Government of Virgin Islands v. Rivera

Decision Date18 June 2003
Docket NumberNo. 02-1457.,02-1457.
Citation333 F.3d 143
PartiesGOVERNMENT OF THE VIRGIN ISLANDS, Appellant v. Jamel RIVERA.
CourtU.S. Court of Appeals — Third Circuit
333 F.3d 143
GOVERNMENT OF THE VIRGIN ISLANDS, Appellant
v.
Jamel RIVERA.
No. 02-1457.
United States Court of Appeals, Third Circuit.
Argued November 8, 2002.
Filed June 18, 2003.

Page 144

Maureen Phelan, (Argued), Joel H. Feld, Office of Attorney General of Virgin Islands, Department of Justice, Charlotte Amalie, U.S. Virgin Islands, for Appellant.

Stephen A. Brusch, (Argued), Charlotte Amalie, U.S. Virgin Islands, for Appellee.

Before SCIRICA, Chief Judge,* ALITO and RENDELL, Circuit Judges.

OPINION OF THE COURT

SCIRICA, Chief Judge.


The Appellate Division of the District Court of the Virgin Islands remanded this criminal case for resentencing to the Territorial Court of the Virgin Islands. The Government of the Virgin Islands has appealed. At issue is whether we have jurisdiction to hear the government's appeal.

I

On May 22, 1997, a jury convicted Jamel R. Rivera of assault in the first degree in violation of 14 V.I.Code Ann. § 295(1). The Territorial Court of the Virgin Islands sentenced Rivera to eight years imprisonment with credit for time served, followed by two years supervised probation. Rivera appealed both his conviction and sentence to the Appellate Division of the District Court of the Virgin Islands. The Appellate Division affirmed the conviction, but held the sentence was illegal because "the trial court could not impose probation on [Rivera] without suspending all but six months of his prison term or staying the execution of his sentence." Rivera v. Gov't of the V.I., 42 V.I. 203, 211, 2000 WL 151919 (D.V.I.App.Div.2000).1 The Appellate

Page 145

Division vacated Rivera's sentence and remanded to the Territorial Court for resentencing.

On remand, the Territorial Court resentenced Rivera to "a term of incarceration for a period of ten years, with credit for time served prior to June 19, 1997, from May 22, 1997 to June 19, 1997." Gov't of the V.I. v. Rivera, No. F416/1996, at 2 (Terr.Ct. Apr. 12, 2000) (amended judgment and commitment order). The Territorial Court also assessed seventy-five dollars in court costs, an amount higher than that imposed by the original sentence.

Rivera again appealed. The Appellate Division held the resentencing was barred by the Double Jeopardy Clause. See North Carolina v. Pearce, 395 U.S. 711, 89 S.Ct. 2072, 23 L.Ed.2d 656 (1969). The Appellate Division vacated the amended judgment and commitment order and remanded to the Territorial Court for resentencing. Rivera v. Gov't of the V.I., 183 F.Supp.2d 770, 773 (D.V.I.2002).2

The Government of the Virgin Islands now seeks review of the Appellate Division's judgment remanding for resentencing.

II

Before we review the merits of an appeal, we must determine whether we have jurisdiction. To do so here, we must focus on the Virgin Islands court structure and the territorial prosecutor's authority.

A. The Virgin Islands Court Structure

The United States Constitution grants Congress the authority to "make all needful Rules and Regulations respecting the Territory or other Property belonging to the United States." U.S. Const. art. IV, § 3, cl. 2. Under this constitutional authority, Congress enacted the Revised Organic Act of the Virgin Islands. 48 U.S.C. §§ 1541 et seq.3 The Revised Organic Act is "the Virgin Islands' equivalent of a constitution," Brow, 994 F.2d at 1032, and vests the judicial power of the Virgin Islands in local courts established by local law and in the District Court of the Virgin Islands, 48 U.S.C. § 1611. In 1984, Congress made significant amendments to the Revised Organic Act. See Act of Oct. 5, 1984, Pub.L. No. 98-454, 98 Stat. 1732. These amendments, along with certain more recent changes in Virgin Islands law, have shaped the current court structure in the Virgin Islands.

The Virgin Islands court structure consists of the Territorial Court of the Virgin Islands, which has original jurisdiction over local civil actions, local criminal actions, and certain other matters, 4 V.I.Code Ann. § 76; 1993 V.I. Sess. Laws

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5890,4 and the District Court of the Virgin Islands, which has "the jurisdiction of a District Court of the United States," as well as jurisdiction over certain other matters, 48 U.S.C. § 1612.5 Appeals from the Territorial Court are heard by the Appellate Division of the District Court of the Virgin Islands. The Appellate Division functions as an appellate tribunal for local matters until such time as the Virgin Islands legislature creates a local appellate court. See 48 U.S.C. § 1613a; 4 V.I.Code Ann. § 33.6 The United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit has "jurisdiction of appeals from all final decisions" of the District Court when the District Court acts as a trial court and also in its capacity as the Appellate Division. 28 U.S.C. § 1291 ("The court[] of appeals ... shall have jurisdiction of appeals from all final decisions of ... the District Court of the Virgin Islands...."); 48 U.S.C. § 1613a(c) ("The United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit shall have jurisdiction of appeals from all final decisions of the district court on appeal from the courts established by local law.").

The Virgin Islands court structure, incorporating the Appellate Division of the District Court as an appellate tribunal for local law, reflects Congress's intent to encourage "the development of a local Virgin Islands appellate structure with greater autonomy with respect to issues of Virgin Islands law." In re Alison, 837 F.2d 619, 622 (3d Cir.1988). The Appellate Division "represents a step" toward such an autonomous appellate structure. Id. At the same time, the Appellate Division is "not an insular [local] appellate court," but is "essentially a federal creature." BA Props. Inc. v. Gov't of the V.I., 299 F.3d 207, 212 (3d Cir.2002). Thus, in many contexts, we "treat[] appeals from the Appellate Division of the District Court of the Virgin Islands no differently than appeals taken from any other federal district court." Ortiz v. Dodge, 126 F.3d 545, 548 (3d Cir.1997); see also BA Props., 299 F.3d at 212 ("We will ... exercise plenary review over the Appellate Division's order, much as we would when reviewing a district court...."). It is within this context, where the Government of the Virgin Islands appeals a judgment of the Appellate Division of the District Court in a local criminal action, that we consider our jurisdiction.

B. Prosecutorial Authority To Appeal

It is axiomatic that a prosecutor has "no right to appeal an adverse criminal judgment unless expressly authorized by statute to do so." Arizona v. Manypenny, 451 U.S. 232, 245, 101 S.Ct. 1657, 68 L.Ed.2d 58 (1981); see also United States v. Wilson, 420 U.S. 332, 336, 95 S.Ct. 1013, 43 L.Ed.2d 232 (1975) ("This Court early held that the Government could not take

Page 147

an appeal in a criminal case without express statutory authority."); Gov't of the V.I. v. Christensen, 673 F.2d 713, 715 (3d Cir.1982). Thus, a legislature must "speak with a clear voice" in order to authorize a prosecutorial appeal in a criminal action. Manypenny, 451 U.S. at 247, 101 S.Ct. 1657; see also id. at 246, 101 S.Ct. 1657 ("[T]he presumption [is] that the prosecution lacks appellate authority absent express legislative authorization to the contrary."). Here, the Government of the Virgin Islands asserts that its authority to appeal is supplied by 48 U.S.C. § 1493(c). The statute provides, "The prosecution in a territory ... is authorized-unless precluded by local law-to seek review or other suitable relief in the appropriate ... federal appellate court ... from ... an adverse decision, judgment, or order of an appellate court." 48 U.S.C. § 1493(c). While 48 U.S.C. § 1493(c) appears to grant broad authority to the Government of the Virgin Islands to pursue an appeal, it is silent on whether an adverse decision, judgment, or order of the Appellate Division must be final in order for the government to perfect an appeal to this court.7 At issue is whether finality is required for appeals under 48 U.S.C. § 1493(c).

1. The Finality Requirement

Generally, federal courts of appeals are limited to reviewing final decisions, judgments, and orders. Under 28 U.S.C. § 1291, courts of appeals "have jurisdiction of appeals from all final decisions of the district courts." More specifically, finality is required by 48 U.S.C. § 1613a(c), which provides jurisdiction for this court over appeals from the Appellate Division. 48 U.S.C. § 1613a(c) ("The United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit shall have jurisdiction of appeals from all final decisions of the district court on appeal from the courts established by local law."); see also Ortiz, 126 F.3d at 547 ("Under 28 U.S.C. § 1291 and 48 U.S.C. § 1613a(c), our jurisdiction is limited to `final decisions' from the District Court of the Virgin Islands.").

Under this finality requirement, "a party is entitled to a single appeal, to be deferred until final judgment has been entered, in which claims of district court error at any stage of the litigation may be ventilated." Digital Equip. Corp. v. Desktop Direct, Inc., 511 U.S. 863, 868, 114 S.Ct. 1992, 128 L.Ed.2d 842 (1994). The requirement "descends from the Judiciary Act of 1789 where the First Congress established the principle that only final judgments and decrees of the federal district courts may be reviewed on appeal." Cunningham v. Hamilton County, 527 U.S. 198, 203, 119 S.Ct. 1915, 144 L.Ed.2d 184 (1999) (quotations omitted). It serves "several salutary purposes," including "promoting efficient judicial administration" and avoiding "the harassment and cost of a succession of separate appeals." Id. at 203-04, 119 S.Ct. 1915 (quotations omitted).

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We recognize that there are limited departures from the finality requirement. For example, Congress may "authorize[], through ... statutory provisions, immediate appeals ... in certain classes of cases." Johnson v. Jones, 515 U.S. 304, 310, 115 S.Ct. 2151,...

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