State v. Derderian, No. K1/03-654A (RI 12/5/2005), K1/03-654A
| Decision Date | 05 December 2005 |
| Docket Number | No. K1/03-654A,No. K1/03-655A,K1/03-654A,K1/03-655A |
| Parties | STATE OF RHODE ISLAND v. JEFFREY A. DERDERIAN and MICHAEL DERDERIAN |
| Court | Rhode Island Supreme Court |
Before this Court is Defendants Jeffrey and Michael Derderian's ("Defendants") motion to dismiss one hundred counts of a grand jury indictment pursuant to R.I. Super. R. Crim. P. 12.1 Defendants were indicted on two hundred counts of manslaughter pursuant to G.L. 1956 § 11-23-3. Defendants leased a building in Warwick, Rhode Island, in which they operated a nightclub named "The Station." On the evening of February 20, 2003, a fire spread throughout The Station, ultimately resulting in the death of one hundred people. The first one hundred counts of the indictment charge the Defendants with involuntary manslaughter resulting from criminal negligence. The second hundred counts charge the Defendants with involuntary manslaughter resulting from the commission of an unlawful act ("misdemeanor manslaughter"). Defendants move to dismiss counts 101-200 of the criminal indictment for failure to state an offense under Rhode Island law and failure to afford adequate warning of the offense in violation of R.I. Const. art. 1, §§ 2, 7, 10, art. 6 § 2 and U.S. Const. amend. V, XIV.2 Defendants challenge the Grand Jury process because of "excessive" grand juror absence and alleged prosecutorial misconduct.
The basis of the misdemeanor manslaughter counts is the Defendants' alleged failure to follow the mandate of the Fire Safety Code. Specifically, the foam found affixed to The Station's walls after the fire was purportedly not adequately fire resistant, in violation of G.L. 1956 § 23-28.6-15 ("the foam statute"). Allegedly, the Defendants affixed the foam to the walls to muffle the sound created by bands playing within The Station in order to satisfy concerns from neighboring homes. (See Warner, Gr. Jr. Tr.) The State of Rhode Island ("State") posits that the foam was not adequately flame resistant and proximately caused the one hundred deaths.
Defendants filed said motion to dismiss and supporting memorandum (Dismiss), as well as memorandum in response to the State's objection (Reply). The State filed an objection to the motion and supporting memorandum (Objection). Both the Defendants and the State argued before this Court on October 26, 2005 (Hr'g Tr.), and the Defendants filed a Post-Argument Rebuttal. Defendants further filed a supplemental motion to dismiss the counts based on the prosecutor's failure to present allegedly exculpatory evidence in response to a question from a grand juror and conduct relating to a newscast shown to the grand jury. (Supp. Dismiss.) State responded with an objection memorandum. (Supp. Objection.)
Section 11-23-3 requires that "[e]very person who shall commit manslaughter shall be imprisoned not exceeding thirty (30) years." It is settled law in Rhode Island that because manslaughter is not defined within the statute, it takes the same meaning as defined in common law. State v. Fenik, 45 R.I. 309, 314, 121 A. 218, 221 (1923). Common law also dictates that manslaughter is classified as either voluntary or involuntary. State v. Vargas, 420 A.2d 809, 815 (R.I. 1980).
Involuntary manslaughter in Rhode Island is defined as "an unintentional homicide without malice aforethought committed either in performance of an unlawful act not amounting to a felony or in the performance of a lawful act with criminal negligence." State v. Hallenbeck, 878 A.2d 992, 1008 (R.I. 2005); see State v. Lillibridge, 454 A.2d 237, 240 (R.I. 1982). This definition clearly creates two distinct theories of involuntary manslaughter: one based on criminal negligence theory and one based on unlawful act theory ("misdemeanor manslaughter"). Although the Rhode Island Supreme Court has repeatedly recognized this definition, there are few cases discussing the specific nature of the unlawful act theory of manslaughter. See, e.g., State v. Pedro Ortiz, 824 A.2d 473, 485 (R.I. 2003); State v. Wilding, 740 A.2d 1235, 1240 (R.I. 1999); State v. Hockenhull, 525 A.2d 926, 929 (R.I. 1987); State v. Freeman, 473 A.2d 1149, 1151 (R.I. 1984); State v. Kaner, 463 A.2d 1348, 1351 (R.I. 1983). The most instructive misdemeanor manslaughter discussion is found in State v. McLaughlin, 621 A.2d 170, 177 (R.I. 1993). In McLaughlin, the Rhode Island Supreme Court articulated the two elements that comprise misdemeanor manslaughter. Id. The State "must show first that a misdemeanor occurred and then that such misdemeanor was the proximate cause of the victim's death." Id. McLaughlin was the first Rhode Island case to limit the unlawful act to misdemeanors; it also was the first case to specify that the unlawful act must proximately cause the death. Id.
Defendants first contend that the indictment does not state a claim under Rhode Island law. Defendants argue that the State failed to allege the Defendants' committed a misdemeanor, as they find the foam statute both inapplicable to owners and lessees and non-prosecutable for want of penalty. Defendants also assert that the foam statute fails to provide adequate due process protection under both the State and Federal Constitutions.
Additionally, Defendants' find the application of misdemeanor manslaughter to their case to be invalid because the misdemeanor is not allegedly malum in se, which the Defendants' contend is inconsistent with state law. The Defendants' also argue the indictment holds them strictly liable for manslaughter in violation of constitutional protections. Finally, the Defendants attack the process of the indictment itself. They first allege that excessive juror absence is grounds for dismissal. They also attack the prosecutor's failure to present evidence of an anonymous fax, later found to be written by Barry Warner, which they claim to be exculpatory. Defendants also contend that the manner in which a newscast was presented to the grand jury added to the alleged misconduct.3
The State urges the Court to allow the indictment to go to trial. The State argues that the foam statute is a viable vehicle for prosecution because it unambiguously presents a duty for owners and lessees to ensure their place of assembly complies with specific fire standards. The State contends the clear language of the Fire Safety Code not only presents a prosecutable offense under Rhode Island law, but also satisfies constitutional safeguards. The State further alleges that use of the Fire Safety Code violation does not hold the Defendants strictly liable for manslaughter because the element of proximate cause limits the application of misdemeanor manslaughter to unlawful acts that carry some degree of risk of death. The State denies any additional limitations of misdemeanor manslaughter exist under Rhode Island law; the State holds the charge does not require a separate element of mens rea. Finally, the State argues that the juror absence during the indictment proceeding is not fatal to the indictment, nor does the State believe the prosecutors presenting evidence to the jury engaged in misconduct.
The Fire Safety Code is a multi-chapter piece of legislation that specifies a number of fire safety standards. §§ 23-28.1 — 28.39.4 The Code begins with introductory chapters, which includes definitions for the code, a procedure for implementation and enforcement, and the general penalty statute. See §§ 23-28.1 through 28.6. Following the introductory chapters, the first part of the Fire Safety Code organizes the chapters according to type of establishment. This division allows the legislature to create special rules tailored to the type of facility regulated. See, e.g., § 23-28.7 (hotels and motels); § 23-28.9 (); § 23-28.12 (schools); § 23-28.17 (storage buildings).5 The Fire Safety Code's organization by facility type allows building owners and lessees to quickly ascertain what specific fire safety measures apply to their type of facility. Division according to type of facility is common in state fire codes. See, e.g., NFPA 1, Fire Prevention Code, § 9-26 (1997 ed.).
An owner of a nightclub would find the fire safety requirements for the building they owned or leased in the chapter labeled "places of assembly." Section 23-28.6. The definition of "place of assembly" is found in the introductory chapters, and includes existing facilities that allow for capacity over seventy-five persons and new facilities that allow for capacity over fifty persons. Section 23-28.1-5(79). Among the requirements specific to places of assembly are regulations regarding alarm systems, fire extinguishers, passages for exit, and the requirement to make acoustical and decorative fixtures on walls fire resistant.
The Station nightclub allegedly falls within the ambit of Chapter 28.6 because the State asserts the capacity allowed inside the Station was well over seventy-five. (Object 2, n.2.)("The State further expects to prove that the prescribed maximum capacity of The Station was 404 persons.") The specific provision in the Fire Safety Code that the Defendants allegedly violated mandates that in a place of assembly, any acoustical material affixed to interior walls must be rendered flame resistant. Section 23-28.6-15 states:
"Decorative and acoustical material to be flame resistant. — (a) All combustible decorative and acoustical material including curtains, but not including floor coverings shall be rendered and maintained flame resistant in accordance with subsection (d). This regulation shall not be construed to prohibit the use of wall or ceiling coverings affixed directly to the wall or ceiling, which meet the requirements of subsection (e). Furnishing or decorations of an explosive or highly flammable...
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