Chen v. State

803 A.2d 518

370 Md. 99

Zi Qiang CHEN v. STATE of Maryland.

No. 124, Sept. Term 2001.

Court of Appeals of Maryland.

July 19, 2002.

Amy E. Brennan, Asst. Public Defender (Stephen E. Harris, Public Defender, and Nancy S. Forster, Deputy Public Defender, on brief) Baltimore, for petitioner.

Gary E. Bair, Asst. Atty. Gen. (J. Joseph Curran, Jr., Atty. Gen. of Maryland, on brief) Baltimore, for respondent.

Argued Before BELL, C.J., ELDRIDGE, RAKER, WILNER, CATHELL, HARRELL, BATTAGLIA, JJ.

BATTAGLIA, J.

We issued a writ of certiorari in this case to determine whether Maryland Code (1988, 1997 Repl.Vol.) Section 12-305(a) of the Tax-General Article, which prohibits the possession of unstamped cigarettes, contains a penalty provision, and whether a person must intentionally violate a known legal duty in order to be guilty of willfully transporting unstamped cigarettes in violation of Section 13-1015 of the Tax-General Article. We determine that the penalty provision for possession of unstamped cigarettes in violation of Section 12-305(a) is found in Section 13-1014 of the Tax-General Article. In addition, we find that willfully transporting unstamped cigarettes requires that an individual intended to transport the unstamped cigarettes; the statute does not require the individual to have personal knowledge of the fact that he or she is violating the law. Accordingly, we affirm the decision of the Court of Special Appeals.

I. Facts

On July 11, 2000, Agents of the Field Enforcement Division of the Maryland Comptroller of the Treasury were surveilling the New Church, Virginia area near the border with Worcester County, Maryland, to identify individuals who were purchasing large quantities of cigarettes in Virginia and transporting them into Maryland without the required Maryland stamp evidencing payment of the tax imposed on cigarettes in violation of Maryland Code (1988, 1997 Repl.Vol.) Sections 12-305(a) and 13-1015 of the Tax-General Article. At approximately 4:05 p.m. that day, Agent Timothy Kane spotted a white van with North Carolina license plates parked under the rear canopy of a tobacconist shop called the Peace Token, located on Route 13 a few miles south of Maryland's border with Virginia. Twenty minutes later, Agent Kane observed a man later identified as petitioner, Zi Qiang Chen, rearrange items in the passenger compartment, lock the door, open the tailgate, remove several large, black trash bags, close the door, and enter the Peace Token through a rear entrance. Approximately ten minutes later, Agent Kane watched as petitioner returned to the van carrying a large black trash bag, which judging from its shape, Agent Kane believed contained cases of cigarettes. Petitioner placed the trash bag in the rear of the van.

Petitioner left the Peace Token and drove northbound to the Royal Farms Store located at 2497 Lankford Highway in New Church. Agent Anthony Hatcher observed petitioner leave the Store with a hand cart containing four cases of cigarettes. Agent Hatcher saw petitioner place the cases of cigarettes in black trash bags, load them into the rear of the van, and cover them. Thereafter, petitioner left the Royal Farms Store and made a quick stop across the street at the Dixieland Exxon gas station and discount cigarette store before continuing to drive north on Route 13.

Agent Kane, accompanied by two other agents, followed petitioner as he crossed into Maryland from Virginia. After approximately ten minutes, Agent Kane activated his emergency equipment and stopped petitioner at the intersection of Route 13 and Perry Road in Somerset County, Maryland. Agent Kane gave the following description of the traffic stop:

I approached the vehicle and identified myself as an agent of the Field Enforcement Division of the Comptroller of the Treasury. I explained to Mr. Chen that I had a reasonable belief that he was transporting cigarettes into Maryland and asked Mr. Chen if he had cigarettes in the vehicle. Mr. Chen replied, "Yes, I have cigarettes." I then asked Mr. Chen if he had any paperwork allowing him to transport these cigarettes. Mr. Chen replied, "I speak little English, but I have cigarettes." Mr. Chen was then asked to exit his vehicle and to stand at the rear of his vehicle. Again Mr. Chen was asked if he had any form of paperwork allowing him to transport his load of cigarettes. Mr. Chen replied, "I don't understand, I have cigarettes."

Petitioner consented to having his vehicle searched by the agents. When the agents opened the tailgate of the van, they found several large black trash bags filled with numerous cases of cigarettes bearing Virginia tax stamps concealed underneath a multi-colored tarp. The agents arrested petitioner at the scene for unlawfully possessing and transporting unstamped cigarettes in Maryland. A subsequent search of petitioner's van at the police barracks in Somerset County revealed 7,190 packs of cigarettes with a total value of $10,471.00. The tax owed to the State of Maryland on these cigarettes totaled $2,145.00.

Petitioner was charged in a criminal information with possession of unstamped cigarettes in violation of Maryland Code (1988, 1997 Repl.Vol.) Section 12-305(a) of the Tax-General Article and with transportation of unstamped cigarettes in violation of Section 13-1015 of the Tax-General Article. On September 7, 2000, petitioner filed a motion to dismiss the case, or in the alternative, to suppress the evidence seized from his van. At the motions hearing held on December 18, 2000, petitioner challenged the constitutionality of Section 12-305(a) of the Tax-General Article, arguing that a person of ordinary intelligence could not ascertain what conduct is permitted or prohibited under the statute. Petitioner also asserted that he was not "transporting" the cigarettes within the meaning of the word as used in Section 13-1015 of the Tax-General Article, nor were the cigarettes at issue "unstamped" as set forth in Section 12-305(a) of the Tax-General Article. The trial court found no merit in petitioner's arguments and concluded that the agents had probable cause to stop and search petitioner's van. Accordingly, the trial court denied petitioner's motions. Thereafter, petitioner entered a plea of not guilty to both counts and elected to be tried by the court.

On January 10, 2001, the case proceeded to trial on an agreed statement of facts. The statement contained the following summary of that which petitioner would have testified:

The defendant would testify that he was traveling through the State of Maryland on his way to another state when he was stopped by the Maryland agents. And his testimony would further be that at no time were the cigarettes intended for use, distribution or sale into or within the State of Maryland.

The trial court found petitioner guilty on both counts and merged the counts for sentencing purposes. The court imposed a fine of five dollars per each carton of cigarettes for a total of $3,595.00 plus court costs of $448.00 and a public defender's fee of $257.00.

On January 18, 2001, petitioner filed an appeal with the Court of Special Appeals, asserting that Section 12-305 of the Tax-General Article has no effect because it lacks a penalty provision and that the State failed to produce evidence at trial which demonstrated that he knew that transporting unstamped cigarettes into Maryland was illegal. The Court of Special Appeals found petitioner's assertion that Section 12-305 was without force or effect because it does not contain a penalty provision was unmeritorious. See Chen v. State, 141 Md.App. 123, 135, 784 A.2d 641, 648 (2001). The court concluded that the penalty provision for Section 12-305 of the Tax-General Article is set forth in Section 13-1014 of the Tax-General Article. Id. at 133-34, 784 A.2d at 647. With regard to the willfulness of the possession or transportation of unstamped cigarettes, the Court of Special Appeals relied on this Court's decision in Deibler v. State, 365 Md. 185, 776 A.2d 657 (2001) to conclude that the term "willfully" as used in Sections 13-1014 and 13-1015 of the Tax-General Article means that the conduct was purposeful, rather than inadvertent; willful conduct does not require a knowing violation of a legal duty. See id. at 142, 784 A.2d at 651.

We granted certiorari, Chen v. State, 368 Md. 239, 792 A.2d 1177 (2002) to consider the following questions:

1. Did the Court of Special Appeals err in concluding that the penalty provision for violating § 12-305(a) of the Tax-General Article which prohibits the "possession" of unstamped cigarettes, is found in § 13-1014 of the same article even though § 13-1014 specifically penalizes only "willful" possession of unstamped cigarettes?

2. Does the term "willful" as used in § 13-1015 of the Tax-General Article require an intentional violation of a known legal duty and if so, is the evidence sufficient to convict Mr. Chen of violating this statute?

For the reasons set forth below, we answer both questions in the negative and affirm the decision of the Court of Special Appeals.

II. Discussion

The sum and substance of petitioner's argument is that Section 12-305(a) of the Tax-General Article does not contain a penalty provision, and that there can be no crime where there is no punishment. Thus, petitioner contends that he could not be convicted for a violation under Section 12-305(a). We disagree, for we find that the penalty provision for a violation of Section 12-305(a) is set forth in Section 13-1014 of the same article.

An examination of the relevant statutory provisions and legislative history of the cigarette tax illustrates this point. The primary goal of statutory interpretation is to ascertain the legislature's intent in enacting the statute. See Beyer v. Morgan State University, 369 Md. 335, 349, 800 A.2d 707, 715 (2002); Oaks v. Connors, 339 Md. 24, 35, 660 A.2d 423, 429 (1995). When engaging in statutory interpretation, we look...