State v. Garcia

• Decision Date: 24 July 2008
• Docket Number: No. 1 CA-CR 07-0314.,1 CA-CR 07-0314.
• Parties: STATE of Arizona, Appellant, v. Felipe A. GARCIA, Appellee.
• Court: Arizona Court of Appeals

193 P.3d 798

219 Ariz. 104

STATE of Arizona, Appellant, v. Felipe A. GARCIA, Appellee.

No. 1 CA-CR 07-0314.

Court of Appeals of Arizona, Division 1, Department B.

July 24, 2008.

Maricopa County Attorney's Office By Arthur Hazelton, Deputy County Attorney, Phoenix, Attorneys for Appellant.

Phillips & Associates PC By Robert F. Arentz, Phoenix, Attorneys for Appellee.

OPINION

GEMMILL, Judge.

¶ 1 The State of Arizona appeals the trial court's designation of defendant Felipe A. Garcia's conviction for disorderly conduct as a class 1 misdemeanor. The sole issue we consider in this appeal is whether the phrase "intentional or knowing," as found in Arizona Revised Statutes ("A.R.S.") section 13-702(G) (Supp. 2007),¹ applies only to "serious physical injury" or also to "the discharge, use or threatening exhibition of a deadly weapon or dangerous instrument." Because we determine that the phrase "intentional or knowing" applies only to the former, we vacate the trial court's classification of Garcia's conviction as a class 1 misdemeanor and remand for resentencing.

FACTS² AND PROCEDURAL BACKGROUND

¶ 2 On December 12, 2005, Craig S. and his passenger Heather C. were driving eastbound on McDowell Road when a vehicle driven by Garcia pulled onto McDowell directly in front of their vehicle, causing Craig S. to "slam on the brakes." Craig S. and Heather C. reacted by screaming and honking the horn. Both vehicles came to a stop at the intersection of McDowell and 35th Avenue, with the vehicle driven by Craig S. in the left turn lane and the vehicle driven by Garcia in the far right lane. Heather C. testified that Garcia then displayed a gun. Garcia claimed that he did not display a gun, but rather a "computer device." Garcia then turned right onto 35th Avenue.

¶ 3 In March 2006, Garcia was indicted on two counts of aggravated assault, both class 3 dangerous felonies. In February 2007, a jury found Garcia not guilty on both counts of aggravated assault but found him guilty of the lesser included offense of disorderly conduct regarding Heather C. The lesser offense requires a culpable mental state of acting recklessly, rather than intentionally or knowingly, in the handling, displaying, or discharging of a deadly weapon or dangerous instrument:

A. A person commits disorderly conduct if, with intent to disturb the peace or quiet of a neighborhood, family or person, or with knowledge of doing so, such person:

....

6. Recklessly handles, displays or discharges a deadly weapon or dangerous instrument.

A.R.S. § 13-2904(A)(6) (2001).³

¶ 4 Because Garcia was convicted under § 13-2904(A)(6), he is guilty of a class 6 felony. A.R.S. § 13-2904(B) ("Disorderly conduct under subsection A, paragraph 6 is a class 6 felony. Disorderly conduct under subsection A, paragraph 1, 2, 3, 4 or 5 is a class 1 misdemeanor."). Our legislature, however, has granted trial judges the discretion under certain circumstances to designate class 6 felony convictions as class 1 misdemeanors. A.R.S. § 13-702(G). But the legislature expressly excluded any class 6 felony from eligibility for designation as a misdemeanor if the offense was one "involving the intentional or knowing infliction of serious physical injury or the discharge, use or threatening exhibition of a deadly weapon or dangerous instrument." A.R.S. § 13-702(G).

¶ 5 At the sentencing hearing, both parties presented arguments to the trial court concerning the meaning of A.R.S. § 13-702(G). The trial court concluded that "intentional or knowing" applied to "the discharge, use or threatening exhibition of a deadly weapon or dangerous instrument" in § 13-702(G). Because Garcia had been convicted of acting recklessly—but not intentionally or knowingly—the court concluded that Garcia's conviction was eligible for misdemeanor designation. The court designated the offense as a class 1 misdemeanor, and placed Garcia on supervised probation for the period of one year. The State appeals. We have jurisdiction according to Arizona Constitution Article 6, Section 9, and A.R.S. §§ 12-120.21(A)(1) (2003), 13-4032(5) (2001).

ANALYSIS

¶ 6 We are presented with a question of statutory interpretation that we review de novo. State v. Ontiveros, 206 Ariz. 539, 541, ¶ 8, 81 P.3d 330, 332 (App.2003). Our goal in interpreting statutes is to ascertain and give effect to the intent of our legislature. Maycock v. Asilomar Dev., Inc., 207 Ariz. 495, 500, ¶ 24, 88 P.3d 565, 570 (App.2004). We first look at the plain language of the statute as the best and most reliable indicator of the statute's meaning. State v. Moore, 218 Ariz. 534, 535, ¶ 5, 189 P.3d 1107, 1108 (App.2008). We will assume that the legislature has given words their natural and obvious meanings unless otherwise stated. A.R.S. § 1-213 (2002).

¶ 7 Resolution of this appeal requires interpretation of A.R.S. § 13-702(G):

G. Notwithstanding any other provision of this title, if a person is convicted of any class 6 felony not involving the intentional or knowing infliction of serious physical injury or the discharge, use or threatening exhibition of a deadly weapon or dangerous instrument and if the court, having regard to the nature and circumstances of the crime and to the history and character of the defendant, is of the opinion that it would be unduly harsh to sentence the defendant for a felony, the court may enter judgment of conviction for a class 1 misdemeanor and make disposition accordingly ....

(Emphasis added.)

¶ 8 The State argues that A.R.S. § 13-702(G) excludes from eligibility for misdemeanor designation two distinct categories of offenses: (1) those involving the "intentional or knowing infliction of serious physical injury," and (2) those involving "the discharge, use or threatening exhibition of a deadly weapon or dangerous instrument." Garcia argues that the words "intentional or knowing" apply to the entire phrase "infliction of serious physical injury or the discharge, use or threatening exhibition of a deadly weapon or dangerous instrument."

¶ 9 The words "intentional or knowing" unquestionably modify "infliction of serious physical injury." But do the words "intentional or knowing" also apply to "the discharge, use or threatening exhibition of a deadly weapon or dangerous instrument"? For the following reasons, we conclude that the legislature did not intend the words "intentional or knowing" to modify "the discharge, use or threatening exhibition of a deadly weapon or dangerous instrument."

¶ 10 The word "or" is a conjunction that is "used to link alternatives." THE NEW OXFORD AMERICAN DICTIONARY 1196 (2d ed. 2005). In this statutory passage, "or" is used to link, disjunctively, two categories of felonies not eligible for misdemeanor designation: "the intentional or knowing infliction of serious physical injury" "or" "the discharge, use or threatening exhibition of a deadly weapon or dangerous instrument." (Emphasis added.) The sentence structure used to describe and link these phrases supports the conclusion that "intentional or knowing" modifies only "infliction of serious physical injury." Both categories of ineligible felonies are introduced by the word "the." Accordingly, this portion of the statutory language follows the form of "the [injury-type felony] or the [weapon-type felony]." Because (1) the disjunctive "or" links the two alternatives, (2) the word "the" introduces each alternative, and (3) the words "intentional or knowing" are part of the first alternative but not part of the second, we conclude that "intentional or knowing" does not modify "the discharge, use or threatening exhibition of a deadly weapon or dangerous instrument."

¶ 11 Furthermore, if we were to adopt the interpretation Garcia advances, then the legislature's use of the word "the" prior to the phrase beginning with "discharge" would be inappropriate and awkward. If "intentional or knowing" was intended to modify both felony categories, the first felony category could be removed from the sentence and it should then read "the intentional or knowing ... discharge, use or threatening exhibition of a deadly weapon or dangerous instrument." In fact, however, if the first category is eliminated from the sentence, the following awkward wording remains: "the intentional or knowing ... the discharge, use or threatening exhibition of a deadly weapon or dangerous instrument." (Emphasis added.) This second use of the word "the" renders Garcia's preferred interpretation very unlikely in our view.

¶12 We also note that the legislature could easily have used language that would clearly have required that the "discharge, use or threatening exhibition of a deadly weapon or dangerous instrument" be committed intentionally or knowingly. For example, the words "intentional or knowing" could have been repeated in the pertinent portion of A.R.S. § 13-702(G), as follows:

G. Notwithstanding any other provision of this title, if a person is convicted of any class 6 felony not involving the intentional or knowing infliction of serious physical injury or the intentional or knowing discharge, use or threatening exhibition of a deadly weapon or dangerous instrument and if the court, having regard to the nature and circumstances of the crime and to the history and character of the defendant, is of the opinion that it would be unduly harsh to sentence the defendant for a felony, the court may enter judgment of conviction for a class 1 misdemeanor and make disposition accordingly....

(Italicized words added for illustrative purposes.) That the legislature did not craft the statute in this manner supports the conclusion that "intentional or knowing" modifies "infliction of serious physical injury" but not "discharge, use or threatening exhibition."

¶13 For these reasons, we interpret the phrase "involving the intentional or knowing infliction of serious physical injury or the discharge, use or threatening exhibition of a deadly weapon or dangerous instrument" to...