State v. Ramos

• Decision Date: 28 July 2008
• Docket Number: No. 2007 KA 1448.,2007 KA 1448.
• Citation: 993 So.2d 281
• Parties: STATE of Louisiana v. David RAMOS.
• Court: Court of Appeal of Louisiana — District of US

993 So.2d 281

STATE of Louisiana v. David RAMOS.

No. 2007 KA 1448.

Court of Appeal of Louisiana, First Circuit.

July 28, 2008.

Doug Moreau, District Attorney, Dylan C. Alge, Assistant District Attorney, Baton Rouge, LA, for Appellant, State of Louisiana.

Bertha M. Hillman, Louisiana Appellate Project, Thibodaux, LA, for Defendant/Appellee, David Ramos.

Before CARTER, C.J., WHIPPLE, PARRO, KUHN, GUIDRY, PETTIGREW, DOWNING, GAIDRY, McDONALD, McCLENDON, HUGHES, and WELCH, JJ.

HUGHES, J.

In this appeal, the State of Louisiana challenges, on the basis of federal preemption by the "REAL ID Act,"¹ the granting of a motion to quash a bill of information, which charged the defendant with unlawful presence in this country in violation of LSA-R.S. 14:100.13. For the reasons that follow, we reverse the trial court's ruling granting the motion to quash and remand for further proceedings.

FACTS AND PROCEDURAL HISTORY²

On September 17, 2006 Louisiana State Trooper Armond Douglas was dispatched to the scene of an automobile accident on Siegen Lane in Baton Rouge, north of Interstate 10. Upon his arrival, Trooper Douglas was given the description of a vehicle that left the scene of the accident after hitting another vehicle. Trooper Douglas pursued and stopped the vehicle near the intersection of Siegen Lane and Perkins Road. The defendant, David Ramos, was driving the vehicle in question. Trooper Douglas noted the smell of alcohol as he conversed with the defendant and informed him of the reason for the stop and of his Miranda rights.³ The defendant did not have any identification and, after being transported to State Police Troop A headquarters, admitted that he was present in the United States unlawfully. The defendant was charged with operating a vehicle without lawful presence in the United States, hit-and-run driving, and operating a vehicle while intoxicated. After the defendant's arrest, Trooper Douglas notified the Immigration and Naturalization Service (INS) of the defendant's presence.

The defendant was charged by bill of information with operating a vehicle without lawful presence in the United States, a violation of LSA-R.S. 14:100.13. The defendant filed a motion to quash the bill of information, arguing LSA-R.S, 14:100.13 is not a valid statute as it is preempted by federal law. Following a hearing, the trial court granted the motion to quash. The State now appeals.

ASSIGNMENT OF ERROR

In its sole assignment of error, the State argues that the trial court erred in granting the defendant's motion to quash the bill of information. The State contends that the trial court granted the defendant's motion to quash because it found that LSA-R.S. 14:100.13 was preempted by the federal REAL ID Act. In support of its position that the trial court's ruling was erroneous, the State asserts that the REAL ID Act does not preempt LSA-R.S. 14:100.13 because the relevant portion of the REAL ID Act does not concern immigration law. The State also generally argues that federal immigration law does not preempt the criminal statute at issue. In response, the defendant contends that LSA-R.S. 14:100.13 constitutes an impermissible attempt to regulate immigration. The defendant further claims that federal law occupies the field of immigration regulation. Finally, the defendant argues that LSA-R.S. 14:100.13 interferes with the federal scheme for identifying individuals subject to removal and reporting them to the federal authorities.

This court has previously addressed these issues in State v. Romero, 2007-1810 (La.App. 1 Cir. 2/27/08), 977 So.2d 308 (unpublished), State v. Reyes, 2007-1811 (La.App. 1 Cir. 2/27/08), 989 So.2d 770 and State v. Gonzalez-Perez, 2007-1813 (La. App. 1 Cir. 2/27/08), ___ So.2d ___, ruling in each case that the REAL ID Act does not invalidate LSA-14:100.13 on the basis of federal preemption and reasoning as follows:

The Supremacy Clause declares that federal law "shall be the supreme Law of the Land [,] ... any Thing in the Constitution or Laws of any State to the Contrary notwithstanding." U.S. Const, art. VI, cl. 2. The Supremacy Clause requires invalidation of any state legislation that burdens or conflicts in any manner with any federal laws or treaties. Thus, the determination rests on whether a state's law impermissibly interferes with federal law and is, therefore, preempted. The power to regulate immigration is unquestionably exclusively a federal power. Nevertheless, federal law does not automatically preempt every state enactment which in any way deals with aliens. See [DeCanas] v. Bica, 424 U.S. 351, 355, 96 S.Ct. 933, 936, 47 L.Ed.2d 43 (1976).

In [DeCanas], the Supreme Court set forth three tests to be used in determining whether a state statute related to immigration is preempted: (1) constitutional preemption, (2) field preemption, and (3) conflict preemption. If a statute fails any one of the three tests, it is preempted by federal law. League of United Latin American Citizens (LULAC) v. Wilson, 908 F.Supp. 755, 768 (C.D.Cal.1995) outlines the tests provided in [DeCanas] as follows:

Under the first test, the Court must determine whether a state statute is a "regulation of immigration." Since the "[p]ower to regulate immigration is unquestionably exclusively a federal power," [DeCanas v. Bica, 424 U.S.] at 354, 96 S.Ct. at 936, any state statute which regulates immigration is "constitutionally proscribed." [DeCanas, 424 U.S.] at 356, 96 S.Ct. at 936.

Under the second test, even if the state law is not an impermissible regulation of immigration, it may still be preempted if there is a showing that it was the "clear and manifest purpose of Congress" to effect a "complete ouster of state power—including state power to promulgate laws not in conflict with federal laws" with respect to the subject matter which the statute attempts to regulate. [DeCanas, 424 U.S.] at 357, 96 S.Ct. at 937. In other words, under the second test, a statute is preempted where Congress intended to "occupy the field" which the statute attempts to regulate.

Under the third test, a state law is preempted if it "stands as an obstacle to the accomplishment and execution of the full purposes and objectives of Congress." [DeCanas, 424 U.S.] at 363, 96 S.Ct. at 940 (citing Hines v. Davidowitz, 312 U.S. 52, 67, 61 S.Ct. 399, 404, 85 L.Ed. 581 (1941)). Stated differently, a statute is preempted under the third test if it conflicts with federal law making compliance with both state and federal law impossible. Michigan Canners & Freezers v. Agricultural Marketing and Bargaining Board, 467 U.S. 461, 469, 104 S.Ct. 2518, 2523, 81 L.Ed.2d 399 (1984); Florida Lime & Avocado Growers v. Paul, 373 U.S. 132, 142-43, 83 S.Ct. 1210, 1217-18, 10 L.Ed.2d 248 (1963).

The issue in the case before us presents a question of law and is, therefore, subject to de novo review. State v. Smith, 99-2094, p. 3 (La.7/6/00), 766 So.2d 501, 504. In interpreting [LSA-]R.S. 14:100.13, we consider two established rules of statutory construction: (1) all criminal statutes are construed strictly, and (2) the words of a statute must be given their everyday meaning. See State v. Kujawa, 05-0470, p. 7 (La, App. 1st Cir.2/22/06), 929 So.2d 99, 104, writ denied, 06-0669 (La.10/6/06), 938 So.2d 65. [LSA-]R.S. 14:100.13 provides:

A. No alien student or nonresident alien shall operate a motor vehicle in the state without documentation demonstrating that the person is lawfully present in the United States.

B. Upon arrest of a person for operating a vehicle without lawful presence in the United States, law enforcement officials shall seize the driver's license and immediately surrender such license to the office of motor vehicles for cancellation and shall immediately notify the [Immigration and Naturalization Service] of the name and location of the person.

C. Whoever commits the crime of driving without lawful presence in the United States shall be fined not more than one thousand dollars, imprisoned for not more than one year, with or without hard labor, or both.

[LSA-]R.S. 14:100.13 does not actually forbid illegal aliens from driving; it requires that all non-resident alien drivers carry proof of legal status. See [LSA-]R.S. 14:100.13 A. The statute was enacted by 2002 La. Acts, 1st Ex.Sess., No. 46, § 1. As part of the same act, the legislature enacted [LSA-]R.S. 14:100.11, which sets forth the findings of the legislature and the purpose of [LSA-]R.S. 14:100.12 et seq. as follows:

A. The legislature finds that the devastating consequences of the barbaric attacks on September 11, 2001 on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon as well as the pervasive bomb threats and biological terrorism in various parts of the country were committed for the purposes of demoralizing and destabilizing our society and creating a climate of fear. These heinous deeds designed to kill, maim, and strike terror into the hearts of innocent citizens of this country cannot be tolerated, nor can those less violent acts to the infrastructure of our state which are designed to intimidate, confuse, and disrupt everyday commerce and the delivery of goods and services to the populace be permitted.

B. The legislature further finds that it is imperative that state laws be enacted to complement federal efforts to uncover those who seek to use the highways of this state to commit acts of terror and who seek to gain drivers' licenses or identification cards for the purposes of masking their illegal status in this state. Accordingly, the legislature finds that state law must be strengthened with a comprehensive framework for punishing those who give false information in order to obtain drivers' licenses or identification cards from the office of motor vehicles of the Department of Public Safety and Corrections, to limit the issuance of such documentation to correspond to the time limits placed by the federal Immigration and Naturalization Service on documentation, and to make...