. Vinagro, R.I., 433 A.2d 945, 947 (1981). ³ Additionally, we recognized in Vinagro that "(t)he right to trial by jury has its own unique basis under the Rhode Island Constitution." Id., 433 A.2d at 946. Incidents of the jury-trial right embodied in our State Constitution cannot be abridged even though they may not be embodied in the Federal Constitution. See Opinion to the Senate, 108 R.I. at 633, 278 A.2d at 854.

The venue provision of the Sixth Amendment to the United States Constitution requires that the accused in a criminal prosecution be tried "by an impartial jury of the state and district wherein the crime shall have been committed, which district shall have been previously ascertained by law * * * ." The applicable provisions of our State Constitution contain no reference to venue in criminal proceedings. The right protected in such proceedings is "the right to a speedy and public trial by an impartial jury * * * " (art. I, sec. 10), which "shall remain inviolate" (amend. XLIII, sec. 1). At common law, however, juries were originally drawn from the vicinage of the crime. See generally Blume, The Place of Trial of Criminal Cases: Constitutional Vicinage and Venue, 43 Mich.L.Rev. 59, 60-63 (1944). "Vicinage" literally means "neighborhood." Opinion to the Senate, 108 R.I. at 631 n.1, 278 A.2d at 854 n.1. Applied in its modern legal sense, it refers to the place from which the jury is drawn whereas venue refers to the actual place of trial. Blume, 43 Mich.L.Rev. at 60. Narrowly focused, then the precise issue to resolve is whether an accused was entitled to a jury drawn from the vicinage of the crime when either of these constitutions was adopted.

Although the United States Supreme Court has yet to rule definitively on the issue, we are of the opinion that the Sixth Amendment does not grant an accused the right of vicinage of the crime as an essential incident of a jury trial. In Williams v. Florida, 399 U.S. at 92-97, 90 S.Ct. at 1902-04, 26 L.Ed.2d at 456-58, the Court expressed doubts about whether vicinage of the crime is an attribute of the jury-trial right contemplated by the framers of the Federal Constitution. Tracing the history of the Sixth Amendment, the Court noted that attempts to incorporate a vicinage...