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STATE of Idaho, Plaintiff-Respondent, v. Steven K. ROSS, Defendant-Appellant

Idaho Supreme Court1996-09-26No. No. 22425
129 Idaho 380924 P.2d 1224

Summary

Holding. The court affirmed the judgment of conviction and sentences, holding that civil forfeitures do not violate the Fifth Amendment's Double Jeopardy Clause and that the sentences imposed were not unreasonable under Idaho law.

Steven Ross appealed his convictions for drug delivery, money laundering, and tax evasion, challenging whether a prior civil forfeiture action violated his double jeopardy rights and whether his sentences were excessive or violated the Eighth Amendment's excessive fines clause. The Idaho Supreme Court rejected the double jeopardy claim, relying on U.S. Supreme Court precedent establishing that civil forfeitures do not constitute punishment triggering double jeopardy protections. The court declined to consider Ross's alternative argument based on the state constitution because he failed to demonstrate it provided broader protection than the federal guarantee.

Regarding sentencing, the court found no abuse of discretion. Ross received concurrent terms totaling a fifteen-year fixed sentence alongside substantial fines across the three convictions. The court applied the standard four-part sentencing framework—public safety, deterrence, rehabilitation, and retribution—and determined that reasonable jurists could support the imposed penalties given the facts and circumstances. The court also rejected the excessive fines challenge as inadequately preserved for appeal and not amounting to fundamental error.

Summary generated by law.co from the public-domain opinion. The opinion text itself is public domain.

Key issues

  • Whether prior civil forfeiture violates double jeopardy protections under the Fifth Amendment
  • Whether sentences were unreasonable under state law sentencing standards
  • Whether sentences violated the Eighth Amendment's excessive fines clause
  • Preservation of conditional plea without written documentation

Procedural posture

This appeal arose from a conditional guilty plea and conviction on three felony counts, with the defendant challenging the conviction and imposed sentences on multiple constitutional and statutory grounds.

Authorities cited

No cited authorities resolved to law.co cases yet.

Opinion

majority opinion

PER CURIAM.

This is an appeal from a conditional plea of guilty and from the resulting judgment of conviction and sentences for the offenses of delivery of a controlled substance (I.C. § 37-2732(a)(1)(A)), money laundering (I.C. § 18-8201), and failure to pay income tax (I.C. § 63-3022).

Ross raises the following issues on appeal:

1. Were his convictions for delivery of a controlled substance and for money laundering barred by the doctrine of double jeopardy due to the prior civil forfeiture of his property in actions brought under I.C. § 37-2744?

2. Were his sentences unreasonable in light of the facts and circumstances of the case and his criminal record?

8. Were his sentences a violation of the excessive fines provision of the Eighth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution?

We note initially that Ross did not enter his conditional plea in writing, as required by I.C.R. 11(a)(2), although the trial court noted that the plea was a conditional plea at the time it was offered. For the purpose of this opinion, we assume, but do not decide, that this was sufficient to preserve the issue of double jeopardy.

After a review of the briefs and record on appeal, the Court concludes as follows:

1. With regard to Ross’s Fifth Amendment claim of double jeopardy, the United States Supreme Court recently determined that civil forfeitures in general, and specifically in cases involving money laundering and drug statutes, do not constitute “punishment” for purposes of the Double Jeopardy Clause. United States v. Ursery, - U.S. -, 116 S.Ct. 2135, 135 L.Ed.2d 549 (1996). Therefore, there was no double jeopardy under the Fifth Amendment.

2. Ross did not differentiate his argument under the Double Jeopardy Clause of the Fifth Amendment from his double jeopardy argument under Article 1, § 13 of the Idaho Constitution. Because Ross did not seek a greater scope of protection under the state constitution than he did under the Fifth Amendment, we will not consider Ross’s state constitutional claim. State v. Wheaton, 121 Idaho 404, 406-07, 825 P.2d 501, 503-04 (1992).

3. Ross did not raise the excessive fines argument before the district court, and, therefore, did not preserve this issue for appeal. See Idaho Dep’t of Law Enforcement v. Free, 126 Idaho 422, 885 P.2d 381 (1994). Therefore, we will not address this issue because an excessive fine would not constitute fundamental error. State v. Sarabia, 125 Idaho 815, 818-19, 875 P.2d 227, 230-31 (1994).

4. Ross’s sentences were not unreasonable. The trial court imposed the following sentences on Ross: (1) delivery of a controlled substance: a $25,000 fine and a thirty-year prison term with fifteen years fixed; (2) money laundering: a $25,000 fine and a ten-year prison term with five years fixed; (3) failure to pay income taxes: a $5,000 fine and a five-year prison term with two years fixed. The prison terms all run concurrently.

Using the fixed term of fifteen years as the term of confinement for the purposes of appellate review, we must determine whether, without substituting our view for that of the trial court where reasonable minds might differ, the sentences were excessive under any reasonable view of the facts. In making this determination we consider: (1) the protection of society, (2) deterrence of Ross and others, (3) the possibility of Ross’s rehabilitation, and (4) punishment or retribution for Ross. Sarabia, 125 Idaho at 819, 875 P.2d at 231.

We conclude that reasonable minds might differ whether fifteen years, or some lesser fixed terms, is necessary to fulfill the objectives of sentencing. Therefore, we conclude that Ross’s sentence is not unreasonable.

We affirm the judgment of conviction and sentences.