State v. Jones, No. 29803.

• Court: United States State Supreme Court of Idaho
• Writing for the Court: BURDICK, Justice.
• Citation: 140 Idaho 755,101 P.3d 699
• Parties: STATE of Idaho, Plaintiff-Respondent, v. Benjamin Arlo JONES, Defendant-Appellant.
• Docket Number: No. 29803.
• Decision Date: 10 November 2004

101 P.3d 699
140 Idaho 755

STATE of Idaho, Plaintiff-Respondent,
v.
Benjamin Arlo JONES, Defendant-Appellant

No. 29803.

Supreme Court of Idaho, Boise, September 2004 Term.

November 10, 2004.

101 P.3d 700

Molly J. Huskey, State Appellate Public Defender, Boise, for appellant. Justin M. Curtis, Deputy State Appellate Public Defender, argued

Hon. Lawrence G. Wasden, Attorney General, Boise, for respondent. Kenneth K. Jorgensen, Deputy Attorney General, argued.

BURDICK, Justice.

Benjamin Arlo Jones appeals his judgment of conviction, arguing the charging document filed against him omitted a material element of the offense of injury to a child, and therefore

101 P.3d 701

the district court did not have jurisdiction over him when it imposed its sentence. Jones also asks this Court to determine if the sentence imposed by the district court was excessive and an abuse of discretion. We affirm the judgment of conviction and the sentence reached by the district court

I. FACTUAL AND PROCEDURAL BACKGROUND

Acting on a tip from a neighbor, police and state social workers entered Jones' home where they discovered his four minor children living in intolerable conditions. The home was dirty, there was evidence of drug use, and the children were seriously malnourished.

Pursuant to I.C. § 18-1501(1), Jones was charged by amended information with four counts of injury to a child, once for each of his children. The four counts of the information were identical, except for the ages given for the children. Prosecutors reached a plea agreement with Jones whereby he pled guilty to the first count in exchange for the dismissal of the remaining three counts of the amended information. The charge to which Jones pled guilty was therefore contained in the second amended information which stated:

COUNT I:

INJURY TO CHILDREN

Felony, I.C. 18-1501(1)

The defendant, BENJAMIN ARLO JONES, on or about March 24, 2003, in the County of Bonneville, State of Idaho, did, under circumstances likely to produce great bodily harm or death, commit an injury upon a child under eighteen year [sic] of age, of the age of 13 years, by malnutrition and unlawfully using drugs in the home (up to 10 years, $5,000.00 fine + restitution).

At sentencing, the prosecution recommended a unified sentence of eight years, with two years fixed. The district court, however, instead imposed a unified sentence of ten years, with five of those years fixed.

Jones filed a Rule 35 motion for a reduction in sentence, which was denied. He also filed a timely notice of appeal, which is presently before the Court.

II. STANDARD OF REVIEW

Whether a court lacks jurisdiction is a question of law that may be raised at any time, Pizzuto v. State, 127 Idaho 469, 471, 903 P.2d 58, 60 (1995), and over which appellate courts exercise free review. State v. Barros, 131 Idaho 379, 381, 957 P.2d 1095, 1097 (1998). Whether an information conforms to the requirements of law is also a question subject to free review. State v. Robran, 119 Idaho 285, 287, 805 P.2d 491, 493 (Ct.App.1991).

III. ANALYSIS

In this case, Jones contends that defects in the information filed against him created a jurisdictional flaw in his conviction. Being jurisdictional, Jones asserts, objections to the information may be raised at any time, and because here the flawed charging document deprived the district court of jurisdiction, his conviction must be dismissed. Jones also argues that the district court abused its discretion in imposing a sentence exceeding that recommended by the prosecution, and did so again when it denied his Rule 35 motion for a reduction in sentence.

A. Conferring Jurisdiction

The indictment or information filed by the prosecution is the jurisdictional instrument upon which a defendant stands trial. State v. Izzard, 136 Idaho 124, 127, 29 P.3d 960, 963 (Ct.App.2001). Article I, section 8 of the Idaho Constitution states that "[n]o person shall be held to answer for any felony or criminal offense of any grade, unless on presentment or indictment of a grand jury or on information of the public prosecutor[.]" Idaho courts obtain personal jurisdiction over a criminal defendant when the defendant initially appears in court. State v. Rogers, 140 Idaho 223, 227, 91 P.3d 1127, 1131 (2004). Subject matter jurisdiction in a criminal case is conferred by the filing of an "information, indictment, or complaint alleging

101 P.3d 702

an offense was committed within the State of Idaho." Id.

Since the indictment or information provides subject matter jurisdiction to the court, the court's jurisdictional power depends on the charging document being legally sufficient to survive challenge. This raises the question of exactly what constitutes a "legally sufficient" indictment or information. There are two standards to consider. First, there is the question of whether an indictment or information is legally sufficient for the purpose of due process during proceedings in the trial court. Second, there is the separate question of whether an indictment or information is legally sufficient for the purpose of imparting jurisdiction. We will consider each in turn.

B. Due Process Objections

On appeal, Jones argues the information filed against him did not contain adequate factual specificity, failing, for example, to detail under which theory contained in I.C. §...