Dooley v. Rhodes
| Decision Date | 10 October 1957 |
| Citation | 135 A.2d 114,50 Del. 479,11 Terry 479 |
| Parties | , 50 Del. 479 In the Matter of Freddle DOOLEY, Appellant, v. W. Paul RHODES, Warden, and The Trustees of the New Castle County Correctional Institute, Appellees. |
| Court | United States State Supreme Court of Delaware |
James P. D'Angelo and Stanley T. Czajkowski, Wilmington, for appellant.
Wilfred J. Smith, Jr., Deputy Atty. Gen., for appellees.
Petitioner Dooley was on April 27, 1957, convicted before a justice of the peace of the offense of operating a motor vehicle while under the influence of liquor. He was sentenced to serve a term of 60 days imprisonment and to pay a fine of $500 and the costs, and in default of the payment of the fine and costs to serve an additional term of 150 days imprisonment. Petitioner, having served the term of 60 days, filed in the Superior Court a petition for a writ of habeas corpus, asserting that that part of the sentence imposing an additional term of imprisonment for nonpayment of the fine is beyond the statutory powers of a justice of the peace and is illegal on its face.
After hearing the Superior Court discharged the writ, holding such power to exist. Petitioner appeals.
The question presented is:
Has a justice of the peace, upon imposing a fine and costs for a violation of law, power to fix a term of imprisonment to be served by the offender in default of payment?
Before the enactment of the Code of 1953 this question could have been readily answered in the negative. An act of 1879 (16 Del.L. p. 201), as later amended, specified the length of the time or times of imprisonment to be served in default of the payment of a fine imposed by a justice of the peace or municipal court.
This statute became § 4461 of the Revised Code of 1935. Consequently the magistrate had no authority himself to fix the term. Mullin v. State, 38 Del. 533, 194 A. 578.
But the statute was omitted from the Code of 1953, and hence repealed. 1 Del.C. § 103. The petitioner contends that there is now no provision of law empowering a justice of the peace to fix a term of imprisonment for nonpayment of a fine. The State contends that such power exists under 11 Del.C. § 4103.
Subsections (a) and (b) of that section provide:
'(b) If no order has been made by the court or justice of the peace at the time or term when the sentence was made or fine imposed, or at a succeeding term, the court or justice of the peace imposing the sentence or fine, or the Resident Judge of the county wherein the trial was had may make an order discharging the prisoner from custody upon petition of the prisoner and proof of his inability to pay the fine, restitution money and costs.'
On its face this statute appears to be readily susceptible of the construction contended for by the State. It is natural to assume that the word 'court' in the concluding clause of the first sentence was intended to include a justice of the peace and that the omission of the words 'or a justice of the peace' after the word 'court' was inadvertent, or, alternatively, that its omission creates an ambiguity that should be resolved in favor of the power. This result appears to be supported by the language of subsection (b), in which the word 'order' in the introductory clause appears to refer to the order fixing the term of imprisonment at the time of imposing sentence.
The court below so construed the statute.
But the statute must be read in the light of its legislative history and of the legislative policy evidenced by other related statutes. When so read it becomes clear that the omission in subsection (a), above referred to, was deliberate; and that the word 'order' in the introductory clause of subsection (b) refers to an order of discharge for inability to pay the fine and not to an order (so far as concerns a justice of the peace) fixing a term of imprisonment.
The case of Mullin v. State, supra, decided in 1937, so holds. Judge Rodney's opinion in that case sets forth in detail the legislative history of the statute. We have carefully examined the chain of statutes that eventually became § 4103. It is quite clear to us that prior to the enactment of the Code a justice of the peace did not possess the power here asserted. It is unnecessary here to set forth again all the statutes involved. We content ourselves with a brief reference to the origins of the two subsections of § 4103 above quoted.
Subsection (a). This section stems from § 14 of an act of 1826 (6 Del.L. p. 742), relating to nonpayment of fines. The context of § 14 clearly shows that the word 'court' contained therein did not include justices of the peace. A subsequent enactment dealing with the same subject is equally clear, referring specifically to the Court of General Sessions. 9 Del.L. p. 63. The Code of 1852 made some changes in language in these statutes. The Court of General Sessions was not specifically referred to, the language being 'a court'. But the distinction in terminology between 'a court' and a justice of the peace was preserved. This distinction is still preserved, i. e., the distinction between magistrates' courts and other courts having jurisdiction to impose fines in criminal cases.
Subsection (b). This section originated in an act of 1881 (16 Del.L. p. 717). It is clear from the context that the 'order' referred to is an order of discharge to be made upon proof of inability to pay the fine. The later amendment of 1925 (34 Del.L. p. 546), empowering justice of the peace to make such an order was likewise clearly not intended to confer the power here asserted. Indeed, the existence of the act of 1879, as amended (the 'commutation statute') negatives any such construction, which would entail an implied repeal of that act.
We are in accord with the conclusion announced in Mullin v. State, supra, on this point.
We come to the final question: What is the effect of the repeal by the 1953 Code of the 'commutation statute'?
The court below held that the repeal so changed the statutory situation as to make the Mullin case inapplicable. The court was of opinion that the result of petitioner's contention is to cast upon the Superior Court the burden of fixing terms of imprisonment for nonpayment of fines imposed by justices of the peace. The court was unwilling to impute to the legislature such an intention. We agree that such a result would be highly unreasonable. But, as will appear hereafter, we do not think that such a result follows.
On the other hand, the State's contention also leads to a highly unreasonable result. If it is sound, a justice of the peace may inflict a sentence of a year's imprisonment for nonpayment of any fine, however small. In many cases such a term would exceed the term of imprisonment that he is permitted to fix for the offense itself. Under the commutation statute, now repealed (16 Del.L. p. 701), 60 days was the maximum term of imprisonment fixed by law for nonpayment of a fine imposed by a magistrate. Such an unexpected and drastic expansion of the powers of justices of the peace, in an indirect manner, is quite contrary to the policy of the General Assembly announced for more than a century. It could not have been actually intended.
What then was the 'intention' (in the sense of purpose) of this repeal of the commutation statute?
We do not see how any specific purpose can be attributed to the legislature. We can only believe that the omission from the 1953 Code of § 4461 of the Revised Code was an...
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