68 Ohio St. 3d 162 | Ohio | 1994
Dissenting Opinion
dissenting. I have always believed that legal scholars and most judges consider freedom of speech provisions a bulwark to be defended. Today, sad to say, we have beaten a hasty retreat from our previous pronouncement in this very case, and Section 11, Article I of the Ohio Constitution is being treated more as an obstacle to be avoided than as an affirmative statement of a fundamental right and a ringing statement of truth.
I recognize the tension between the search for social justice and the long and honorable tradition of defending speech from government intrusion. I also appreciate the political benefits of punishing the distasteful “hate speech” found here. However, I cannot compromise the principles noted above and must respectfully dissent.
I am extremely disappointed that a majority of this court are willing to dispose of a case of significant constitutional import through a brief entry devoid of analysis. I feel certain that the United States Supreme Court, in remanding this case, expected this court to engage in a.thorough analysis not only of the
If the Ohio statute were identical or nearly identical to the Wisconsin statute, a rubber-stamp entry would be understandable. However, the two statutes are completely different in both wording and scope of application, as are the free speech provisions of the United States Constitution and the Ohio Constitution.
Under the Wisconsin statute, the maximum sentence a judge may impose is increased when the defendant intentionally selects the victim because of his or her protected status.
Because of these differences between the Wisconsin statute and the Ohio statute, it is not at all apparent that the Supreme Court’s ruling in Wisconsin v. Mitchell mandates holding that the Ohio statute is constitutional. In fact, I am persuaded that these critical differences support an opposite conclusion. I find the Wisconsin statute distinguishable from the Ohio statute in ways which render the Ohio statute unconstitutional under both the United States and Ohio Constitutions.
I
Of particular concern is the difference in the scope of application of the statutes. Under the Wisconsin statute, the penalty enhancement for intentional
In the present case, the conduct of the defendants which is unprotected by the First. Amendment, ie., the making of menacing threats, is already prosecutable under R.C. 2903.21 and 2903.22. A prosecution under R.C. 2927.12 is aimed at punishing the content of the “fighting words” used. Consistent with the Supreme Court’s ruling in R.A.V., the state may not proscribe a class of “fighting words” which it deems to be particularly offensive. Thus, there is nothing in the Mitchell decision to change our previous conclusion that R.C. 2927.12 “constitutes a greater infringement on speech and thought” than the Wisconsin statute because the Ohio statute “singles out racial and religious hatred as a viewpoint to be punished.” State v. Wyant (1992), 64 Ohio St.3d 566, 579, 597 N.E.2d 450, 459 (“Wyant I”).
A clear example of the difference between the Wisconsin and Ohio statutes can be seen by applying the statutes to Wyant’s conduct. Wyant’s conduct would not violate the Wisconsin standard. There is no evidence he selected his victims because they are black. Rather, there is evidence he selected his victims because they had a camp site Wyant wanted his relatives to have and because they had complained to a park official about Wyant’s playing loud music. Certainly Wyant chose to use certain words because of the race of his victims. But this fact highlights the problem with the Ohio statute. Wyant was convicted of a felony
This example reflects another difference between the two statutes. Under the Wisconsin statute the defendant’s motive in selecting the victim is a factor the judge may consider during sentencing. In Mitchell, the United States Supreme Court emphasized that a defendant’s motive has traditionally been a factor considered during the penalty phase of the prosecution. Id., 508 U.S. at-, 113 S.Ct. at 2199, 124 L.Ed.2d at 445. As discussed at length by Justice Herbert R. Brown in Wyant I, motive is not traditionally a factor in the guilt phase of a prosecution. Id., 64 Ohio St.3d at 571-574, 597 N.E.2d at 453-456. Instead, it is the defendant’s intent to commit the act which is traditionally an element of the offense. However, R.C. 2927.12 makes the defendant’s motive — his or her thoughts and beliefs — an element of the offense. The Wisconsin statute, on the other hand, focuses on the defendant’s intent and conduct. Since the Ohio statute directly penalizes biased motive, rather than the conduct of intentionally selecting a victim because of a biased belief, the Ohio statute violates both Section 11, Article I of the Ohio Constitution and the First Amendment to the United States Constitution.
II
Whether or not the Mitchell decision dictates that R.C. 2927.12 be held constitutional under the First Amendment, I believe that it is unconstitutional under Section 11, Article I of the Ohio Constitution.
The historical context within which the Ohio Constitution was written also supports a reading which is more expansive than the First Amendment.
The majority’s disposition of this appeal is also inadequate because reliance on Mitchell addresses only the free speech challenge to the statute. The defendants in this case also raised challenges on the grounds of vagueness, equal protection, due process and overbreadth. In our unanimous opinion in Wyant I we said that “[t]hese arguments may have merit, especially in view of the concurring opinion by Justice White in R.A.V. v. St. Paul, supra, 505 U.S. at-, 112 S.Ct. at 2550, 120 L.Ed.2d at 327.” (Emphasis added.) Wyant I, 64 Ohio St.3d at 579-580, 597
It can, perhaps, be argued that reliance on Mitchell disposes of the over-breadth challenge. In no way, however, can it be argued that Mitchell disposes of the vagueness and equal protection arguments, because the United States Supreme Court specifically declined to address those arguments. Mitchell; supra, 508 U.S. at-, 113 S.Ct. at 2197, 124 L.Ed.2d at 443, at fn. 2. The majority’s reversal of our holding in Wyant I concerning the free speech challenge to R.C. 2927.12 now makes it essential that we address these other constitutional challenges to the statute. This is especially true since the lower court opinions declaring R.C. 2927.12 unconstitutional relied primarily on the vagueness challenge.
If the majority is construing the “by reason of’ language of R.C. 2927.12 to mean that the defendant intentionally selected his or her victim because of race, color, religion or national origin, it has an obligation to say so. The majority also has an obligation to inform trial judges that they should formulate jury instructions to explain this meaning to juries in R.C. 2927.12 prosecutions.
At the very least, Wyant is entitled to have his conviction vacated and remanded for a new trial, which would include such jury instructions. The jury received no instructions regarding the meaning of this language in R.C. 2927.12. Otherwise, there is no way to assure that he was convicted based on his conduct, not based on his beliefs.
Ill
For the above reasons, I would reaffirm our decision in Wyant I, and hold that R.C. 2927.12 violates the First Amendment to the United States Constitution and also violates, independently, Section 11, Article I of the Ohio Constitution.
. The Wisconsin statute analyzed in Wisconsin v. Mitchell, supra, provided in part:
“(1) If a person does all of the following, the penalties for the underlying crime are increased as provided in sub. (2):
“(a) Commits a crime under chs. 939 to 948.
“(b) Intentionally selects the person against whom the crime under par. (a) is committed or selects the property which is damaged or otherwise affected by the crime under par. (a) because of the race, religion, color, disability, sexual orientation, national origin or ancestry of that person or the owner or occupant of that property.” Former Wis.Stat. Section 939.645.
. We recently held that the Ohio Constitution is an independent source of protection of civil liberties:
“The Ohio Constitution is a document of independent force. In the areas of individual rights and civil liberties, the United States Constitution, where applicable to the states, provides a floor below which state court decisions may not fall. As long as state courts provide at least as much protection as the United States Supreme Court has provided in its interpretation of the federal Bill of Rights, state courts are unrestricted in according greater civil liberties and protections to individuals and groups.” Arnold v. Cleveland (1993), 67 Ohio St.3d 35, 616 N.E.2d 163, paragraph one of the syllabus.
. Other state supreme courts have interpreted an affirmative clause in their state constitutions to provide more expansive protection of free speech rights, including California, Colorado and New Jersey. Robins v. PruneYard Shopping Ctr. (1979), 23 Cal.3d 899, 153 Cal.Rptr. 854, 592 P.2d 341, affirmed sub nom. PruneYard Shopping Ctr. v. Robins (1980), 447 U.S. 74, 100 S.Ct. 2035, 64 L.Ed.2d 741; Bock v. Westminster Mall Co. (Colo.1991), 819 P.2d 55; State v. Schmid (1980), 84 N.J. 535, 423 A.2d 615, appeal dismissed sub nom. Princeton Univ. v. Schmid (1982), 455 U.S. 100, 102 S.Ct. 867, 70 L.Ed.2d 855.
. In the 1802 Ohio Constitution, the affirmative clause appeared in Section 6, Article VIII.
. Baldwin’s Ohio Revised Code Annotated (1990), Editor’s Comment to Section 11, Article I, Ohio Constitution.
. The trial courts dismissed the charges of ethnic intimidation against all appellants except Wyant based on the grounds that R.C. 2927.12 is unconstitutional.
Lead Opinion
These cases come to us on remand from the United States Supreme Court for the purpose of “further consideration in light of Wisconsin v. Mitchell, 508 U.S. - [113 S.Ct. 2194, 124 L.Ed.2d 436] (1993).”
We have reviewed the United States Supreme Court’s opinion in Wisconsin v. Mitchell (1993), 508 U.S.-, 113 S.Ct. 2194, 124 L.Ed.2d 436, our opinion in State v. Wyant (1992), 64 Ohio St.3d 566, 597 N.E.2d 450, and the briefs of the parties. For the reasons stated in Wisconsin v. Mitchell, we vacate our opinion in State v. Wyant and uphold the constitutionality of R.C. 2927.12, the ethnic intimidation law, under both the United States and Ohio Constitutions.
In case No. 91-199, we affirm the judgment of the court of appeals and reinstate the judgment of the trial court. In case No. 91-1519, we reverse the judgment of the court of appeals and remand for a new trial. In case Nos. 91-1211 and 91-1589, we reverse the judgment of the court of appeals and remand for a new trial.
Judgments accordingly.
