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State v. Myers12/4/2002
k's define prosecution as " criminal action; a proceeding instituted and carried on by due course of law, before a competent tribunal, for the purpose of determining the guilt or innocence of a person charged with a crime." The meaning of "criminal prosecution" must further be determined from the statutory context in which it is used. RCW 10.43.040 is a double jeopardy statute and "criminal prosecution" is used therein to mean a proceeding to constitute jeopardy under double jeopardy jurisprudence. . . .
. . . Referencing double jeopardy jurisprudence, we note the clause prohibits "multiple punishments for the same offense." Thus the double jeopardy aspects of our statute focuses on whether the prior proceeding amounts to "punishment."
Meshing the dictionary definition of "criminal prosecution" with its double jeopardy basis we understand "criminal prosecution" to include a proceeding instituted under the rules of law to determine the guilt or innocence of a person accused of a criminal act where such proceeding threatens punishment under double jeopardy jurisprudence. Id. at 944-45 (citation omitted and brackets in the original).
We disagree with the majority in Ivie. In our view, the analysis in the dissent is more compelling. In Justice Guy's dissenting opinion in Ivie, he implied that congressional intent and federal case law should be our guide in determining whether Article 15 non-judicial punishment amounts to a criminal conviction for the purpose of statutory analysis. Id. at 949 (Guy, J., dissenting). As discussed above, the legislative history of Article 15 clearly shows that Congress never intended non-judicial proceedings to be criminal prosecutions. See 1962 U.S.C.C.A.N. at 2380. Likewise, the United States Supreme Court has held in Middendorf that the fact that a proceeding may result in confinement or loss of liberty does not necessarily mean the proceeding is a criminal prosecution. 425 U.S. at 37.
For the foregoing reasons, we hold that the district court did not err by denying Myers's motion to dismiss the DUI charge. We further hold that, by its terms, a UCMJ Article 15 non-judicial proceeding does not amount to a criminal prosecution, and thus, cannot result in a "judgment of conviction" pursuant to HRS § 701-110(3). Accordingly, none of the circumstances barring state prosecution outlined in HRS § 701-112 was met.
IV. CONCLUSION
The district court's judgment is hereby affirmed.
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