State v. Manista

• Decision Date: 17 June 1994
• Docket Number: No. AN94-0787,AN94-0787
• Citation: 651 A.2d 781
• Parties: STATE of Delaware, v. Anthony L. MANISTA. File . Submitted:
• Court: Delaware Family Court

Page 781

651 A.2d 781

STATE of Delaware, v. Anthony L. MANISTA.

File No. AN94-0787.

Family Court of Delaware,

New Castle County.

Submitted: June 17, 1994.

Decided: June 29, 1994.

Motion to Dismiss. Denied.

John P. Deckers, Deputy Atty. Gen., Dept. of Justice, Wilmington, for State.

Sheryl Rush-Milstead, Wilmington, for respondent, Anthony L. Manista.

JAMES, Judge.

Present before the Court is a Motion to Dismiss filed by defendant, Anthony L. Manista. The motion seeks dismissal of a criminal charge of harassment which was filed against defendant on March 18, 1994.

In addition to the criminal filing, defendant's spouse, Claire Manista, filed a Petition for Order of Protection from Abuse on that same day. Her petition alleged that: Mr. Manista had threatened her existence in Delaware on March 12, 1994; on March 13, 1994, he came to Mrs. Manista's house and withdrew all of their mutual agreements on separation; on March 17, 1994, he called her at work and harassed her; and on March 18, 1994, he went to her place of employment and stole her vehicle.

A hearing on the Protection from Abuse Petition was held before Commissioner Ellen Marie Cooper on April 15, 1994. In her ruling, Commissioner Cooper stated that "[a]fter testimony given by both parties, the Court finds that no act of abuse has been committed." Manista v. Manista, Del.Fam., File No. CN92-10634, Cooper, Com. (April 15, 1994). Therefore, Mrs. Manista's request for a protection from abuse order was denied.

Defendant claims that since the allegations which were made in the criminal complaint mirror those which were the basis for the protection from abuse petition, the criminal complaint against him must also be dismissed. He argues that the prosecution would, otherwise, be unconstitutional in light of the federal and state constitutional provisions prohibiting the government from placing an individual in double jeopardy. He submits that proceedings under 10 Del.C. §§ 945-952 are criminal or at least quasi-criminal in nature. He bases his assertion on the fact that a violation of a protective order entered by this Court may result in the imposition of criminal contempt.

Alternatively, defendant argues that since the issue of harassment has already been litigated at the protection from abuse hearing, the doctrine of collateral estoppel bars the State from relitigating that issue in a different forum.

The State responds to defendant's motion to dismiss by asserting that the protection from abuse proceeding was civil in nature and, furthermore, that the State may impose both a criminal and a civil penalty for the same act. Since the State argues that the theory of double jeopardy is inapplicable, it further submits that it is not precluded from pursuing a criminal remedy against the defendant.

The State further contends that a judgment of a civil court generally is not binding upon a court in which a criminal case is being tried. Moreover, the State argues that the doctrine of collateral estoppel is limited to situations where the matter raised in the second suit is identical in all respects to the matter of the first proceeding. Accordingly, since the protection from abuse proceeding is a civil proceeding based upon a preponderance of the evidence standard of proof, collateral estoppel is not permitted as a defense specifically because the criminal proceedings are based upon an entirely different standard of proof.

Our legislature recently enacted the Protection from Abuse Act. ¹ The Act was intended to protect against domestic violence, which is defined by the Act as follows abuse perpetrated by one member against another member of the following protected classes: (i) Family, as that term is defined in § 901(9) of this title, regardless, however, of state of residence of the parties; or (ii) Former spouses, a man and a woman co-habitating together with or without a child or either or both, or a man and a woman living separate and apart with a child in common.

10 Del.C. § 945.

After consideration of the petition for a protective order, the Court may grant a number of civil remedies as provided in the Act. ² The order is effective for a fixed period of time, not to exceed 1 year, 10 Del.C. § 949(b), but the Court has the ability to modify the order. The Act further provides that "[a]ll protective orders issued under this part shall state that violations may result in: (1) A finding of contempt; (2) Criminal prosecution; and (3) Imprisonment or fine or both," 10 Del.C. § 950(d), and "[i]t shall be unlawful for a respondent to knowingly violate a protective order. Violations shall be punishable as a class A misdemeanor. Nothing in this subsection shall preclude the filing of a civil contempt petition by the petitioner for violations of a protective order issued under this part." 10 Del.C. § 950(e).

The United States and Delaware Constitutions both provide that no person shall be twice put in jeopardy of life or limb for the same offense. U.S. CONST., amend. V., DEL. CONST. , art. I, § 8. Discussing the theory of double jeopardy, our Supreme Court has stated that

[t]he United States Supreme Court has recognized that the effect of the double jeopardy clause is to afford to criminal defendants several basic protections. Specifically, the Court has held that "[the double jeopardy clause] protects against a second prosecution for the same offense after acquittal. It protects against a second prosecution for the same offense after conviction. And it protects against multiple punishments for the same offense".

Tarr v. State, Del.Supr., 486 A.2d 672, 674 (1984) (quoting Ohio v. Johnson, 467 U.S. 493, 497-99, 104 S.Ct. 2536, 2540, 81 L.Ed.2d 425 (1984)).

The United States Supreme Court has ruled that the guarantee against double jeopardy proscribes exposure to criminal prosecutions for the same offense after conviction or acquittal and protects against multiple punishments for the same offense. North Carolina v. Pearce, 395 U.S. 711, 716-17, 89 S.Ct. 2072, 2076, 23 L.Ed.2d 656 (1969). Furthermore, the exposure to a subsequent criminal prosecution where double jeopardy may exist is not present in proceedings that are not "essentially criminal." Breed v. Jones, 421 U.S. 519, 528-29, 95 S.Ct. 1779, 1785, 44 L.Ed.2d 346 (1975).

"The essential nature of a proceeding is not determined by its form or label.... United States v. U.S. Coin & Currency, 401 U.S. 715, 718, 91 S.Ct. 1041, 1043, 28 L.Ed.2d 434 (1971). A proceeding is criminal for double jeopardy purposes, if it imposes a sanction intended as punishment. See Helvering v. Mitchell, 303 U.S. 391, 399, 58 S.Ct. 630, 633, 82 [L.Ed.] 917 (1938)."

State v. Smith, Ct.Supr., 207 Conn. 152, 540 A.2d 679, 692 (1988) (underline supplied) (quoting State ex rel. Flowers v. Department of Health, Supr., 81 Wis.2d 376, 260 N.W.2d 727 (1978)).

In a similar Pennsylvania case, the defendant contended that Pennsylvania's Protection From Abuse Act ³ was a criminal proceeding. He based his contention, in part, on his belief that since the Pennsylvania Supreme Court had ruled that a violation of a protective order constituted criminal contempt, it followed that the original protection from abuse proceeding was itself a criminal proceeding. Moreover, he complained that it was the entry of the protection from abuse order which was the final disposition of a criminal prosecution. The Superior Court of Pennsylvania held that "[t]hat reading is incorrect." Commonwealth v. Smith, 380 Pa.Super. 484, 552 A.2d 292, 293 (1988). Rather, the Court explained that the "primary purpose of the act is not retrospective punishment, but rather, advance prevention of physical and sexual abuse." Id. 552 A.2d at 295 (citing Eichenlaub v. Eichenlaub, 340 Pa.Super. 552, 490 A.2d 918, 922 (1985)). In that regard, the Pennsylvania appellate court affirmed the trial court's denial of defendant's motion to quash the criminal charges.

This Court, therefore, must decide whether a proceeding under Delaware's Protection from Abuse Act is a civil or criminal proceeding. In a related case, upon reviewing whether a license revocation proceeding is civil or criminal in nature, our Supreme Court stated that the "revocation is essentially civil in nature, having as its goal 'the chastening of the errant motorist' (Barnes [v. Tofany, 27 N.Y.2d 74, 313 N.Y.S.2d 690, 694], 261 N.E.2d at 620) (1970) and, more importantly, protection of the public from a dangerous driver." Villa v. State, Del.Supr., 456 A.2d 1229, 1232 (1983). Moreover, the "primary purpose of 21 Del.C., Chapter 28 [license revocation for habitual traffic offenders], is to foster public safety on the highways of this State, and not to punish persons who violate traffic regulations." State v. Kamalski, Del.Super., 429 A.2d 1315, 1318 (1981).

Similarly, the Supreme Judicial Court of Maine has explained that punitive damages arising out of a civil action cannot infringe on a defendant's constitutional right against double jeopardy because such a claim "is based upon a private wrong, and is clearly distinguishable from a criminal prosecution, which is brought solely on the behalf of the public." Tuttle v. Raymond, Me.Supr.Jud.Ct., 494 A.2d 1353, 1357 (1985).

The Protection from Abuse Act, 10 Del.C. §§ 945-952, is not targeted at punishing the wrongdoer; rather, its purpose is to help protect the victim against further acts of violence or abuse. The petition is prosecuted by the petitioner ⁴, usually the victim. The Attorney General's Office is neither directly nor indirectly involved. Furthermore, the standard of proof at a protection from abuse hearing is by a preponderance of the evidence, 10 Del.C. § 948, which is clearly indicative that the proceeding is civil in nature. Moreover, the addition of § 951, which specifically provides that "[n]othing in this part shall preclude a petitioner or law enforcement officer from filing criminal charges when probable cause exists" is demonstrative...