State v. ArellanoState v. Arellano
- Reporters:
- , ,
- Before:
- Wechsler
1. The State appeals from the district court decision granting Defendant’s motion to dismiss the charge of criminal damage to property. The district court determined that Defendant could only have been charged under a specific statute, injuring or tampering with vehicle,
2. According to Defendant’s attorney, Defendant returned to her residence after having fought fires throughout most of the summer and discovered two people living there. Defendant’s husband had given them permission to stay at the house, and their employer had loaned them a pickup truck, which was parked in front of the house. The State was apparently ready to show that Defendant chased the two people away with an ax and then caused damage in excess of $1000 by hitting the pickup truck with the ax, breaking the windows, windshield, and headlights and also damaging the engine.
II. DISCUSSION
A. Standard of Review
8. Construction of a statute is a question of law reviewed de novo. See State v. Rowell, 121 N.M. 111, 114, 908 P.2d 1379, 1382 (1995). The fundamental principle of statutory interpretation is that the court must ascertain and give effect to the legislative intent. See Cummings v. X-Ray Assocs., 121 N.M. 821, 834, 918 P.2d 1321, 1334 (1996); State v. Chavez, 77 N.M. 79, 82, 419 P.2d 456, 457 (1966).
B. The General/Specific Rule
4. Under the general/specific rule, when one statute deals with a subject in general and comprehensive terms and another deals with part of the same subject in a more minute and definite way, the latter controls if the two cannot be harmonized. State v. Blevins, 40 N.M. 367, 368, 60 P.2d 208, 209 (1936); see State v. Yarborough, 122 N.M. 596, 605, 930 P.2d 131, 140 (1996). If there is a specific statute addressing the conduct at issue, the state is ordinarily required to prosecute under that statute rather than under the general statute. Blevins, 40 N.M. at 369, 60 P.2d at 210; see Yarborough, 122 N.M. at 605, 930 P.2d at 140.
5. The “rule” that a specific, or special, statute controls over a general statute is a principle of statutory interpretation. See Stinbrink v. Farmers Ins. Co., 111 N.M. 179, 182, 803 P.2d 664, 667 (1990); State v. Hollenbeck, 112 N.M. 275, 277, 814 P.2d 143, 145 (Ct.App.1991); 2B Norman J. Singer, Sutherland Statutory Construction §§ 51.01, 51.05 (5th ed. 1992). The purpose of this principle is to implement the intent of the legislature. See State v. Mirabal, 108 N.M. 749, 751, 779 P.2d 126, 128 (Ct.App.1989); 2B Singer, supra, § 51.05. The question is whether the legislature intended to “preempt the field” and cover the whole subject matter by enacting a specific statute. See Yarborough, 122 N.M. at 606, 930 P.2d at 141. The general/specific rule is therefore not an inexorable command to be mechanically applied, but a principle to employ when it aids in reaching a reasonable interpretation of the legislature’s intention. Compare State v. Williams, 250 Kan. 730, 829 P.2d 892, 897 (1992) (application of general/specific rule consistent with legislative intent), with State v. Helms, 242 Kan. 511, 748 P.2d 425, 427 (1988) (general/specific rule inapplicable because inconsistent with reasonable legislative intent).
6. The theory of the general/specific rule is that, if the specific statute was enacted later, it was intended to carve out an exception to the general statute; if the specific statute was enacted earlier, it was intended to remain an exception unless it was repealed in general words or by implication. 2B Singer, supra, § 51.05; see Stinbrink, 111 N.M. at 182, 803 P.2d at 667. The statute prohibiting injuring or tampering with a vehicle was first enacted in 1953 as NMSA 1941, § 68-2053 (Supp.1953). See 1953 N.M.Laws, ch. 138, § 91. Section 68-2053 is virtually identical to the current
7. The district court held that
8. Nevertheless, we do not follow the district court’s lead. The general/specific rule is inapplicable in the ease on appeal because
9. One obvious reason that the general/specific rule is inapplicable when each offense contains an element that the other does not is that it can be problematic which statute is the specific and which is the general. We have that problem here. Most subsections of
10. We believe that a reasonable interpretation of
11. When we consider a case involving major damage, the district court’s analysis is no longer plausible. Criminal damage in excess of $1000 to a motor vehicle would still be a misdemeanor if
12. Our approach is buttressed by comparison with
13. We conclude that the legislature did not intend
C. Equal Protection
14. Defendant argues, however, that prosecutorial discretion to charge her under either
In Aragon v. Cox, [75 N.M. 537, 407 P.2d 673 (1965)] supra we concluded that where both statutes condemn certain conduct the state has a choice in selecting the statute to be employed in a prosecution for violation. We no longer subscribe to that view which would permit the law enforcement authorities to subject one person to the possibility of a greater punishment than another who has committed an identical act. This would do violence to the equal protection clauses of our state and federal constitutions.
Id.
15. The Chavez Court cited State v. Pirkey, 203 Or. 697, 281 P.2d 698 (1955) (en banc), which was later overruled. See City of
16. Thus, in both Pirkey and Chavez, proof of the same elements would sustain convictions leading to different penalties. In the case on appeal, however, conviction of a fourth degree felony under
17. Defendant raises a complicated issue but, unfortunately, does not discuss it in depth. This question has also been addressed in State v. Wilson, 116 N.M. 793, 799, 867 P.2d 1175, 1181 (1994), Incorporated County of Los Alamos v. Montoya, 108 N.M. 361, 772 P.2d 891 (Ct.App.), cert. denied, 108 N.M. 273, 771 P.2d 981 (1989), and by the United States Supreme Court in United States v. Batchelder, 442 U.S. 114, 99 S.Ct. 2198, 60 L.Ed.2d 755 (1979). Defendant does not discuss these cases. The State did not file a reply brief and therefore did not answer the equal protection argument raised in Defendant’s brief.
18. In Batchelder, Justice Marshall, writing for a unanimous court, held that discretion to prosecute under either of two statutes prohibiting convicted felons from receiving firearms did not violate the Equal Protection Clause. 442 U.S. at 123-24, 99 S.Ct. at 2203-04. The two statutes required identical elements of proof but established different maximum penalties. Id. at 116-17, 99 S.Ct. at 2200-2201. The Court stated, however, that selective enforcement on a constitutionally impermissible basis would constitute an equal protection violation. Id. at 124-25, 99 S.Ct. at 2204-05.
19. Although apparently a majority of jurisdictions have followed Batchelder, we are governed by the precedents of our Supreme Court. Montoya, 108 N.M. at 366, 772 P.2d at 896; see Alexander v. Delgado, 84 N.M. 717, 507 P.2d 778 (1973). Our Supreme Court has not addressed the effect of Batchelder on State v. Chavez, 77 N.M. 79, 419 P.2d 456 (1966), nor how broadly Chavez is to apply.
20. We assume that, under federal constitutional law, the mere existence of alternative means of prosecution like
III. CONCLUSION
21. The general/specific rule is inapplicable to the case on appeal. We reverse the district court’s dismissal of the amended criminal complaint charging Defendant with criminal damage to property and remand for proceedings consistent with this opinion.
22. IT IS SO ORDERED.
HARTZ, C.J., and ALARID, J., concur.