State v. Vaughn
| Decision Date | 28 December 2021 |
| Docket Number | ED 109264 |
| Citation | 648 S.W.3d 117 |
| Parties | STATE of Missouri, Appellant, v. Joseph E. VAUGHN, Respondent. |
| Court | Missouri Court of Appeals |
FOR APPELLANT: Kristen S. Johnson, PO Box 899, Jefferson City, Missouri 65102.
FOR RESPONDENT: Christopher P. Huber, Public Defender's Office, PO Box 156, Hillsboro, Missouri 63050.
The State of Missouri ("State") appeals from the circuit court's order granting the motion to dismiss criminal charges filed against Joseph E. Vaughn ("Defendant"). On appeal, the State argues that the circuit court erred in granting Defendant's motion to dismiss because § 195.2051 "effectively amended" §§ 579.015 and 579.074, the drug and drug paraphernalia possession statutes the State charged Defendant with violating, therefore § 1.160 should apply to prohibit retroactive application of § 195.205.
We affirm.
On April 1, 2017, police responded to a call about an attempted suicide by drug overdose. Police found Defendant unconscious, with a syringe sticking out of his sock and eight empty capsules lying nearby. At least one of the capsules had contained fentanyl, a controlled substance. On August 28, 2017, Missouri's "Good Samaritan Law," § 195.205, went into effect. The statute states:
§ 195.205.2 (footnote omitted). It was passed earlier in 2017 as part of S.B. 501, an act "[t]o repeal sections 191.227, 195.206, 197.040, 197.050, 197.070, 197.071, 197.080, 197.100, 334.010, 334.036, 334.735, 337.010, 337.025, 338.010, and 345.051, RSMo, and to enact in lieu thereof twenty-four new sections relating to health care, with an effective date for certain sections."
The State filed a complaint and probable cause statement against Defendant on April 5, 2018. The case was later bound over to the circuit court where the State filed an information on January 6, 2020, charging Defendant with one count of the class D felony of possession of a controlled substance under § 579.015 and one count of the class D misdemeanor of unlawful possession of drug paraphernalia under § 579.074.
Defendant filed a motion to dismiss with prejudice, arguing that § 195.205 prohibits the State from charging, prosecuting, or convicting him for violating the possession statutes. The circuit court initially denied Defendant's motion to dismiss, finding that § 195.205 is a substantive statute that could not be applied retroactively. Defendant then sought reconsideration of the decision, to which the circuit court agreed. The circuit court held a hearing on October 29, 2020, and granted Defendant's motion to dismiss. In its order, the circuit court noted that § 195.205 is "highly unusual" and "does not require a retroactivity analysis" because it "concerns actions that have not yet occurred[ ] and would therefore necessarily take place after the effective date of § 195.205." The circuit court concluded that "the particular language of § 195.205 does not fall within the purview of § 1.160."
This appeal follows.2
We generally review a circuit court's decision to grant a motion to dismiss criminal charges for an abuse of discretion. State v. Hunter , 626 S.W.3d 867, 879 (Mo. App. E.D. 2021), transfer denied (Aug. 31, 2021). However, when the only issue presented is the legal matter of statutory interpretation, we review the circuit court's decision de novo. State v. R.J.G. , 632 S.W.3d 359, 364 (Mo. banc 2021).
"The primary rule of statutory interpretation is to give effect to the legislative intent as reflected in the plain language of the statute." State v. Knox , 604 S.W.3d 316, 320 (Mo. banc 2020) (quoting State v. Salazar , 236 S.W.3d 644, 646 (Mo. banc 2007) ). We must also consider the context of a statute and not read any portion of it in isolation. Hunter , 626 S.W.3d at 874. In addition, the rule of lenity requires us to construe ambiguous criminal statutes strictly against the State.
Knox , 604 S.W.3d at 320. "This rule, however, does not require a reviewing court to dispense with common sense or to ignore an evident statutory purpose." Philyow v. State , 554 S.W.3d 567, 570 (Mo. App. E.D. 2018) (quoting State v. Stewart , 113 S.W.3d 245, 249 (Mo. App. E.D. 2003) ).
The State argues that the circuit court erred in granting Defendant's motion to dismiss because § 195.205 "effectively amended" the possession statutes, therefore bringing it within the scope of § 1.160 and barring retroactive application. Defendant responds that § 195.205 is simply a new statute, thus § 1.160 does not apply.
Section 1.160, Missouri's savings statute, "continues in force repealed laws until proceedings commenced thereunder, regardless of their nature, might be completed." Mitchell v. Phillips , 596 S.W.3d 120, 125 (Mo. banc 2020), reh'g denied (Mar. 31, 2020) (internal quotation marks omitted) (quoting City of Kirkwood v. Allen , 399 S.W.2d 30, 35 (Mo. banc 1966) ). Without the savings clause, a repealing or amending act would "obliterate[ ]" the prior version of the law as though it had never existed. Id. However, § 1.160 does not apply to new statutory provisions:
In determining whether § 1.160 bars retroactive application of an existing statute, courts use a two-prong inquiry. First, we must determine whether the existing statute is a new provision or if it repealed or amended a previously existing provision. If the existing statute is a new provision, then it is outside the scope of § 1.160, and retroactive application is not barred by § 1.160. But, if the existing statute repealed or amended a previously existing provision, then we must determine whether the repealed or amended provision affects the prosecution, penalty, or punishment of the offense at issue. If the repealed or amended provision does not affect the prosecution, penalty, or punishment, then it again falls outside the scope of § 1.160, and retroactive application is not barred by § 1.160. If, on the other hand, the repealed or amended provision does affect the prosecution, penalty, or punishment of the offense at issue, then it is within § 1.160's bar on retroactive application and cannot be applied retroactively unless it is merely procedural.
Fields v. Missouri Bd. of Prob. & Parole , 559 S.W.3d 12, 17–18 (Mo. App. W.D. 2018) (emphasis added) (footnotes and citations omitted) (citing State ex rel. Nixon v. Russell , 129 S.W.3d 867, 870–71 (Mo. banc 2004) ; State v. Sumlin , 820 S.W.2d 487, 490 (Mo. banc 1991) ; Prapotnik v. Crowe , 55 S.W.3d 914, 918 (Mo. App. W.D. 2001) ). "It is only when a statutory provision is repealed or amended before adjudication is complete and direct review exhausted that [§] 1.160 saves the liability, punishment, and prosecution arising under the repealed provision and continues the statute in force until proceedings commenced thereunder, regardless of their nature, might be completed." Mitchell , 596 S.W.3d at 126 (internal quotation marks omitted). The savings statute's scope is limited, and its purpose is narrow. Id.
Although the General Assembly enacted § 195.295 as a new statute (and referred to it as such), the State nevertheless argues that § 1.160 applies to this case because § 195.205 "effectively amended" the possession statutes. The State primarily relies on the Supreme Court's holding in State v. Knapp , 843 S.W.2d 345 (Mo. banc 1992), to support its position that one statutory provision can substantively amend the content of another. In Knapp , the Supreme Court held that § 1.2053 substantively amends § 565.024, the involuntary manslaughter statute, to include an unborn child in the definition of "person." Id. at 349. But the Supreme Court did not conduct such an analysis for the purposes of reviewing the statute under § 1.160, and it stressed the narrowness of its holding. See id. at 347–48 (). Instead, the Supreme Court noted the importance of the General Assembly's intent:
Reading all subsections of § 1.205 together and considering especially the express language of Subsection 2 that "... the laws of this state shall be interpreted and construed ...," it is clear that § 1.205 is intended to apply to at least some other statutes.... Furthermore, these two statutes, both of which refer to the term "persons," are related—one defines the term "persons" for the other.
Id. at 347 (final alteration added). Basically, § 565.024 could not be understood without the definition provided by § 1.205, and the General Assembly intended it that way. In this case, however, § 579.015.1 states that "[a] person commits the offense of possession of a controlled substance if he or she knowingly possesses a controlled substance, except as authorized by this chapter or chapter 195,"4 while § 195.205.2 expressly references the possession statutes. But a plain language reading of § 195.205 does not indicate that the General Assembly intended it to substantively amend either of the possession statutes. Nothing in § 195.205 authorizes unlawful possession of controlled substances or drug paraphernalia; rather, the statute bars the State from arresting, charging, prosecuting,...
To continue reading
Request your trial