State v. Barron
| Decision Date | 26 February 2008 |
| Docket Number | No. DA 06-0739.,DA 06-0739. |
| Citation | 179 P.3d 519,2008 MT 69,342 Mont. 100 |
| Parties | STATE of Montana, Plaintiff and Appellee, v. Alfredo Angelo-Rios BARRON, Defendant and Appellant. |
| Court | Montana Supreme Court |
For Appellant: Jim Wheelis, Chief Public Defender, Shannon L. McDonald, Assistant Public Defender, Helena, Montana.
For Appellee: Hon. Mike McGrath, Montana Attorney General, Jonathan M. Krauss, Assistant Attorney General, Helena, Montana, Marty Lambert, Gallatin County Attorney, Bozeman, Montana.
¶ 1 Alfredo Angelo-Rios Barron (Barron) appeals from an order of the Gallatin County District Court denying his motion to dismiss criminal charges originally filed against him in Gallatin County Justice Court. Barron argued before the District Court that the pending charges should be dismissed on double jeopardy grounds. We affirm.
¶ 2 On the evening of August 31, 2005, Barron crashed his car on Blackwood Road in Gallatin County and was picked up by a friend before law enforcement officials could arrive on the scene. Law enforcement was notified of the crash and Barron was located and arrested shortly thereafter. As a result of the investigation into the crash, Barron was charged with the following offenses: driving under the influence, second offense; failure to carry proof of insurance; failure to register an out-of-state vehicle; failure to give notice of accident by quickest means; failure to remain at accident scene; obstructing a police officer; and operating a motor vehicle without interlock. On September 15, 2005, Barron appeared in Gallatin County Justice Court and pled not guilty to the charges. A jury trial was set for February 23, 2006. Three of the charges were subsequently dismissed, leaving the charges for DUI, failure to register an out-of-state vehicle, obstructing a police officer, and operating a motor vehicle without interlock.
¶ 3 On February 10, 2006, Barron filed a motion for change of plea hearing and to vacate his jury trial. A change of plea hearing was later set for March 13, 2006. At the hearing, Barron's attorney informed the Justice Court that Barron had decided not to change his plea, and instead requested a bench trial. Based on conversations between Barron's attorney and the prosecuting attorney, the presiding justice of the peace thought that the bench trial would be an "abbreviated" bench trial designed to get the case through Justice Court as quickly as possible so that Barron could then receive a de novo trial in District Court. The justice of the peace surmised that such a proceeding would take approximately one hour, and that the State would put on enough evidence within that time to establish Barron's guilt. A bench trial was set for March 15, 2006.
¶ 4 After the bench trial was commenced, the State presented its first witness. Barron's counsel began objecting moments into the questioning of this witness. This surprised the presiding justice of the peace, because he anticipated there would be little or no objection from Barron's attorney. As the trial proceeded, Barron's attorney continued to lodge objections. When Barron's attorney objected to the State's admission of a written statement from an unavailable witness, the prosecuting attorney appeared surprised as well. These circumstances led the justice of the peace to believe that he had miscalculated the nature of, and the time required for, the bench trial, and that the proceedings would not be quickly resolved. Concluding that neither party was ready for a more full-blown proceeding, the justice of the peace decided to continue the trial until another date when both parties were more fully prepared, and more time could be allotted for the trial.
¶ 5 Barron's attorney objected to this continuance, but was overruled by the Justice Court. The Justice Court then ordered a continuance until April 11, 2006, setting aside four hours for the trial. In an affidavit later submitted to the District Court, the justice of the peace described the circumstances surrounding the ordering of this continuance as follows:
Based on the conduct of [Barron's] counsel . . . it is my opinion that [Barron's counsel] did not conduct the trial of March 15 in the manner in which she had indicated it would be conducted. A jury had been waived; witnesses were not excluded from the courtroom; the date was set on two days notice; and the purpose of the proceeding was to avoid entrance of a guilty plea in order to preserve the Defendant's right of appeal de novo to the District Court. The defense mounted at the trial on March 15 was substantially more that I expected based upon the representations of counsel two days earlier. It appeared the State was not expecting such a vigorous defense and had been blind-sided. In the interests of justice, I continued the proceeding to allow the State time to subpoena the necessary witnesses.
¶ 6 The following day, Barron's attorney submitted a motion for a substitution of judge and a motion to dismiss the charges against Barron on double jeopardy grounds. The Justice Court denied the motions. When the proceedings continued on April 11, Barron's attorney again objected to the continuance, and was again overruled by the Justice Court. At the conclusion of the trial, Barron was convicted and sentenced, with the sentence suspended pending his appeal to the District Court.
¶ 7 On April 14, 2006, Barron filed an appeal of his Justice Court conviction to the Gallatin County District Court for a de novo trial pursuant to § 46-17-311, MCA. On August 22, 2006, after the District Court assumed jurisdiction, Barron filed a motion to dismiss the charges against him, arguing that the "second trial" in Justice Court on April 11, 2006, had violated his rights against double jeopardy pursuant to Article II, Section 25 of the Montana Constitution and the Double Jeopardy Clause of the Fifth Amendment to the United States Constitution. On September 22, 2006, the District Court held a hearing on his motion. On October 25, 2006, the District Court denied his motion to dismiss and scheduled a pretrial conference for November 13, 2006.
¶ 8 On November 1, 2006, Barron appealed the District Court's denial of his motion to dismiss to this Court. Normally, an appeal of this nature would not be ripe for adjudication by this Court because the District Court had not yet rendered a final judgment of conviction. Section 46-20-104(1), MCA. However, this case falls into a narrow exception to this rule. As we stated in City of Three Forks v. Schillinger, 2007 MT 331, 340 Mont. 211, 173 P.3d 681, "there is no trial de novo if a second trial in district court would violate the prohibition against double jeopardy." Schillinger, ¶ 16. Under such circumstances, "a de novo trial would exacerbate the errors alleged by the defendant rather than curing them. . . ." Schillinger, ¶ 16 (citing State v. Barker, 260 Mont. 85, 92, 858 P.2d 360, 364 (1993)). We conclude that where the challenge before us is one made on double jeopardy grounds, we will accept an interim appeal for the sole purpose of considering the merits of the defendant's double jeopardy claims. Accordingly, we deem it appropriate to consider Barron's appeal from the District Court's order denying his motion to dismiss and address the merits of his double jeopardy arguments, notwithstanding the fact that the District Court has not entered a final judgment of conviction.
¶ 9 We state the sole issue on appeal as follows: Did the District Court err when it denied Barron's motion to dismiss the charges against him on double jeopardy grounds?
¶ 10 The grant or denial of a motion to dismiss in a criminal case presents a question of law which we review de novo in order to determine whether the district court's conclusions of law were correct. State v. Pyette, 2007 MT 119, ¶ 11, 337 Mont. 265, ¶ 11, 159 P.3d 232, ¶ 11. Our standard of review for a question of constitutional law is plenary. State v. Anderson, 1998 MT 258, ¶ 6, 291 Mont. 242, ¶ 6, 967 P.2d 413, ¶ 6.
¶ 11 When it denied Barron's motion to dismiss, the District Court concluded the charges pending against Barron did not violate his constitutional rights against double jeopardy. The District Court concluded that jeopardy did attach during the March 15 bench trial, but that the trial was properly continued until April 11. The District Court found that the March 15 bench trial was never terminated because there was no acquittal, mistrial, or conviction on that date. The District Court noted that this conclusion was consistent with the statutory definition of a "new trial" wherein this term is defined as a "reexamination of the issue in the same court before another jury after a verdict or finding has been rendered." Section 46-1-201(13), MCA. Further, the District Court cited to cases from a number of jurisdictions to support the proposition that the length of the continuance did not violate Barron's rights against double jeopardy. E.g., Matter of Hunt, 46 N.C.App. 732, 266 S.E.2d 385 (1980); Webb v. Hutto, 720 F.2d 375 (4th Cir.1983); State v. Jackson, 485 So.2d 630 (La.App. 4 Cir.1986).
¶ 12 Barron maintains the District Court's conclusions are in error. Barron asserts the Justice Court violated his rights against double jeopardy by ordering a continuance on March 15 and essentially conducting a second trial on April 11. Barron argues it was improper for the Justice Court to stop the March 15 proceedings because both parties stated they were ready to proceed. Barron maintains that when the Justice Court decided to continue the proceedings on the grounds that the parties were "not prepared," the continuance did not serve the interests of justice as required under § 46-13-202(2), MCA, because "[b]oth parties stated they were ready to go to trial and should...
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