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State v. Campbell7/6/2004
spension of the sentence would necessarily preclude enhancing the sentence as a third felony conviction pursuant to the Habitual Offender Law, which prohibits any sentence imposed under the provisions of 15:529.1 to have the benefit of probation or suspension. As we have previously observed, the Legislature has clearly stated its intention to embrace treatment measures *118 in preference to incarceration. Mayeux, at p. 5, 820 So.2d at 529; La.Rev.Stat. 14:98 G. Representative Odinet, one of the sponsors of the bill that contained the amendments at issue here, explained the purpose of the legislation was "(1) to give treatment to those in need of treatment; and (2) to allow incarceration to be reduced to allow more space in state prisons for violent criminals." Hearings on H.B. No. 665, supra, at p. 9.
It is a fundamental rule of statutory construction that when two statutes deal with the same subject matter, if there is a conflict, the statute specifically directed to the matter at issue must prevail as an exception to the statute more general in character. Fontenot, p. 20, 836 So.2d at 28; City of Pineville v. American Fed'n of State, County and Mun. Employees, AFL-CIO, Local 3352, 2000-1983, p. 4 (La.6/29/01), **9 791 So.2d 609, 612. While Louisiana's Habitual Offender Law prohibits probation or suspension of sentence for any sentence imposed under its provisions, the more specific statute, which applies solely to operating a vehicle while intoxicated, specifically provides "notwithstanding any other provision of law to the contrary ... the remainder of the sentence shall be suspended...." Not only is La.Rev.Stat. 14:98 the statute specifically directed to DWI third offenders, but the plain language of that statute instructs the sentencing court in no uncertain terms that it must not stray from the sentencing provisions contained in that statute, even in the event those terms conflict with other provisions of law.
A criminal statute must be given a genuine construction consistent with the plain meaning of the language in light of its context and with reference to the purpose of the provision. La.Rev.Stat. 14:3; State v. Anders, 01-556, p. 3 (La.6/21/02), 820 So.2d 513, 515. Moreover, it is a well-established tenet of statutory construction that criminal statutes are subject to strict construction under the rule of lenity. State v. Carr, 99-2209, p. 4 (La.5/26/00), 761 So.2d 1271, 1274. The rule of lenity applies not only to interpretations of the substantive ambit of criminal laws, but also to the penalties imposed by those laws. Piazza, 596 So.2d at 820, (citing Bifulco v. United States, 447 U.S. 381, 100 S.Ct. 2247, 65 L.Ed.2d 205 (1980)). When a criminal statute provides inconsistent penalties, the rule of lenity directs the court to impose the least severe penalty. Piazza, 596 So.2d at 820. It naturally follows that in giving a genuine construction consistent with the plain language of La.Rev.Stat. 14:98 D(1), and keeping in mind the strict construction mandated under the rule of lenity, the defendant's sentence cannot be enhanced without benefit of suspension pursuant to La.Rev.Stat. 15:529.1. The plain language of La.Rev.Stat. 14:98 D(1) mandates a suspended sentence and treatment for the substance abuse disorder, notwithstanding **10 any other provision of law to the contrary.
The provisions of La.Rev.Stat. 14:98 B(1) cannot be harmonized with La.Rev.Stat. 15:529.1 A(1)(b) and G. In accordance with the intent evidenced by the Legislature in enacting 2001 La. Acts 1163, and the principle that the statute specifically directed to the matter at issue should prevail as an exception to the statute more general in character, we find the district court correctly applied the sentencing provisions of La.Rev.Stat. 14:98.
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