State v. Wilson

• Decision Date: 18 October 2000
• Docket Number: No. 21304, No. 21305.
• Citation: 618 N.W.2d 513,2000 SD 133
• Parties: STATE of South Dakota, Plaintiff and Appellant, v. Robert Owen WILSON, Defendant and Appellee. State of South Dakota, Plaintiff and Appellant, v. Nicholas Palmer Blommer, Defendant and Appellee.
• Court: South Dakota Supreme Court

618 N.W.2d 513

2000 SD 133

STATE of South Dakota, Plaintiff and Appellant, v. Robert Owen WILSON, Defendant and Appellee.

State of South Dakota, Plaintiff and Appellant, v. Nicholas Palmer Blommer, Defendant and Appellee.

Nos. 21304, 21305.

Supreme Court of South Dakota.

Argued September 21, 2000.

Decided October 18, 2000.

Mark Barnett, Attorney General, Ann D. Meyer, Assistant Attorney General, Pierre, for plaintiff and appellant.

James R. Haar, Tripp, for defendant and appellee Wilson.

William J. Klimisch of Goetz and Klimisch, Yankton, for defendant and appellee Blommer.

GILBERTSON, Justice.

[¶ 1.] The defendants were arrested in a motel room, which was searched pursuant to a search warrant. The trial court suppressed the evidence seized as to both defendants because the judge who issued this warrant acted outside the circuit to which he had been elected. The State appeals the orders suppressing the evidence seized pursuant to an intermediate appeal granted by this Court. We affirm.

FACTS AND PROCEDURE

[¶ 2.] In the early hours of October 9, 1999, Officer Wentzel of Parkston, South Dakota, was approached by a confidential informant. The informant told Wentzel that defendant Wilson had shown her a green leafy substance, in a drawer in room 22 of the Rainbow Motel located in Parkston, South Dakota. In addition, the informant notified Wentzel that Wilson had identified the substance as marijuana. When asked by Wilson if she knew anyone in Parkston that dealt in drugs, she replied that her cousin had in the past. Wilson then informed her that he could supply marijuana cheaper to her cousin than what her cousin was currently paying. Finally, the informant also told Wentzel that Wilson was driving a large maroon vehicle with Minnesota license plates, which was parked in front of Wilson's motel room.

[¶ 3.] Accompanied by Police Chief Weekly, Wentzel verified that there was a vehicle matching the informant's description parked by the motel. Wentzel contacted the management of the motel and confirmed that Wilson was the driver of the car and that he was registered in room 22. The manager informed Wentzel that she had discovered a green leafy substance while cleaning, but had thrown it in the trash. The trash bag was retrieved by the manager and the green leafy substance inside was removed. After performing field tests on the substance, Wentzel verified that the substance was in fact marijuana.

[¶ 4.] Wentzel then attempted to locate a judge to secure a warrant to search room 22 of the Rainbow Motel. Parkston is situated in Hutchinson County which is located in the First Judicial Circuit, but Wentzel's attempts to reach a judge of that circuit were unsuccessful. Wentzel then telephoned Judge Lee D. Anderson of the Fourth Judicial Circuit,¹ in Mitchell, South Dakota, because Wentzel believed that Judge Anderson was authorized to issue the warrant. Judge Anderson also believed that he was authorized to issue the warrant pursuant to an order, issued on March 3, 1993, by the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court, assigning him to assist the First Judicial Circuit. However, the March 3, 1993 order had been rescinded by the Chief Justice on September 29, 1998 and copies thereof were distributed to Judge Anderson and other affected officials.

[¶ 5.] After Judge Anderson signed the warrant, Wilson's room at the Rainbow motel was searched by Wentzel. Wentzel discovered two bags of green leafy substance and related drug paraphernalia. Blommer² and Wilson were arrested and subsequently indicted in the First Judicial Circuit for possession of more than one-half pound but less than one pound of marijuana, a Class 5 felony.

[¶ 6.] Each defendant filed a motion to suppress all the evidence seized from the motel room and all statements made to law enforcement pursuant to the search. The trial court granted the defendants' motions pursuant to article V, section 11 of the South Dakota Constitution on the grounds that Judge Anderson, as a Fourth Circuit Judge, was not authorized to judicially act in the First Circuit. The trial court found that because the Chief Justice had revoked his earlier order, Judge Anderson was no longer assigned to the First Circuit, therefore, he had no authority to issue the search warrant. As a result, the trial court determined the search was illegal and all fruits thereof were improperly seized.

STANDARD OF REVIEW

[¶ 7.] A trial court's decision to suppress evidence has traditionally been reviewed under an abuse of discretion standard. State v. Durke, 1999 SD 39, ¶ 11, 593 N.W.2d 407, 409. However, no discretion would exist here as the interpretation of Constitutional provisions is a matter of law reviewed under the de novo standard. Steinkruger v. Miller, 2000 SD 83, ¶ 8, 612 N.W.2d 591, 595. The interpretation of statutes is also reviewed under the de novo standard as a matter of law. Welsh v. Centerville Township, 1999 SD 73, ¶ 7, 595 N.W.2d 622, 624.

ANALYSIS AND DECISION

[¶ 8.] South Dakota's original constitution was adopted on October 1, 1889. From 1889 to 1970, it was amended 79 times, each time adding more complexity to the document. Inconsistencies began to appear, and in general, any amendments dealt only with minor problems, leaving "the larger deficiencies untouched." South Dakota Constitutional Revision Commission, Third Annual Report 1 (1972). In 1969, the legislature created the Constitutional Revision Commission "to enter into a comprehensive study of the constitution of the State of South Dakota to determine ways and means to improve and simplify the constitution." Id. As part of the revision process, the commission recommended that the various state and local court systems be consolidated into a unified judicial system. This new structure was recommended to streamline the court system by "eliminating overlapping jurisdiction between courts." 1 Recommendations of the Constitutional Revision Commission (Recommendations) 34 (1971). With an eye towards the most efficient allocation of resources, the commission recommended establishing the office of Chief Justice as administrative head of this unified court system. Id. These recommendations were adopted by the voters of South Dakota in 1972, and the current Unified Judicial System was thereby established.

[¶ 9.] The foundation of today's decision was recognized in our holding in State v. Horst, 504 N.W.2d 862 (S.D.1993).

Except as is permitted by constitutional or statutory provision, a judge cannot act for a court other than the one for which he was selected. The jurisdiction of a judge being incident to, and growing out of, the jurisdiction of the court of which he is a member, a judge cannot, in the absence of authority of law, exercise the judicial functions of a court for which he has not been selected.

Id. at 863-64 (quoting 48A CJS, Judges § 69 (1981). See also State v. Springer-Ertl, 1997 SD 128, 570 N.W.2d 39

. Judge Anderson was selected by the voters to be on the Fourth Judicial Circuit Court. South Dakota Legislative Manual 493 (1999-2000 ed.). It was from there that he was subsequently re-elected in 1998. Id. Therefore, his authority to act in the First Circuit, if any, must arise from a constitutional or statutory provision not inconsistent therewith.

[¶ 10.] We first examine relevant constitutional provisions in an attempt to discern authority for Judge Anderson's actions. In South Dakota, there are three constitutional methods by which a circuit judge is authorized to act. First, a judge may be elected by the voters of the represented circuit. S.D.Const. art. V, § 7. Second, a judge may be appointed by the Governor in the case of a vacancy in the circuit. Id. Finally, a judge may be assigned to another circuit by the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court. Id. § 11.³

[¶ 11.] As Judge Anderson was neither elected to, nor appointed to the First Circuit, we shall begin our constitutional analysis with article V, section 11. That section provides, in relevant portion that:

The chief justice shall have power to assign any circuit judge to sit on another circuit court, or on the Supreme Court in case of a vacancy or in place of a justice who is disqualified or unable to act. The chief justice may authorize a justice to sit as a judge in any circuit court.

Id. The previous applicable constitutional provision stated that "[t]he judges of the circuit courts may hold courts in other circuits than their own, under such regulations as may be prescribed by law." S.D.Const. of 1899, art. V, § 29. Under the former section 29, a circuit court judge was allowed to orally request that a judge from another circuit preside over an action in the former circuit. State v. Montgomery, 26 S.D. 539, 541, 128 N.W. 718, 719 (1910). It was also legally allowable for a judge of one circuit to issue a writ of mandamus as to a proceeding in another circuit. Holden v. Haserodt, 3 S.D. 4, 5-6, 51 N.W. 340, 340-41 (1892). The Constitutional Revision Commission found that this process, whereby judges could transact business in another circuit at the request of that circuit, contributed to the overall inefficiency of the judicial system. Therefore, in 1972, this system was repealed and replaced with the provisions of article V, section 11. In the words of the Commission, allowing the Chief Justice to assign circuit judges to another circuit "provides for the best possible utilization of judicial personnel." Recommendations 55.

[¶ 12.] The State asserts that article V, section 11 is not the exclusive method by which circuit judges may be appointed to another circuit. To support this argument, the State claims that, while section 11 may apply to "everyday situations," it does not apply in times of emergency, "like the urgent need for the execution of a search warrant." The State has not alerted us to any substantive authority for this proposition, nor have we discovered any such authority. When an ambiguity exists in constitutional language,...