State v. Martel
| Decision Date | 24 August 1995 |
| Docket Number | No. 94-295,94-295 |
| Citation | 273 Mont. 143,902 P.2d 14 |
| Parties | STATE of Montana, Plaintiff and Respondent, v. Shawn MARTEL, Defendant and Appellant. |
| Court | Montana Supreme Court |
David E. Stenerson (argued), and Kirk Krutilla, Legal Intern, Hamilton, for appellant.
Joseph P. Mazurek, Attorney General, Carol Schmidt, Assistant Attorney General (argued), Helena, James A. Haynes, Hamilton City Attorney, T. Geoffrey Mahar, Deputy City Attorney, Hamilton, for respondent.
Appellant Shawn Martel was found guilty of misdemeanor stalking in Hamilton by a City Court jury. He appealed that conviction to the Twenty-First Judicial District Court, Ravalli County, where he was again found guilty following a bench trial. He appeals that conviction, claiming that Montana's anti-stalking law, as set forth at § 45-5-220, MCA, is unconstitutionally vague and unconstitutionally over-broad. We affirm.
The following issues are raised on appeal:
1. Is § 45-5-220, MCA, unconstitutionally vague?
2. Is § 45-5-220, MCA, unconstitutionally over-broad?
3. Did the District Court abuse its discretion when it denied defendant's motion for a directed verdict?
In October 1992, C.K., a teller at a local bank, first became aware of appellant, a customer of the bank. When C.K. worked at the drive-through window, she noticed that appellant would drive by, wave, and smile. When she was at the grocery store or buying gas, appellant would greet her and initiate conversation. Appellant frequently asked C.K. if she would meet him at a motel. At one point, appellant informed C.K. that he would commit suicide if they could not be friends. From October 1992 through November 1992, appellant followed C.K. daily, including sitting next to C.K. and her husband, R.K., in a movie theater. After the couple moved their seats, appellant moved and sat next to them.
Following the movie theater incident, C.K. informed R.K. for the first time of appellant's conduct. Thereafter, R.K. confronted appellant and asked him to leave his family alone. Several times on Christmas morning and once on New Year's Eve, appellant called C.K.'s home. During Christmas week, appellant pulled his vehicle behind and blocked off C.K.'s vehicle while she was filling up at a gas station. Appellant displayed a handgun and informed C.K. that he had friends who would "take care of" any efforts by C.K. to involve the police.
During January and February 1993, appellant followed C.K. less frequently than he had in the previous three months. However, in March 1993, after appellant increased his activity toward C.K., she filed a complaint against appellant. On March 25, 1993, the police warned appellant to stay away from C.K. and another woman. Appellant responded to the warning by following C.K. and circling her bank with increased frequency.
On April 9, 1993, Montana's stalking statute, § 45-5-220, MCA, came into effect. Appellant's conduct continued unchanged. In May 1993, C.K. and R.K. pulled into the parking lot of the Super 1 to rent a movie. Appellant and friends, who were in the adjacent Town Pump parking lot, began shouting profanities at C.K., made lewd gestures, and suggested that he and R.K. fight. C.K. and R.K. rented their movie without further incident and proceeded to drive down Route 93. Appellant, accompanied by a friend, followed R.K. and cut him off. R.K. decided to drive to the police station. Appellant followed their car to the police station. Once there, appellant and R.K. began shouting and scuffling at the front door of the police station. An officer came out of the station and restored order.
In May 1993, C.K. and R.K. applied for a temporary restraining order against appellant. Following a hearing in city court, the temporary restraining order was issued. Despite the temporary restraining order, appellant continued the pattern of his conduct toward C.K. and R.K.
On May 14, 1993, the Hamilton Deputy City Attorney charged appellant with assault under § 45-5-201(a), MCA, disorderly conduct under § 45-5-101(b), (c), and (f), MCA, and stalking under § 45-5-220, MCA. A jury found appellant guilty of assault and stalking, but found him not guilty of disorderly conduct. Appellant appealed his conviction to the Twenty-First Judicial District Court. Appellant waived his right to a jury trial, and a trial was held de novo. Appellant filed a motion to dismiss the stalking charge arguing, that § 45-5-220, MCA, is void for vagueness and that it violates the due process provisions of the Montana and United States Constitutions. The District Court denied appellant's motion, concluding that § 45-5-220, MCA, is not unconstitutionally vague. The District Court found appellant guilty of stalking and sentenced appellant to serve one year in the Ravalli County jail with all but 14 days suspended upon certain conditions. Appellant appeals his conviction.
the standard of review for a trial court's refusal to grant a defendant's motion for a directed verdict is whether, after reviewing the evidence in a light most favorable to the prosecution, any rational trier of fact could have found the essential elements of the crime beyond a reasonable doubt.
State v. Mummey (1994), 264 Mont. 272, 276, 871 P.2d 868, 870.
Regarding the questions of constitutionality, statutes are presumed to be constitutional. Monroe v. State (1994), 265 Mont. 1, 3, 873 P.2d 230, 231; United States v. National Dairy Products Corp. (1963), 372 U.S. 29, 32, 83 S.Ct. 594, 597, 9 L.Ed.2d 561, 565. Whenever possible, the Court will adopt statutory construction which renders challenged statutes constitutional rather than a construction which renders them invalid. State v. Ross (1995), 269 Mont. 347, 352, 889 P.2d 161, 164. When construing a challenged statute, the Court will read and interpret the statute as a whole, without isolating specific terms from the context in which they are used by the Legislature. Furthermore, a statute must be construed according to the plain meaning of the language in the statute. State v. Lilburn (1994), 265 Mont. 258, 266, 875 P.2d 1036, 1041, cert. denied (1995), --- U.S. ----, 115 S.Ct. 726, 130 L.Ed.2d 630. When the constitutionality of a statute is challenged, the party making the challenge bears the burden of proving the statute unconstitutional. Monroe, 873 P.2d at 231; GBN, Inc. v. Montana Dept. of Revenue (1991), 249 Mont. 261, 265, 815 P.2d 595, 597. Any doubt is to be resolved in favor of the statute. GBN, 815 P.2d at 597.
Section 45-5-220, MCA, provides as follows:
45-5-220. Stalking--exemption--penalty. (1) A person commits the offense of stalking if the person purposely or knowingly causes another person substantial emotional distress or reasonable apprehension of bodily injury or death by repeatedly:
(a) following the stalked person; or
(b) harassing, threatening, or intimidating the stalked person, in person or by phone, by mail, or by other action, device, or method.
(2) This section does not apply to a constitutionally protected activity.
(3) For the first offense, a person convicted of stalking shall be imprisoned in the county jail for a term not to exceed 1 year or fined an amount not to exceed $1,000, or both. For a second or subsequent offense or for a first offense against a victim who was under the protection of a restraining order directed at the offender, the offender shall be imprisoned in the state prison for a term not to exceed 5 years or fined an amount not to exceed $10,000, or both. A person convicted of stalking may be sentenced to pay all medical, counseling, and other costs incurred by or on behalf of the victim as a result of the offense.
(4) Upon presentation of credible evidence of violation of this section, an order may be granted, as set forth in 40-4-121, restraining a person from engaging in the activity described in subsection (1).
(5) For the purpose of determining the number of convictions under this section, "conviction" means:
(a) a conviction, as defined in 45-2-101, in this state;
(b) a conviction for a violation of a statute similar to this section in another state; or
(c) a forfeiture of bail or collateral deposited to secure the defendant's appearance in court in this state or another state for a violation of a statute similar to this section, which forfeiture has not been vacated.
(6) Attempts by the accused person to contact or follow the stalked person after the accused person has been given actual notice that the stalked person does not want to be contacted or followed constitutes prima facie evidence that the accused person purposely or knowingly followed, harassed, threatened, or intimidated the stalked person.
Is § 45-5-220, MCA, unconstitutionally vague?
Appellant alleges that § 45-5-220, MCA, is so vague that it is unconstitutional. However, the issue of vagueness, with regard to a statute or ordinance, can be raised in two different connotations: (1) whether it is so vague the law is rendered void on its face; or (2) whether it is vague as applied in a particular circumstance. Choteau v. Joslyn (1984), 208 Mont. 499, 505, 678 P.2d 665, 668. It is unclear which of these two specific challenges appellant is raising, so we will address each in turn.
" '[A] statute ... is void [for vagueness] on its face if it fails to give a person of ordinary intelligence fair notice that his contemplated conduct is forbidden by statute.' " Monroe, 873 P.2d at 231 (quoting Choteau, 678 P.2d at 668). See also State v. Crisp (1991), 249 Mont. 199, 814 P.2d 981; State v. Woods (1986), 221 Mont. 17, 716 P.2d 624.
Appellant alleges that the statute is vague on its face because certain terms contained in it are not...
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