State v. Irving
| Decision Date | 04 September 1990 |
| Docket Number | CA-CR,No. 1,1 |
| Citation | 165 Ariz. 219,797 P.2d 1237 |
| Parties | STATE of Arizona, Appellant, v. Siobhan A. IRVING, Appellee. 89-448. |
| Court | Arizona Court of Appeals |
Appellant State of Arizona seeks a reversal of the superior court's order on the issue of whether A.R.S. § 28-110(F), which provides for self-authentication of certain Arizona Department of Transportation records, is unconstitutional. We hold that the statute is constitutional. Therefore, the superior court's order is reversed and the matter remanded for further proceedings consistent with this opinion.
Siobhan A. Irving, defendant, was charged with driving while her license was suspended, a class 1 misdemeanor, in violation of A.R.S. § 28-473(B). At trial in Phoenix Municipal Court, the state, relying on A.R.S. § 28-110(F), introduced defendant's Motor Vehicle Division (MVD) "moving violation record" over her objection. Defendant argued that the MVD record was inadmissible because it was hearsay, not certified and not authenticated. She argued that A.R.S. § 28-110(F) was a statutory rule of evidence prohibited by article 6, section 5 of the Arizona Constitution. The municipal court disagreed and admitted her driving record pursuant to this statute. Defendant was convicted and appealed to the superior court.
On appeal to the superior court, defendant challenged the constitutionality of A.R.S. § 28-110(F). The state argued that the statute was constitutional because it was a permissible supplement to the Arizona Rules of Evidence, and provided a reasonable and workable method for the admission of driving records in evidence. After oral argument, the superior court reversed defendant's conviction and held, in pertinent part:
The defense objected to certain evidence presented to the trial court of the suspension of the defendant's driver's license. The evidence was a "certification" submitted pursuant to A.R.S. § 28-110(F). The certification is in the form set forth in the statute followed by a signature line indicating "/s/ Marie Lenze". The name is printed, not signed. There is nothing in the record or on the document to indicate who Marie Lenze is....
It is clear that the Constitution of the State of Arizona gives the Supreme Court the power to make rules relative to procedural matters, including evidence. Article 6, Section 5(5), Arizona Constitution. Statutory "rules of evidence" violate this constitutional provision unless they supplement the Rules of Evidence adopted by the Supreme Court and are "reasonable and workable". State ex rel. Collins v. Seidel, 142 Ariz. 587, 591, 691 P.2d 678, 682 (1984).
The statutory "rule of evidence" in question in this case, A.R.S. § 28-110(F), could be construed to supplement the Rules of Evidence and provide a "reasonable and workable" method of introducing motor vehicle records concerning defendants. If the human being who obtained the output from the computer actually signed the certification and that signature was certified as in other forms of official or public documents, the motor vehicle record would satisfy the authentication requirements of Rule 902(4). In fact, Rule 902(4) appears to contemplate statutory procedures for certification.
However, certification must include some human involvement and some generally accepted method of determining from the face of the document that the person claiming to be a custodian of records, who is certifying that the document is what it purports to be, is a person capable of making that certification.
In this case, we have "evidence" generated by a computerized filing system as a result of commands to a computer by an unknown person in an unknown fashion. The human being whose name appears on the record is not the person responsible for preparing the "evidence" for court.
The application of A.R.S. § 28-110(F) followed by the lower court is not a "reasonable and workable" supplement to the Rules of Evidence. It conflicts with the Rules of Evidence and, therefore, violates Article 6(5) of the Arizona Constitution. State ex rel. Collins v. Seidel, supra.
After its motion for rehearing was denied, the state timely appealed. By order of this court, the Tucson City Prosecutor was permitted to file an amicus curiae brief.
The procedural history of this case and the specific findings of the superior court necessitate a discussion of this court's jurisdiction over this matter.
This action originated in Phoenix City Court and was appealed to the Maricopa County Superior Court. Rule 13(b), Superior Court Rules of Appellate Procedure-Criminal, states: "No further appeal may be taken from a final decision or order under these rules, except as provided by A.R.S. § 22-375, pursuant to Rule 31, Rules [of] Criminal Procedure." A.R.S. § 22-375 states:
A. An appeal may be taken by the defendant, this state or any of its political subdivisions from a final judgment of the superior court in an action appealed from a justice of the peace or police court, if the action involves the validity of a tax, impost, assessment, toll, municipal fine or statute.
B. Except as provided in this section, there shall be no appeal from the judgment of the superior court given in an action appealed from a justice of the peace or a police court.
These provisions limit this court's review to the facial validity of A.R.S. § 28-110(F). Its application to the specific facts of this case is beyond our review. In State v. Wolfe, 137 Ariz. 133, 669 P.2d 111 (App.1983), the defendants appealed from a judgment of the superior court affirming convictions in the justice court for various game violations. The defendants attacked the validity of the game statute. This court held:
When a statute is attacked as unconstitutional, the matter is clearly before this court on that limited issue and, if the statute is facially constitutional, our inquiry is at an end and we are without jurisdiction to review any alleged unconstitutional application of the statute. State v. Yabe, 114 Ariz. 89, 90, 559 P.2d 209, 210 (App.1977); State v. Anderson, 9 Ariz.App. 42, 449 P.2d 59 (1969).
State v. Wolfe, 137 Ariz. at 134, 669 P.2d at 112.
In State v. Holland, 153 Ariz. 536, 738 P.2d 1143 (App.1987), a criminal misdemeanor case tried in city court and appealed to superior court, this court noted that an attack on the trial court's interpretation or application of a statute is beyond the scope of this court's review. Id. at 538, 738 P.2d at 1145; see also State v. Renteria, 126 Ariz. 591, 593, 617 P.2d 543, 545 (App.1979). With this limitation in mind, we turn to the merits of this appeal.
The state argues that A.R.S. § 28-110(F) is valid because it does not conflict with the Rules of Evidence, but provides a reasonable and workable supplement to evidence rules 901 and 902. The state also challenges the findings by the superior court that the printed or facsimile signature of the custodian of records was somehow inadequate, and that there was nothing on the moving violation record to indicate "who Marie Lence [sic] is."
Defendant counters by contending that because the statute does not require an actual comparison by a custodian of records of the computer data with the information printed on the record, the statute does not provide a reasonable and workable alternative to the Rules of Evidence. She also contends that the statute is a legislative attempt to circumvent the Rules of Evidence by requiring only the mere incantation of "magical language" as a prerequisite to the admission of a driving record. Defendant agrees with the state that facsimile signatures are valid. However, she argues that in the present case, there was no signature whatsoever; "[a]ll that appears is the magical incantation or Shiboleth [sic] contained in the statute [A.R.S. § 28-110(F) ]." Thus, defendant argues that there was no "actual certification or authentication taking place."
The statute states in pertinent part:
F. A reproduction of the information placed on computer storage devices shall be deemed to be an original of the record for all purposes and shall be admissible in evidence without further foundation in all courts or administrative agencies when the following certification by a custodian of the record appears on each page:
The below named individual, being a duly designated custodian of the motor vehicle division's public records, certifies this document as a true reproduction of the information contained in the computer storage devices of the department of transportation, motor vehicle division, in accordance with Arizona Revised Statutes § 28-110, subsection F.
By: /s/ (Print full name)
The superior court found that "[t]he statutory 'rule of evidence' in question in this case, A.R.S. § 28-110(F), could be construed to supplement the Rules of Evidence and provide a 'reasonable and workable' method of introducing motor vehicle records concerning defendants." We agree with the superior court that the statute can be interpreted as constitutionally valid and we therefore so interpret it. If a statute is susceptible of two interpretations, one which renders it unconstitutional and one which renders it constitutional, this court must adopt the interpretation favoring its constitutionality. Lake Havasu City v. Mohave County, 138 Ariz. 552, 558, 675 P.2d 1371, 1377 (App.1983).
On its face, section 28-110(F) requires certification by a custodian of records that the document is a true reproduction of information stored in the Motor Vehicle Division computer. In State ex rel. Collins v. Seidel, 142...
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