Com. v. Ludwig
| Citation | 583 Pa. 6,874 A.2d 623 |
| Court | Pennsylvania Supreme Court |
| Decision Date | 19 May 2005 |
| Parties | COMMONWEALTH of Pennsylvania, Appellant v. Gregory David LUDWIG, Appellee. |
Michael Wayne Streily, Pittsburgh, for the Com. of PA., appellant.
Mary Benefield Seiverling; Michael F.J. Piecuch, Boston, MA; Jonelle Harter Eshbach, for Office of Atty. Gen., appellant amicus curiae.
Patrick J. Thomassey, Monroeville, for Gregory David Ludwig, appellee.
BEFORE: CAPPY, C.J., CASTILLE, NIGRO, NEWMAN, SAYLOR, EAKIN and BAER, JJ.
This appeal presents a constitutional challenge to a criminal statute, 18 Pa.C.S. § 2506, "Drug delivery resulting in death," for vagueness, because the statute fails to sufficiently set forth the mental state required for criminal liability. Additionally, we are called upon to determine whether the trial court erred in granting Appellee Gregory Ludwig's Petition for Writ of Habeas Corpus based upon the Commonwealth's failure to establish a prima facie case under Section 2506. For the reasons that follow, we hold that Section 2506 is not unconstitutionally vague and that the applicable mental state for a conviction under the statute is malice. We further conclude, however, that the Commonwealth has failed to establish a prima facie case of malice under Section 2506. Accordingly, we affirm the order of the trial court, granting Ludwig's Petition for Writ of Habeas Corpus with respect to the charge of Drug delivery resulting in death.
The facts underlying this appeal are not in dispute. On the evening of May 17, 2001, fifteen-year-old Brandy French (Brandy), eighteen-year-old Paula Wilson (Paula), and seventeen-year-old Michelle Maranuk (Michelle) discussed with one another their desire to consume the drug Ecstasy at an all-day concert that they would be attending the following day. After the conversation, Michelle contacted a recent acquaintance, nineteen-year-old Ludwig, and informed him that she was interested in purchasing Ecstasy for herself and two of her friends. Ludwig replied that he would be willing to sell Michelle three Ecstasy pills at a price of $20 a pill and offered to meet her at the local Dairy Queen later that evening. Michelle relayed that information to Brandy and Paula, and the girls then arranged for Paula's boyfriend, Robert Sontag, to drive them to the Dairy Queen to meet Ludwig.
Upon arriving at the Dairy Queen, Ludwig entered the girls' car, and the entire group took a short drive. During the drive, Michelle took $20 from Paula and Brandy and handed Ludwig $60. In return, Ludwig supplied Michelle with three tablets of white double-stacked Mitsubishi Ecstasy.2 Michelle kept all of the pills until the next day.
At approximately 4:00 p.m. the following afternoon, the three girls met in the ladies' room at the concert to take the Ecstasy. Michelle gave Paula and Brandy each a pill, but advised them to take only one-half of a pill, because it was double-dosed, and neither Paula nor Brandy had previously taken Ecstasy. The girls then ingested their pills, Michelle taking her whole pill and Paula and Brandy taking one-half of their respective pills. Paula and Brandy, however, believing that they had not experienced the full effects of the Ecstasy, returned to the ladies' room a short while later and consumed the remaining halves of their pills.3
Soon after consuming the second half of her pill, Brandy began to vomit. She also complained of a severe headache and became sluggish. After discussing the situation with some other friends they had met at the concert, Michelle, Paula, and their friends decided that they would take Brandy to the home of Lewis Hopkins (Lewis), a friend of Michelle's cousin, whom they had met at the concert.
Upon arriving at Lewis' home, the group carried Brandy, who was by that time semi-conscious, into the house and put her in a bed. The group then left Brandy in the bedroom and went to another part of the house. Lewis' mother, who was home at the time, inquired into Brandy's condition, but was told only that Brandy had been drinking at the concert and had become ill.
At approximately 9:30 p.m., Brandy began to have difficulty breathing. Although it was suggested that someone call an ambulance, an ambulance was not called because Brandy's breathing seemed to return to normal and Lewis' mother objected to an ambulance coming to her home for fear that it would tarnish her reputation. More than an hour later, however, Paula noticed that Brandy again was having difficulty breathing. Realizing that Brandy needed immediate medical attention, Michelle, Paula, and Lewis decided to take Brandy to a hospital. Brandy, however, stopped breathing when the group reached Lewis' driveway. At that point, Lewis' mother telephoned 911. After their arrival, police and paramedics took Brandy to a hospital. Subsequently, on May 20, 2001, Brandy died; an autopsy determined that Brandy's death was due to an overdose of Ecstasy.
As a result of these events, the Allegheny County Coroner's Office held an Open Inquest into Brandy's death. In August of 2001, the Coroner's office ultimately recommended that the District Attorney file charges of murder against Ludwig and Michelle. Subsequently, Ludwig was charged with one count of drug delivery resulting in death pursuant to Section 2506.4
On November 7, 2001, Ludwig filed a Petition for Writ of Habeas Corpus with the Court of Common Pleas of Allegheny County, arguing that Section 2506 is unconstitutionally vague in that the requisite mental element is too vaguely defined, and that even if the statute is not unconstitutionally vague, the Commonwealth had failed to present sufficient evidence to establish a prima facie case of the elements of Section 2506. The trial court granted Ludwig's petition on both grounds and dismissed the charge premised upon Section 2506. See Commonwealth v. Ludwig, 55 Pa. D. & C.4th 449 (Com.Pl. Allegheny Co.2002).
Specifically, in holding Section 2506 to be unconstitutionally vague, the trial court found that because the statute fails to sufficiently set forth the mens rea necessary for conviction, it is impossible to determine whether Section 2506 functions as a strict liability offense or a new version of third degree murder requiring a showing of malice. Id. at 459. Given this lack of clarity, the trial court determined that Section 2506 does not sufficiently define the conduct to be prohibited by the statute, and consequently, is unconstitutionally vague. Id. In the alternative, the trial court reasoned that even if Section 2506 functions as a new version of third-degree murder adequately setting forth a mens rea of malice, it would still grant Ludwig's petition because the Commonwealth had failed to present sufficient evidence to establish a prima facie case that Ludwig acted with malice. Id. at 465-467.
The Commonwealth appealed the trial court's decision to our Court which has jurisdiction pursuant to 42 Pa.C.S. § 722(7), which provides that we shall have exclusive jurisdiction over an order of the court of common pleas holding a statute unconstitutional. We first consider the issue of whether Section 2506 is unconstitutionally vague.5
As a threshold matter, a statute is presumed to be constitutional and will only be invalidated as unconstitutional if it "clearly, palpably, and plainly violates constitutional rights." Commonwealth v. MacPherson, 561 Pa. 571, 752 A.2d 384, 388 (2000) (citation omitted). Related thereto, courts have the duty to avoid constitutional difficulties, if possible, by construing statutes in a constitutional manner. Harrington v. Dept. of Transportation, Bureau of Driver Licensing, 563 Pa. 565, 763 A.2d 386, 393 (2000); see also 1 Pa. C.S. § 1922(3) (). Consequently, the party challenging a statute's constitutionality bears a heavy burden of persuasion. MacPherson, 752 A.2d at 388.
Turning to the constitutional challenge raised in this appeal, as a general proposition, statutory limitations on our individual freedoms are reviewed by courts for substantive authority and content, in addition to definiteness or adequacy of expression. See, Kolender v. Lawson, 461 U.S. 352, 357, 103 S.Ct. 1855, 75 L.Ed.2d 903 (1983)
. A statute may be deemed to be unconstitutionally vague if it fails in its definiteness or adequacy of statutory expression. This void-for-vagueness doctrine, as it is known, implicates due process notions that a statute must provide reasonable standards by which a person may gauge his future conduct, i.e., notice and warning. Smith v. Goguen, 415 U.S. 566, 572, 94 S.Ct. 1242, 39 L.Ed.2d 605 (1974); Commonwealth v. Heinbaugh, 467 Pa. 1, 354 A.2d 244, 246 (1976).6
Specifically with respect to a penal statute, our Court and the United States Supreme Court have found that to withstand constitutional scrutiny based upon a challenge of vagueness a statute must satisfy two requirements. A criminal statute must "define the criminal offense with sufficient definiteness that ordinary people can understand what conduct is prohibited and in a manner that does not encourage arbitrary and discriminatory enforcement." Kolender, 461 U.S. at 358,103 S.Ct. 1855; Commonwealth v. Mayfield, 574 Pa. 460, 832 A.2d 418, 422 (2003); Commonwealth v. Mikulan, 504 Pa. 244, 470 A.2d 1339, 1342 (1983); see also Heinbaugh, 354 A.2d at 246
; see generally Goldsmith, THE VOID-FOR-VAGUENESS DOCTRINE IN THE SUPREME COURT, REVISITED, 30 Am. J. Crim. L. 279 (2003).
In considering these requirements, both High Courts have looked to certain factors to discern whether a certain statute is impermissibly vague. For the most part, the Courts have looked at the statutory language itself, and have interpreted that language, to resolve the question of vagueness. See Kolender, 461 U.S. at 358,
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