State v. Reiner

• Decision Date: 07 July 2004
• Citation: 180 N.J. 307,850 A.2d 1252
• Parties: STATE of New Jersey, Plaintiff-Respondent, v. Philip REINER, Defendant-Appellant.
• Court: New Jersey Supreme Court

850 A.2d 1252

180 N.J. 307

STATE of New Jersey, Plaintiff-Respondent, v. Philip REINER, Defendant-Appellant.

Supreme Court of New Jersey.

Argued April 27, 2004.

Decided July 7, 2004.

Gregory R. Mueller, Morristown, argued the cause for appellant (Mueller, Russo & Warmington, attorneys; Mr. Mueller and Evan M. Levow, Cherry Hill, on the briefs).

Adrienne B. Reim, Deputy Attorney General, argued the cause for respondent (Peter C. Harvey, Attorney General of New Jersey, attorney).

Timothy M. Donohue, Chatham, argued the cause for amicus curiae, Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers of New Jersey (Arleo & Donohue, attorneys).

Justice LaVECCHIA delivered the opinion of the Court.

In this appeal we are called on to determine whether the heightened penalties contained in N.J.S.A. 39:4-50(g) (subsection (g)), applicable upon conviction of a second offense of driving while intoxicated (DWI) within 1,000 feet of school property, may be imposed when a defendant's first DWI offense did not occur within 1,000 feet of school property. The predicate "first offense" here involved a conviction and sentence under N.J.S.A. 39:4-50(a) (subsection (a)). A divided Appellate Division held that the subsection (g) second-offender penalties applied in the foregoing circumstances. State v. Reiner, 363 N.J.Super. 167, 182, 832 A.2d 328 (2003). We now reverse and remand.

I.

A full factual recitation appears in the decision of the Appellate Division. Id. at 169-72, 832 A.2d 328. We restate only the basic facts necessary for our disposition.

Prior to the events giving rise to this appeal, defendant, Phillip Reiner, had been convicted of DWI under subsection (a). On October 10, 2000, the Newton Police Department charged defendant with: (I) DWI contrary to N.J.S.A. 39:4-50(a); (II) refusal to submit to a breathalyzer test contrary to N.J.S.A. 39:4-50.2; (III) driving the wrong way on a one-way street contrary to N.J.S.A. 39:4-85.1; (IV) failure to stop before turning right on red contrary to N.J.S.A. 39:4-115; and (V) failure to maintain a lane contrary to N.J.S.A. 39:4-88.¹ At a case management conference on October 31, 2000, defendant was advised that the State would be charging him also with DWI within 1,000 feet of school property contrary to subsection (g), as well as with refusal to take a breathalyzer after having been stopped within 1,000 feet of school property contrary to N.J.S.A. 39:4-50.4 (collectively, the "school zone charges").

The municipal court rejected a pre-trial contention by defendant that he did not receive adequate notice of the school zone charges against him and three days of trial ensued. The court found defendant guilty of DWI within 1,000 feet of school property and guilty of all other charges, except refusal to take a breathalyzer after having been stopped within 1,000 feet of school property. The municipal court sentenced defendant consistent with the penalties for a second-time offender under subsection (g), specifically imposing: ninety-six hours in jail; seventy-five days at the Sheriff's Labor Assistance Program (SLAP) for having driven intoxicated in a school zone when children were present; a four year suspension of driver's license; sixty days of community service; and forty-eight hours at the Intoxicated Driver Resource Center. The court also imposed a $1,500 fine, and other penalties and fees.

The Law Division, on de novo review, similarly held that defendant had adequate notice that he was being charged with DWI in a school zone, and affirmed the municipal court's determination that the second-offense penalties of subsection (g) applied to defendant's current DWI conviction. The court also affirmed the sentence imposed by the municipal court for defendant's DWI conviction.²

A divided Appellate Division affirmed. Reiner, supra, 363 N.J.Super. at 182, 832 A.2d 328. The majority determined that defendant received adequate notice that he was being charged under subsection (g), id. at 174, 832 A.2d 328, and held that defendant should be sentenced as a second-time offender pursuant to subsection (g), even though he had no prior convictions for DWI within a school zone. Id. at 175-82, 832 A.2d 328. There was a dissent in respect of defendant's treatment as a second-time offender under subsection (g). The dissent found N.J.S.A. 39:4-50 to be vague in respect of whether two convictions under subsection (g) were necessary for a defendant to be sentenced as a repeat offender under the terms of that subsection. Id. at 183-84, 832 A.2d 328 (Fuentes, J.A.D., dissenting). The dissent reconciled the ambiguity by concluding that subsections (a) and (g) are separate offenses with separate sentencing schemes. Id. at 182-85, 832 A.2d 328 (Fuentes, J.A.D., dissenting).

Defendant appealed based on the dissent below. R. 2:2-1(a)(2). We also granted defendant's petition for certification limited to the question whether defendant had adequate notice of the school zone charges. 178 N.J. 451, 841 A.2d 89 (2004).

II.

A.

Like all matters that require interpretation of a statute, our goal of implementing the Legislature's intent begins with the text of the statute. If the meaning of the text is clear and unambiguous on its face, we enforce that meaning. State v. Brannon, 178 N.J. 500, 505-06, 842 A.2d 148 (2004); State v. Thomas, 166 N.J. 560, 567, 767 A.2d 459 (2001). If the language admits to more than one reasonable interpretation, we may look to sources outside the language to ascertain the Legislature's intent. Brannon, supra, 178 N.J. at 507, 842 A.2d 148; State v. Pena, 178 N.J. 297, 307, 839 A.2d 870 (2004) (quoting Thomas, supra, 166 N.J. at 567, 767 A.2d 459). When extrinsic sources cannot clarify the meaning of ambiguous language, we employ the canon of statutory construction that counsels courts to construe ambiguities in penal statutes³ in favor of defendant. State v. Livingston, 172 N.J. 209, 218, 797 A.2d 153 (2002); State v. Valentin, 105 N.J. 14, 18, 519 A.2d 322 (1987). Thus, we turn first to the operative text.

N.J.S.A. 39:4-50 is entitled "Driving while intoxicated." Two subsections concern us. Subsection (a), which states generally the elements of and punishments for DWI, provides, in relevant part:

Except as provided in subsection (g) of this section, a person who operates a motor vehicle while under the influence of intoxicating liquor, narcotic, hallucinogenic or habit-producing drug, or operates a motor vehicle with a blood alcohol concentration of 0.10% or more ... shall be subject: (1) For the first offense, to a fine of not less than $250 nor more than $400.00 and a period of detainment [pursuant to the Intoxicated Driver Resource Centers] a term of imprisonment of not more than 30 days and [suspension of driving privileges] for a period of not less than six months nor more than one year ... (2) For a second violation, a person shall be subject to a fine of not less than $500.00 nor more than $1,000.00, and ... community service for a period of 30 days ... and ... imprisonment for a term of not less than 48 consecutive hours ... nor more than 90 days, and [suspension of driving privileges] for a period of two years.

[N.J.S.A. 39:4-50(a).]⁴

Subsection (g), added in 1999, punishes DWI committed within a school zone:

(g) When a violation of this section occurs while:

(1) on any school property used for school purposes which is owned by or leased to any elementary or secondary school or school board, or within 1,000 feet of such school property;

(2) driving through a school crossing as defined in R.S.39:1-1 if the municipality, by ordinance or resolution, has designated the school crossing as such; or

(3) driving through a school crossing as defined in R.S.39:1-1 knowing that juveniles are present if the municipality has not designated the school crossing as such by ordinance or resolution, the convicted person shall: for a first offense, be fined not less than $500 or more than $800, be imprisoned for not more than 60 days and have his license to operate a motor vehicle suspended for a period of not less than one year or more than two years; for a second offense, be fined not less than $1,000 or more than $2,000, perform community service for a period of 60 days, be imprisoned for not less than 96 consecutive hours, which shall not be suspended or served on probation, nor more than 180 days, except that the court may lower such term for each day, not exceeding 90 days, served performing community service in such form and on such terms as the court shall deem appropriate under the circumstances and have his license to operate a motor vehicle suspended for a period of not less than four years....

[N.J.S.A. 39:4-50(g).]⁵

The parties and opinions below differ in respect of the interrelationship between the foregoing subsections. The State and Appellate Division majority believe that subsections (a) and (g) are textually linked. They find that inclusion of the phrase "[e]xcept as provided in subsection (g)" in subsection (a) demonstrates that subsection (g) contains heightened punishments for DWI while in a school zone that are sensible only if subsection (g) is viewed as a sentencing enhancer. Stated differently, (g) builds on the more general elements of (a). In addition, the proponents of that view contend that the language, "[w]hen a violation of this section occurs," (emphasis added), refers to N.J.S.A. 39:4-50 as a whole, and not to subsection (g) in particular. The State considers the use of the word "section" to exemplify the "tongue-and-groove" approach of the subsections, and the integrated nature of N.J.S.A. 39:4-50 in general.

The contrary view espoused by defendant and the dissent below emphasizes that the use of separate subsections for subsections (a) and (g) evidences a legislative intent to treat them as distinct offenses and that the introductory phrase "[e]xcept as provided in subsection (g)" promotes the notion of separation, rather than integration, of the...