Lay v. Nelson In And For County Of Yuma

• Decision Date: 24 January 2019
• Docket Number: No. 1 CA-SA 18-0114,1 CA-SA 18-0114
• Citation: 436 P.3d 496,246 Ariz. 173
• Parties: Jason Wayne LAY, Petitioner, v. The Honorable Roger A. NELSON, Judge of the Superior Court of the State of Arizona, IN AND FOR the COUNTY OF YUMA, Respondent Judge, State of Arizona, Real Party in Interest.
• Court: Arizona Court of Appeals

246 Ariz. 173

436 P.3d 496

Jason Wayne LAY, Petitioner,

v.The Honorable Roger A. NELSON, Judge of the Superior Court of the State of Arizona, IN AND FOR the COUNTY OF YUMA, Respondent Judge,State of Arizona, Real Party in Interest.

No. 1 CA-SA 18-0114

Court of Appeals of Arizona, Division 1.

FILED January 24, 2019

Torok Law Office, PLLC, Yuma, By Gregory T. Torok, Counsel for Petitioner

Yuma County Attorney's Office, Yuma, By Andrew Orozco, Counsel for Real Party in Interest

Arizona Attorney General's Office, Phoenix, By Linley Wilson, Counsel for Amicus Curiae Arizona Attorney General

Arizona Attorneys for Criminal Justice, Phoenix, By Mikel Steinfeld, Counsel for Amicus Curiae Arizona Attorneys for Criminal Justice

Presiding Judge Diane M. Johnsen delivered the opinion of the Court, in which Judge Paul J. McMurdie and Judge David D. Weinzweig joined.

JOHNSEN, Judge:

¶1 A Yuma County justice court convicted Jason Wayne Lay of two misdemeanors. After the superior court affirmed his convictions, Lay petitioned for special action relief, arguing the State had not offered evidence to prove the justice court had subject-matter jurisdiction over the charges. We accept jurisdiction of his petition but deny relief. We agree with Lay that Arizona Revised Statutes ("A.R.S.") § 22-301 (2019) establishes the subject-matter jurisdiction of an Arizona justice court but conclude the evidence at his trial was sufficient to satisfy that statute.¹

FACTS AND PROCEDURAL BACKGROUND

¶2 Lay was charged with harassment under A.R.S. § 13-2921(A)(1) (2019) and threatening or intimidating under A.R.S. § 13-1202(A)(1) (2019). The harassment charge was based on text messages Lay sent a woman with whom he had been in a relationship; the threatening or intimidating charge was based on evidence that Lay threatened to kill the woman's current significant other.

¶3 At the close of the State's case, Lay moved for judgment of acquittal under Arizona Rule of Criminal Procedure 20, arguing the State had failed to offer evidence that he committed the crimes within the precinct as required by A.R.S. § 22-301. The justice court denied the motion. It then convicted Lay and sentenced him to 60 days in jail.

¶4 Lay appealed to the superior court, which affirmed his convictions. After the superior court denied Lay's motion to reconsider, he filed this petition for special action.

JURISDICTION

¶5 We exercise our discretion to accept jurisdiction of this special action under Article 6, Section 9, of the Arizona Constitution, A.R.S. § 12-120.21(A)(4) (2019) and Arizona Rule of Procedure for Special Actions 1(a). Lay has no remedy by appeal, see A.R.S. § 22-375 (2019), and this case presents a question of statutory interpretation, a question of law, which is of statewide importance, see Ariz. R.P. Spec. Act. 1(a) ; State ex rel. Montgomery v. Brain , 244 Ariz. 525, 527, ¶¶ 6-7, 422 P.3d 1065, 1067 (App. 2018).

DISCUSSION

A. A.R.S. § 22-301 Establishes the Subject-Matter Jurisdiction of a Justice Court.

¶6 Section 22-301, titled "Jurisdiction of criminal actions," states in relevant part:

A. The justice courts shall have jurisdiction of the following offenses committed within their respective precincts:

1. Misdemeanors and....

2. Felonies, but only for the purpose of commencing action and conducting proceedings through preliminary examinations....

* * *

C. For the purposes of subsection A ... of this section, an offense is committed within the precinct of a justice court if conduct constituting any element of the offense or a result of such conduct occurs either:

1. Within the precinct.

2. Within [certain county parks].

¶7 Lay was convicted in the justice court for Precinct One in Yuma. He argues that court lacked subject-matter jurisdiction absent evidence that the offenses were committed "within the precinct" under § 22-301(C).

¶8 We determine subject-matter jurisdiction de novo . See State v. Flores , 218 Ariz. 407, 410, ¶ 6, 188 P.3d 706, 708–09 (App. 2008). In interpreting a statute, we first look to the measure's words, giving them their ordinary meaning unless the legislature has provided a definition. See State v. Pledger , 236 Ariz. 469, 471, ¶ 8, 341 P.3d 511, 513 (App. 2015). Additionally, when possible, "[w]e ... construe statutes to give effect to an entire statutory scheme." Backus v. State , 220 Ariz. 101, 104, ¶ 10, 203 P.3d 499, 502 (2009).

¶9 Without question, § 22-301 establishes the subject-matter jurisdiction of a justice court: "The justice courts shall have jurisdiction of the following offenses committed within their respective precincts." A.R.S. § 22-301(A). In subparts (A)(1) and (2), the statute sets out the matters (misdemeanors and felony preliminary proceedings) over which a justice court "shall have jurisdiction" when an offense is "committed within [the] respective precinct[ ]" of the court. And subpart (C) defines what it means to be "committed within" a precinct. As relevant here, "an offense is committed within the precinct of a justice court if conduct constituting any element of the offense or a result of such conduct occurs ... within the precinct."

¶10 By mandating that a justice court "shall have jurisdiction" of specific offenses when those offenses are "committed within" the precinct, the statute circumscribes the power of a justice court to exercise its jurisdiction in criminal matters. See Bruce v. State , 126 Ariz. 271, 272, 614 P.2d 813, 814 (1980) (in dictum , characterizing § 22-301 as establishing the jurisdiction of justice court); State v. Shearer , 27 Ariz. 311, 314-15, 232 P. 893 (1925) (provision in 1913 territorial code referring to "offenses ... within their respective precincts" determined justice-court jurisdiction); City Court of City of Phoenix v. State ex rel. Baumert , 115 Ariz. 351, 354, 565 P.2d 531, 534 (App. 1977) ( § 22-301"is a special statute, referring specifically to the jurisdiction of justice courts").

¶11 Although case authority interpreting § 22-301 is scant, the legislature used similar language in A.R.S. § 13-108 (2019) to describe the jurisdiction of the Arizona court system to try criminal offenses. That statute provides:

A. This state has jurisdiction over an offense that a person commits by his own conduct or the conduct of another for which such person is legally accountable if:

1. Conduct constituting any element of the offense or a result of such conduct occurs within this state.

¶12 The cases uniformly hold that § 13-108(A)(1) defines the subject-matter jurisdiction of the Arizona judicial system to try a criminal offense. See, e.g. , State v. Willoughby , 181 Ariz. 530, 536-40, 892 P.2d 1319, 1325–29 (1995) (premeditation in Arizona of homicide committed in Mexico established subject-matter jurisdiction in Arizona because premeditation is element of first-degree murder); State v. Yegan , 223 Ariz. 213, 215-16, ¶¶ 6-10, 221 P.3d 1027, 1029–30 (App. 2009) ( § 13-108 establishes subject-matter jurisdiction of superior court over a criminal offense); Flores , 218 Ariz. at 410, ¶ 9, 188 P.3d at 709–10 (same); State v. Jackson , 208 Ariz. 56, 62, ¶ 21, 90 P.3d 793, 799 (App. 2004) ("territorial jurisdiction issue addressed in Willoughby " implicated subject-matter jurisdiction of the court).² Consistent with our interpretation of § 22-301, these cases hold that, as relevant here, the Arizona court system has subject-matter jurisdiction to try criminal cases only when "[c]onduct constituting any element of the offense or a result of such conduct occurs within this state." A.R.S. § 13-108(A)(1).³ We have no reason to conclude that the language describing the "jurisdiction" of the justice court in § 22-301 does not likewise define that court's subject-matter jurisdiction. See Bruce , 126 Ariz. at 272, 614 P.2d at 814 ; Shearer , 27 Ariz. at 314-15, 232 P. 893.

¶13 In an amicus brief submitted at this court's invitation, the Arizona Attorney General asserts that § 22-301(A) establishes the subject-matter jurisdiction of a justice court only insofar as the statute identifies categories of matters (misdemeanor prosecutions and felony preliminary proceedings) that a justice court may hear. The Attorney General argues that subpart (C) of the statute, defining when "an offense is committed within the precinct of a justice court," does not concern subject-matter jurisdiction but instead establishes the "territorial jurisdiction" of a justice court.

¶14 The Attorney General argues § 22-301 does two distinct things: (1) It establishes what offenses fall within the subject-matter jurisdiction of the justice court, and (2) separately, it establishes in which precincts those offenses may be tried. But the statute is not written that way. Subpart (A), which the Attorney General concedes defines the court's subject-matter jurisdiction, states that "justice courts shall have jurisdiction of the following offenses committed within their respective precincts ." (Emphasis added). Subpart (C), which states what it means to be "committed within the precinct," therefore is not distinct from subpart (A)'s grant of subject-matter jurisdiction but instead is a critical component of that grant. Read together, as relevant here, the statute provides that a justice court has jurisdiction over misdemeanors and felony preliminary proceedings only when the "offense[ ] [is] committed within [its] respective precinct[ ]," meaning when "conduct constituting any element of the offense or a result of such conduct occurs ... [w]ithin the precinct." A.R.S. § 22-301(A), (C)(1).

¶15 The Attorney General relies on Womack v. State , 7 Ariz. App. 455, 440 P.2d 336 (1968), in which the defendant was charged by complaint filed in justice court, then bound over to the superior court. Id . There, the State filed an information, which it later amended when the defendant agreed to plead guilty to burglary. Id. at 456, 440 P.2d 336. On appeal, the defendant argued for the first time that the justice court in which the complaint had been filed lacked...