State v. Doe, No. PM/07-6114 (R.I. Super 2/5/2008)
| Decision Date | 05 February 2008 |
| Docket Number | No. P1/07-4070A.,No. PM/07-6114.,PM/07-6114.,P1/07-4070A. |
| Court | Rhode Island Superior Court |
| Parties | STATE OF RHODE ISLAND v. JOHN DOE, et al.<SMALL><SUP>1</SUP></SMALL> STATE OF RHODE ISLAND v. RYAN GREENBERG. |
Before this Court is a motion to dismiss, or alternatively, to transfer to the Family Court, all matters pending in the Superior Court involving defendants who are alleged to have committed an offense while seventeen years old, per G.L. 1956 (2002 Reenactment) § 14-1-6 (2007 Supp.), and whose cases had not been certified to or waived into this Court by virtue of G.L. 1956 §§ 14-1-7 or 14-1-7.1. For purposes of this motion, these cases have been consolidated.
"Having regard to the great, complex, ever-unfolding exigencies of government, much which will seem unconstitutional to one man, or body of men,2 may reasonably not seem so to another; that the constitution often admits of different interpretations; that there is often a range of choice and judgment; that in such cases the constitution does not impose upon the legislature any one specific opinion, but leaves open a range of choice; and that whatever choice is rational is constitutional." James Bradley Thayer, The Origin and Scope of the American Doctrine of Constitutional Law, 7 Harvard Law Review 129, 144 (1893).
The validity and wisdom of legislative choices are questioned frequently by our citizens. The matter the Court approaches today is no different; it has spawned intense public discourse. The issue before this Court is a classic illustration of the respective roles and relationships among our three branches of government—the Executive, the Legislative, and the Judicial. Before the 2007 legislative session, the Executive Department and Legislature conceived and crafted an enactment designed to confer Superior Court jurisdiction over seventeen-year-olds. It ultimately was effective for a period of one hundred and thirty days prior to its repeal. Defendants challenge this enactment on the grounds that it was an imperfect and unconstitutional exercise of legislative power that has unfairly trapped seventeen-year-olds who are charged with committing criminal offenses during this period in the adult system.
The group of seventeen-year-olds falling within the four-month, seven-day period during which the enactment was effective has been described by various sources as "gap kids." This Court believes the more appropriate description of this group is "seventeen-year-old alleged offenders of the criminal laws of this state."3 Their status has been debated since Representative Robert Watson introduced House Bill no. 5300 (H.B. 5300) for consideration on February 1, 2007.
In its entirety, H.B. 5300 served as the Governor's 2008 fiscal year budget. The bill's original text contained Article 22, an act relating to delinquent and dependent children. Notably, Article 22 proposed an amendment (the July amendment) to G.L. 1956 (2002 Reenactment) § 14-1-6.4 This particular provision contemplated extending Superior Court jurisdiction over seventeen-year-old individuals alleged to have committed acts that would ordinarily be considered felonies if committed by an adult. The move to permit criminal prosecutions of seventeen-year-olds in Superior Court had been seen as a method to ensure that convicted offenders would serve time in the Adult Correctional Institution (ACI) instead of the Rhode Island Training School (Training School). The House Finance Committee conducted an initial public hearing on the proposed legislation on March 28, 2007. It is undisputed that these discussions were fiscal in nature. At a second public hearing held on June 8, 2007, the House Finance Committee presented H.B. 5300 Sub A, an amended version of the 2008 budget. Minimal changes to the proposed language of Article 22 had been made. At that time, it voted to recommend H.B. 5300 Sub A for passage by the House of Representatives (House). Shortly thereafter on June 16, 2007, the House passed the amended version of H.B. 5300.
Upon passage by the House, H.B. 5300 Sub A was transferred to the Senate Finance Committee. On June 19, 2007, the Finance Committee recommended its passage by the full Senate. The Senate obliged, and passed H.B. 5300 Sub A on the same day. Although it was successful in both houses of the General Assembly, H.B. 5300 Sub A never received the Governor's approval; it was vetoed on June 21, 2007.5 In response, the General Assembly overrode the Governor's veto on the same day, thereby rendering the legislation containing the July amendment effective as of July 1, 2007. See § 14-1-6 (2007 Supp.).
Merely one day after the House and Senate overrode the Governor's veto, and prior to the time the July amendment even became effective, winds of change stirred once again among General Assembly members. Senators Alves and Paiva-Weed introduced another piece of legislation that specifically targeted the July amendment. Senate Bill no. 1141 (S.B. 1141), an act relating to Family Court jurisdiction, proposed to restore jurisdiction over individuals aged seventeen to the Family Court.6 The Senators' bill also addressed the treatment of records resulting from proceedings against seventeen-year-olds as a result of the July amendment. See P.L. 2007, ch. 532, § 2, eff. Nov. 8, 2007 (setting forth provisions of § 14-1-6.1 and § 14-1-6.2 regarding sentencing). On June 22, 2007, the same day as its introduction, the Senate Committee on Finance recommended the bill's passage. The Senate passed S.B. 1141 Sub A. The bill, however, was not transmitted to the House Committee on Finance until October 29, 2007.
In the meantime, numerous seventeen-year-olds are alleged to have committed criminal offenses. One in particular, seventeen-year-old Ryan Greenberg, was charged via criminal complaint with reckless operation of a motor vessel with death resulting, refusal to submit to a chemical test, and possession of alcoholic beverages as a minor.7 Greenberg's actions allegedly occurred on the waters of the Barrington River on July 17, 2007, approximately two months beyond his seventeenth birthday.8 This incident resulted in the death of Patrick Murphy; he was also seventeen at the time of his death.
On September 27, 2007, Greenberg's case was referred to a statewide grand jury, where the State requested permission to issue subpoenas for cell phone records belonging to individuals involved in the July 17, 2007 incident. (Mem. In Opp'n to Mot. to Dismiss, at 2). The grand jury granted this request, and after the return and receipt of that information, the State began its presentation. Beginning on November 14, 2007, it presented approximately twenty witnesses and thirty exhibits. Id. On December 3, 2007, the grand jury returned an indictment. The charges comprising the filed indictment included second degree murder, operating a motor vessel to endanger with death resulting, refusing a chemical test, and possession of alcoholic beverages as a minor. Greenberg pled not guilty to these charges at his January 2, 2008 arraignment.
Amidst these events, the House Finance Committee eventually recommended S.B. 1141 Sub B, containing minor textual changes, for passage by the House after a public hearing. On that same day, October 30, 2007, both houses passed the proposed legislation. Governor Carcieri did not sign S.B. 1141 Sub B, and it became effective on November 8, 2007. See P.L. 2007, ch. 532, § 1. The Legislature did not make the changes to § 14-1-6 (the November amendment) retroactive; therefore, seventeen-year-olds committing acts placing them within the grasp of § 14-1-6 remain in a judicial posture governed by the law existing at the time of their proscribed conduct—the law that was in force as a result of the July amendment.
These criminal defendants now move to dismiss, or alternatively transfer their cases to the Family Court. Their motions come to the Court pursuant to Rule 12 of the Superior Court Rules of Criminal Procedure.9 Rule 12 governs motions that present impediments to the continued prosecution of criminal matters. See John A. MacFadyen & Barbara Hurst, Rhode Island Criminal Procedure, § 12.3 (1989). In fact, Rule 12(b)(2) provides that certain defenses and objections must be raised only by motion before trial within a certain time frame; however, the same subsection also provides that an objection relating to lack of jurisdiction is excepted from this requirement, Super. R. Crim. P. Rule 12(b)(2), and "shall be noticed by the court at any time." Id. Certainly, a lack of jurisdiction based on constitutional grounds or subject matter jurisdiction in this Court is an impediment to prosecution here. See Warwick Sch. Comm. v. Warwick Teachers' Union, 613 A.2d 1273, 1276 (R.I. 1992) (); see also U.S. v. Wilson, 210 F.3d 230, 233 (4th Cir. 2000) (). Consequently, the Court will rule on defendants' motion as having been filed pursuant to Rule 12(b)(2).
The thrust of the defendants' constitutional arguments is twofold. First, defendants contend that the November amendment impermissibly created a class of seventeen-year-old alleged offenders who are subject to prosecution as adults, thereby violating the equal protection guarantees afforded by the federal and state constitutions.10 Defendants argue that the short one-hundred thirty-day period during which the Superior Court acquired jurisdiction, coupled with the loss of the array of counseling and confinement alternatives within the juvenile system, violates the constitutional rights of seventeen-year-olds charged during this period. Defendants' second argument is that the Legislature did not exercise due diligence in making its decision to lower...
To continue reading
Request your trial