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Raye v. Jones9/23/2003
3, 9, 7 P.3d at 102.
Relationship To Common Law Offenses
Because the constitutional right of trial by jury in our state is a reservation rather than a grant of a right, "those offenses linked to jury trial at common law at the time the constitution was adopted are protected by the constitutional guarantee." Benitez, 198 Ariz. at 93, 4, 7 P.3d at 102. Raye does not argue, however, that driving with liquor in the body is comparable to any common law offense that was traditionally triable to a jury. Therefore this part of the test does not trigger jury eligibility. See Rothweiler, 100 Ariz. at 42, 410 P.2d at 483 ("It is conceded that the offense of driving while under the influence of intoxicating liquor was not a common law offense.").
Severity Of Penalty
A violation of A.R.S. § 4-244(33) is a class one misdemeanor, A.R.S. § 4-246(B) (2002), for which the maximum punishment is a $2500 fine, A.R.S. § 13-802(A) (2001), and six months in jail. A.R.S. § 13-707(A)(1) (2001). Generally, the penalties for misdemeanors are not sufficiently severe to trigger jury eligibility. Benitez, 198 Ariz. at 94, 13, 7 P.3d at 103. For example, misdemeanors such as driving on a suspended license, disorderly conduct, and selling liquor to a minor are not jury eligible offenses. Id. (listing supreme court cases holding these offenses not jury eligible). See also Mungarro v. Riley, 170 Ariz. 589, 590, 826 P.2d 1215, 1216 (App. 1991) (holding that penalty of six months in jail and $2500 fine for false reporting to a law officer did not trigger jury eligibility, but the moral turpitude of the offense did).
In Benitez, our supreme court decided that the maximum penalties of six months incarceration and a $2500 fine were not severe enough to justify a right to a jury trial for the offense of driving a motor vehicle on a license suspended for an earlier DUI violation. 198 Ariz. at 94, 13, 7 P.3d at 103. Based on the analysis and guidance of our supreme court in Benitez, we conclude that the identical criminal penalties for the offense of underage drinking and driving are insufficient to trigger a right to trial by jury.
Raye urges us to consider that under A.R.S. § 28-3322 (Supp. 2002), a two year license suspension also results from a violation of § 4-244(33), in addition to the criminal penalties. He argues that the combination of the criminal and administrative penalties for underage drinking and driving are sufficiently severe to require a right to a jury trial. Our supreme court was presented with an analogous argument in Benitez, but the court did not consider the significance of suspension of a person's license to drive in the "severity of the penalty" portion of its analysis. 198 Ariz. at 96-97, 25-26, 7 P.3d at 105-06. The court limited the "severity of the penalty" analysis to the potential criminal penalties, and addressed suspension of a person's license to drive under the "grave consequences" portion of its analysis. See id. "Grave consequences" is one of the inquiries relevant to whether the moral quality of the offense merits a right to trial by jury. Following the supreme court's analytical framework, we similarly decline to consider the license suspension in this part of our analysis but instead address this administrative penalty under the "grave consequences" portion of our analysis.
Moral Quality
"Moral quality as an element of the test is satisfied where the offense either involves moral turpitude or causes such an impact on the defendant's life or liberty as to constitute sufficiently grave consequences as a matter of law." Benitez, 198 Ariz. at 95, 14, 7 P.3d at 104.
Moral Turpitude
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