Newkirk v. Nothwehr6/23/2005
Anthony Paul Newkirk (petitioner) challenges the denial of his request to allow a jury to find a prior conviction. Petitioner contends that Derendal v. Griffith, 209 Ariz. 416, 104 P.3d 147 (2005), resurrected the right to a jury trial on allegations of prior convictions. For the following reasons, we accept jurisdiction and deny relief.
FACTUAL AND PROCEDURAL HISTORY
Petitioner was charged with driving under the influence . The state filed an allegation of a prior conviction. Petitioner requested a jury trial on the allegation of prior conviction. The trial court denied the request. Petitioner then filed this special action.
JURISDICTION
The acceptance of jurisdiction in a special action is discretionary. King v. Superior Court, 138 Ariz. 147, 149, 673 P.2d 787, 789 (1983) (citations omitted). We may accept special action jurisdiction when there is no other means of obtaining justice, id. (citing Nataros v. Superior Court of Maricopa County, 113 Ariz. 498, 557 P.2d 1055 (1976)), or where the issue is one of statewide importance, Citizens Clean Elections Comm'n v. Myers, 196 Ariz. 516, 517, 1 P.3d 706, 707 (2000).
Petitioner relies on Derendal to support his request for special action relief. The Arizona Supreme Court decided Derendal in January 2005. The issue is one of first impression that may have an impact on other cases. In addition, special action jurisdiction is appropriate to determine if there is a right to a jury trial. Campbell v. Superior Court, 186 Ariz. 526, 527, 924 P.2d 1045, 1046 (App. 1996) (citing Mungarro v. Riley, 170 Ariz. 589, 590, 826 P.2d 1215, 1216 (App. 1991)). We therefore accept jurisdiction.
DISCUSSION
According to petitioner, defendants are entitled to jury trials on allegations of prior convictions. Arizona Revised Statutes (A.R.S.) § 13-604(P) (2004) provides that a prior conviction is to be found by the court. See also Ariz. R. Crim. P. 19.1(b)(2) (stating that trial court shall determine allegation or prior conviction). In State v. Quinonez, 194 Ariz. 18, 20, 12, 976 P.2d 267, 269 (App. 1999), we upheld the constitutionality of A.R.S. § 13-604(P) and clarified that prior conviction trials were no longer jury eligible.
In Quinonez, the defendant requested a jury trial on an allegation of a historical prior felony conviction, and the trial court denied the request under A.R.S. § 13-604(P). Id. at 19, 3, 976 P.2d at 268. The defendant argued that A.R.S. § 13-604(P) violated his constitutional right to a jury trial under the Sixth Amendment to the United States Constitution as well as Article 2, Section 24 of the Arizona Constitution. Id. at 4 (citation omitted). The court noted that the defendant had tradition on his side because, from at least 1887 to the 1996 amendment to A.R.S. § 13-604(P), Arizona granted a jury trial on an allegation of prior convictions to criminal defendants. Id. at 5 (citing State v. Armstrong, 103 Ariz. 174, 179-81, 438 P.2d 411, 416-18 (1968) (Bernstein, J., dissenting), vacated on other grounds, 103 Ariz. 280, 440 P.2d 307 (1968), and Arizona Penal Code of 1887, § 1714)). The court noted that the majority in Armstrong agreed that the state constitutional provision guaranteeing the right to a jury trial was violated where a trial judge refused a defendant's request for a jury trial on an allegation of a prior conviction. Id. at 6 (citing Armstrong, 103 Ariz. at 177, 438 P.2d at 414). Although Armstrong's reference to the constitution seemed to support the defendant's argument, Quinonez noted that the reference is dictum because in Armstrong the defendant admitted the prior conviction. Id.
The Quinonez cou
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