State v. Jordan

• Decision Date: 30 August 2000
• Docket Number: No. 99-1668.,99-1668.
• Citation: 89 Ohio St.3d 488,733 NE 2d 601
• Parties: THE STATE OF OHIO, APPELLANT, v. JORDAN, APPELLEE.
• Court: Ohio Supreme Court

89 Ohio St.3d 488

733 NE 2d 601

THE STATE OF OHIO, APPELLANT, v. JORDAN, APPELLEE.

No. 99-1668.

Supreme Court of Ohio.

Submitted May 10, 2000.

Decided August 30, 2000.

Mathias H. Heck, Jr., Montgomery County Prosecuting Attorney, and Cheryl A. Ross, Assistant Prosecuting Attorney, for appellant.

Anthony R. Cicero, Assistant Public Defender, for appellee.

DOUGLAS, J.

R.C. 2923.17(A) sets forth the offense of unlawful possession of a dangerous ordnance and provides that "no person shall knowingly acquire, have, carry, or use any dangerous ordnance." The word "knowingly" establishes the culpable mental state a defendant must possess in order for there to be a violation of R.C. 2923.17(A). The definition of "knowingly" is found in R.C. 2901.22(B), which provides that "a person acts knowingly, regardless of his purpose, when he is aware that his conduct will probably cause a certain result or will probably be of a certain nature. A person has knowledge of circumstances when he is aware that such circumstances will probably exist." R.C. 2923.11(K)(1) defines "dangerous ordnance" to include "any automatic or sawed-off firearm." R.C. 2923.11(F) defines a "sawed-off firearm" as meaning "a shotgun with a barrel less than eighteen inches long, or a rifle with a barrel less than sixteen inches long, or a shotgun or rifle less than twenty-six inches long overall."

The issue presented for our review is whether, in a prosecution for unlawful possession of dangerous ordnance in violation of R.C. 2923.17(A), the state is required to prove that a defendant knows of the specific characteristics of the weapon or item possessed that brings it within the statutory definition of dangerous ordnance. As applicable to the specific facts of this case, the question can be more precisely phrased as whether the state is required to show beyond a reasonable doubt that appellee knew that his shotgun had a barrel length of less than eighteen inches.

The trial court in this matter held that the state was not required to prove that appellee knew, or was aware of the probability, that the barrel of his shotgun was less than eighteen inches long. The trial court concluded that the state only had to show that appellee knew that he was carrying a weapon. In interpreting R.C. 2923.17(A), the trial court read the mens rea requirement of "knowingly" as applicable only to the element of the offense denoting possession, i.e., "acquire, have, carry, or use." Thus, the trial court rejected appellee's argument that "knowingly" also modified the words "dangerous ordnance." Further, the trial court found that the evidence before the court established that the shotgun in appellee's possession met the statutory definition of dangerous ordnance in R.C. 2923.11(K)(1). Having determined that the state met its burden, the trial court found appellee guilty of the charge in the indictment and sentenced him accordingly.

In reversing the judgment and sentence of the trial court, the court of appeals concluded that the culpable mental state of knowingly found in R.C. 2923.17(A) requires that the state must prove that the accused had knowledge of those specific characteristics that made the weapon in his possession dangerous ordnance. In contrast to the trial court's decision, the court of appeals held that the mens rea requirement in R.C. 2923.17(A) was applicable to all of the material elements of the statute and not limited solely to the possession element. Therefore, in order to convict appellee for unlawful possession of dangerous ordnance, the court of appeals held that the state needed to prove that appellee knowingly had a shotgun and that appellee knew, or was aware of the probability, that the gun he possessed had a barrel length of less than eighteen inches.

In the appeal before this court, appellant, state of Ohio, contends that in a prosecution for unlawful possession of dangerous ordnance, the state must prove only that a defendant knowingly possessed dangerous ordnance and that the item is, in fact, a dangerous ordnance as defined in R.C. 2923.11. Appellant argues that knowledge of possession alone is sufficient for there to be a violation of R.C. 2923.17(A) and that the "knowingly" element of the statute does not require the state to show that defendant knew of the specific characteristics of the item that made it dangerous ordnance. Conversely, appellee contends that in order to obtain a conviction pursuant to R.C. 2923.17(A), the state must prove beyond a reasonable doubt that the defendant had knowledge that the item possessed had the specific characteristics that made it dangerous ordnance as defined by R.C. 2923.11. In this regard, appellee urges this court to affirm the court of appeals.

Appellee, in the courts below and before us, has relied heavily on the United States Supreme Court case of Staples v. United States (1994), 511 U.S. 600, 114 S.Ct. 1793, 128 L.Ed.2d 608. The court of appeals below found the analysis of mens rea in Staples to be very persuasive and the reasoning of the Staples majority to be "applicable to the present appeal, if not its holding." For the following reasons, we respectfully find that the decision in Staples is not applicable to our consideration of R.C. 2923.17(A).

In Staples, the defendant was convicted pursuant to the National Firearms Act ("Act"), Sections 5801-5872, Title 26, U.S.Code, for possession of an unregistered machine gun. Staples, 511 U.S. at 602-604, 114 S.Ct. at 1795-1796, 128 L.Ed.2d at 614-615. Section 5861(d) of the Act makes it a crime for any person to possess a firearm that is not properly registered. A violation of the Act is punishable by up to ten years in prison. Section 5871, Title 26, U.S.Code.

The defendant, Staples, had in his possession a semiautomatic weapon that had been modified to be capable of fully automatic fire. A fully automatic weapon is defined as a "firearm" under the Act and all firearms must be registered in the National Firearms Registration and Transfer Record. Section 5841, Title 26, U.S.Code. Staples testified that he was not aware that the weapon had been modified and he argued that his alleged ignorance of the weapon's ability to fire automatically should shield him from criminal liability for failing to register his weapon. Id. at 603, 114 S.Ct. at 1796, 128 L.Ed.2d at 615. At issue in Staples was the mens rea required for a conviction for failing to register a firearm in violation of Section 5861(d), Title 26, U.S.Code, which section contains no express mental-state requirement. Specifically, the court considered whether Section 5861(d) requires proof that a defendant knew of the characteristics of his weapon that made it a "firearm" under the Act. Id. at 604, 114 S.Ct. at 1796, 128 L.Ed.2d at 615. The court held in Staples that the government should have been required to prove beyond a reasonable doubt that Staples knew that the weapon that he possessed had the characteristics that brought it within the scope of the Act. Id. at 619, 114 S.Ct. at 1804, 128 L.Ed.2d at 624-625.

We find that Staples is distinguishable. Staples is a case involving federal statutory interpretation. Conversely, we are interpreting a state statute. Moreover, the statute at issue in Staples, Section 5861(d), Title 26, U.S.Code, is silent concerning the mens rea required for a conviction. R.C. 2923.17(A), on the other hand, does have a culpable mental state specified in the section, the mens rea of "knowingly." Furthermore, the Staples majority went on to emphasize that its holding is a narrow one. The court noted that its reasoning depended "upon a commonsense evaluation of the nature of the particular device or substance Congress has subjected to regulation and the expectations that individuals may legitimately have in dealing with the regulated items." Id. at 619, 114 S.Ct. at 1804, 128 L.Ed.2d at 625.

We now turn our attention to consider the specific language set forth in R.C. 2923.17(A). The question before us can be resolved by determining whether the mental state of "knowingly" in R.C. 2923.17(A) modifies the phrase "dangerous ordnance."

It is well accepted that the cornerstone of statutory construction and interpretation is legislative intention. State ex rel. Francis v. Sours (1944), 143 Ohio St. 120, 124, 28 O.O. 53, 55, 53 N.E.2d 1021, 1023. In order to determine legislative intent it is a cardinal rule of statutory construction that a court must first look to the language of the statute itself. Provident Bank v. Wood (1973), 36 Ohio St.2d 101, 105, 65 O.O.2d 296, 298, 304 N.E.2d 378, 381. "If the meaning of the statute is unambiguous and definite, it must be applied as written and no further interpretation is necessary." State ex rel. Savarese v. Buckeye Local School Dist. Bd. of Edn. (1996), 74 Ohio St.3d 543, 545, 660 N.E.2d 463, 465. Moreover, it is well settled that to determine the intent of the General Assembly "`it is the duty of this court to give effect to the words used in a statute, not to delete words used or to insert words not used.'" (Emphasis sic.) Bernardini v. Conneaut Area City School Dist. Bd. of Edn. (1979), 58 Ohio St.2d 1, 4, 12 O.O.3d 1, 3, 387 N.E.2d 1222, 1224, quoting Columbus-Suburban Coach Lines v. Pub. Util. Comm. (1969), 20 Ohio St.2d 125, 127, 49 O.O.2d 445, 446, 254 N.E.2d 8, 9. A court may interpret a statute only where the words of the statute are ambiguous. State ex rel. Celebrezze v. Allen Cty. Bd. of Commrs. (1987), 32 Ohio St.3d 24, 27, 512 N.E.2d 332, 335. Ambiguity exists if the language is susceptible of more than one reasonable interpretation. State ex rel. Toledo Edison Co. v. Clyde (1996), 76 Ohio St.3d 508, 513, 668 N.E.2d 498, 504. If a statute is ambiguous, the court, in determining the intent of the General Assembly, may consider several factors, including the object sought to be obtained, the legislative history, and other laws upon the same or similar subjects. R.C. 1.49. Finally, statutes defining criminal...