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City of Chattanooga v. Davis9/4/2001
the fine was not compensatory, and because Barrett was not given a subsequent opportunity to reduce or avoid the fine, we must hold that even this fine was predominantly punitive in its actual purpose and effect and subject to Article VI, section 14.
Summary
To summarize our conclusions in Barrett's case, we hold that the assessment for the violation of the stop-work order was imposed with the actual purpose and effect of serving as punishment. Although such prospectively coercive fines may be remedial in nature if the defendant is given an opportunity to purge the fine, the court gave Barrett no such opportunity, thereby demonstrating that the purpose of the fine was to punish a violation and not to remedy its effects. We further conclude that because the assessments for the remaining four violations were likewise primarily punitive in their actual purpose and effect, these pecuniary sanctions are also subject to limitation under Article VI, section 14. Therefore, because the Davidson County General Sessions Court, like the Chattanooga City Court, has not been given the authority to empanel a jury for any reason, its ability to assess punitive fines is necessarily limited by Article VI, section 14 to fines not exceeding fifty dollars. We therefore reduce each of Barrett's five fines to fifty dollars for each warrant. See Huffman, 200 Tenn. at 501, 292 S.W.2d at 744; Christian, 184 Tenn. at 165, 197 S.W.2d at 797-98.
The judgment of the Court of Appeals is reversed.
II. REMAINING ISSUES RAISED IN CITY OF CHATTANOOGA v. DAVIS
Although our resolution of the issues pertaining to Article VI, section 14 has resolved the issues raised in Barrett's case, Davis has raised three additional issues for our consideration: (1) whether Tennessee Code Annotated section 6-54-306 violates Article VI, section 14; (2) whether Tennessee Code Annotated sections 6-54-306 and 55-10-307 violate Article XI, section 8 of the Tennessee Constitution, either on their face or as applied to this case; and (3) whether Tennessee Code Annotated section 55-10-307 impermissibly infringes upon the authority of the Hamilton County District Attorney as set forth in Article VI, section 5 of the Tennessee Constitution and Tennessee Code Annotated section 8-7-103. We address each of these issues in turn.
A. CONSTITUTIONALITY OF TENNESSEE CODE ANNOTATED SECTION 6-54-306 UNDER ARTICLE VI, SECTION 14
Davis first alleges that Tennessee Code Annotated section 6-54-306 is unconstitutional as enacted because it authorizes home-rule municipalities to assess penalties, without prior assessment by a jury, in excess of the fifty-dollar limitation of Article VI, section 14. He also argues that even if the statute is constitutional, its application in this case violated Article VI, section 14. We disagree that the statute is either unconstitutional on its face or, given our holding that Article VI, section 14 applies to proceedings involving a municipal ordinance violation, unconstitutional in its application.
Tennessee Code Annotated section 6-54-306 "empowers" home-rule municipalities "to set maximum penalties of thirty (30) days imprisonment and/or monetary penalties and forfeitures up to five hundred dollars ($500), or both, to cover administrative expenses incident to correction of municipal violations." Taking the facial challenge to the statute first, it is clear that section 6-54-306 does not amount to a per se violation of Article VI, section 14. Although counsel for the City of Chattanooga argued in the criminal court proceeding that this statute confers a power to punish, that interpretation is clearly contrary to the express language of the statute, which
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