State v. KagerState v. Kager
- Reporters:
- ,
- Before:
- Lansing
OPINION
LANSING, Judge.
Rodney B. Kager appeals the trial court’s ruling that
FACTS
Rodney B. Kager is the vice president and district manager of Woodlake Sanitary Service, Inc., a company which operates the Flying Cloud Landfill. Flying Cloud is one of four landfills in the metropolitan area that use scales to weigh each load of garbage and base the customer’s dumping charge on that weight. All other landfills in the metropolitan area charge their customers according to the number of yards of waste their vehicles hold, regardless of weight.
Minn.Stat. § 169.872 , subd. 1, provides: Record keeping. A person who weighs goods before or after unloading or a person who loads or unloads goods on the basis of liquid volume measure shall keep a written record of the origin, weight and composition of each shipment, the date of loading or receipt, the name and address of the shipper, the total number of axles on the vehicle or combination of vehicles, and the registration number of the power unit or some other means of identification by which the shipment was transported. The record shall be retained for 30 days and shall be open to inspection and copying by a state law enforcement officer * * * upon demand. No search warrant is required to inspect or copy the record.
Failure to keep written records is a misdemeanor. See id., subd. 3. The records may be used as relevant evidence of violations of the state’s weight limitations. See id., subd. 2. The parties stipulated that the statute applies to landfill operators who use scales but not to those who charge by the yard.
On March 25,1983, a state trooper issued Kager a citation for failing to comply with the record-keeping requirements of
Kager pleaded guilty to the charge on January 19, 1984, in Hennepin County Municipal Court and was sentenced to pay a fine of $275. Kager’s plea was “conditioned” on his constitutional objections to the statute, although these objections were not presented to the trial court. Kager appealed, and this court remanded to allow Kager to withdraw his guilty plea and raise his constitutional objections before the trial court.
See State v. Kager,
357 N.W.2d 369 (Minn.Ct.App.1984). On remand, the trial court held that
*289 ISSUES
1. Is
2. Does
ANALYSIS
I
A statute which provides the basis of a criminal prosecution must meet due process standards of definiteness under both the Minnesota and the United States Constitutions. State v. Newstrom, 371 N.W.2d 525, 528 (Minn.1985). A statute is void for vagueness if persons of common intelligence must necessarily guess at its meaning or differ as to its application. See State v. Newstrom, 371 N.W.2d at 528 (quoting Connally v. General Construction Co., 269 U.S. 385, 391, 46 S.Ct. 126, 127, 70 L.Ed. 322 (1925)). The purpose of the void-for-vagueness doctrine is to put ordinary people on notice of what conduct is prohibited and, more importantly, to discourage arbitrary and discriminatory law enforcement. Kolender v. Lawson, 461 U.S. 352, 357, 103 S.Ct. 1855, 1858, 75 L.Ed.2d 903 (1983).
Eager claims that the terms “composition” and “origin,” as used in
Where first amendment freedoms are not involved, vagueness challenges must be examined in light of the defendant’s actual conduct. See State v. Becker, 351 N.W.2d 923, 925 (Minn.1984). He must show that the statute lacks specificity as to his own behavior and not as to some hypothetical situation. See Parker v. Levy, 417 U.S. 733, 755-57, 94 S.Ct. 2547, 2561-62, 41 L.Ed.2d 439 (1974). Here, Eager did not even try to comply with the statute; he made no attempt to record the origin and composition information. He argues that if he records this information, customers will go to non-weighing landfills rather than risk a civil fine for being overweight. Thus, Eager’s violation of the statute appears to be a result of business considerations, rather than inability to understand the statute. “While doubts as to the applicability of the language in marginal fact situations may be conceived,” we think the statute adequately warned Eager that failure to attempt to record all the required information was a criminal offense. United States v. Powell, 423 U.S. 87, 93, 96 S.Ct. 316, 320, 46 L.Ed.2d 228 (1975). See also Sproles v. Binford, 286 U.S. 374, 393, 52 S.Ct. 581, 587, 76 L.Ed. 1167 (1932) (statute providing that oversized or heavy loads must be transported by the “shortest practicable route” is not unconstitutionally vague because the carrier was given clear notice that a reasonably ascertainable standard of conduct is mandated). We hold the statute is not unconstitutionally vague.
II
Eager contends that
Unless a legislative classification is arbitrary and clearly unreasonable, it will be upheld.
Anderson v. Lappegaard,
302 Minn. 266, 273-74, 224 N.W.2d 504, 509 (1974).
Further, we think the data required to be recorded will reasonably aid in regulating the weight of vehicles. The origin information, for example, is necessary to determine the route taken to the landfill, because the roads have different weight limits. We conclude that the legislative classification is reasonable in light of the state’s legitimate purpose.
Finally, the statute does not treat similarly situated people differently. Landfill operators who choose to use scales are treated in the same way under the statute. See Anderson v. Lappegaard, 302 Minn. at 274, 224 N.W.2d at 509. The statute does not violate the equal protection clause.
DECISION
The record-keeping requirements of
Affirmed.
Notes
. The record shows, and the parties acknowledged at oral argument, that Kager did not *289 withdraw his plea at the remand hearing on April 22, 1985. The trial court’s order, filed on June 4, 1985, upholds the constitutionality of the statute but does not adjudicate Kager’s guilt or innocence. Appellate court records show the notice of appeal was hand-delivered on July 5, 1985.
In misdemeanor cases, the defendant has an appeal of right from the final judgment.
See