Mungarro v. Riley, 2
| Court | Court of Appeals of Arizona |
| Citation | 170 Ariz. 589,826 P.2d 1215 |
| Docket Number | No. 2,CA-SA,2 |
| Parties | Ruben R. MUNGARRO, Petitioner, v. The Honorable James L. RILEY, A Judge for the Superior Court of the State of Arizona, County of Chochise, and the Honorable Michael Cass, Justice of the Peace of the Justice Court of Cochise County, Respondents, and The STATE of Arizona, Real Party in Interest. 91-0130. |
| Decision Date | 05 November 1991 |
Page 1215
v.
The Honorable James L. RILEY, A Judge for the Superior Court of the State of Arizona, County of Chochise, and the Honorable Michael Cass, Justice of the Peace of the Justice Court of Cochise County, Respondents,
and
Division 2, Department A.
Review Denied April 7, 1992. *
Page 1216
[170 Ariz. 590] Robert Arentz, Cochise County Public Defender by Vincent J. Frey, Bisbee, for petitioner.
Alan K. Polley, Cochise County Atty. by Douglas C. Whitney, Bisbee, for real party in interest.
LACAGNINA, Presiding Judge.
This special action is brought from the lower court's denial of petitioner Ruben R. Mungarro's demand for a jury trial on the charge of false reporting to a law enforcement agency, in violation of A.R.S. § 13-2907.01. Because Mungarro is without an adequate remedy by appeal, and a special action is the proper means for questioning the right to a jury trial, Rothweiler v. Superior Court, 100 Ariz. 37, 410 P.2d 479 (1966), we assume jurisdiction and grant relief.
A criminal defendant is guaranteed the right to a jury trial. Ariz.Const. art. 2, §§ 23, 24. That right, however, has only been extended to serious crimes. Rothweiler, supra. A three-prong test has been formulated to assess whether a crime is serious. A jury trial will be warranted where either (1) the defendant is exposed to a severe penalty; (2) the act involves moral turpitude; or (3) the crime has traditionally merited a jury trial. State ex rel. Baumert v. Superior Court, 127 Ariz. 152, 618 P.2d 1078 (1980); State v. Harrison, 164 Ariz. 316, 792 P.2d 779 (App.1990), cert. denied, 498 U.S. 1093, 111 S.Ct. 979, 112 L.Ed.2d 1064 (1991).
As to the first test, the maximum imposable penalty for a defendant facing a class 1 misdemeanor is a six-month jail term and a fine of up to $2,500. To constitute a severe penalty, the exposure to incarceration must exceed six months, Harrison, supra, 164 Ariz. at 317, 792 P.2d at 780. The amount in fines has been held to be of "no talismanic significance." Baumert, supra, 127 Ariz. at 154-55, 618 P.2d at 1080-81.
The prong of the test which mandates a jury trial for crimes which merited a jury trial at common law is not applicable because the crime with which Mungarro is charged did not exist at common law. Indeed, it did not even exist in Arizona...
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...449, 494 P.2d 54 (1972) (bottomless dancing); State v. Superior Court, 121 Ariz. 174, 589 P.2d 48 (shoplifting); Mungarro v. Riley, 170 Ariz. 589, 826 P.2d 1215 (App.1991) (false reporting to law enforcement agency); Frederickson, 187 Ariz. 273, 928 P.2d 697 (leaving the scene of an acciden......
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State v. Huerta, CR-91-0401-PR
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Benitez v. Dunevant, CV-98-0540-PR.
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