Reynolds v. State

1

2024 Vt Super 011801

Stanley Reynolds v. State of Vermont

No. 23-CV-02572

Superior Court of Vermont, Civil Division, Washington Unit

January 18, 2024

OPINION AND ORDER ON THE STATE'S MOTION FOR JUDGMENT ON THE PLEADINGS

Timothy B. Tomasi, Superior Court Judge

In this case, Plaintiff Stanley Reynolds seeks damages from the State of Vermont under Vermont's Innocence Protection Act, 13 V.S.A. §§ 5561-5585 (the "Act"), for a now-vacated sentence of imprisonment following his conviction for felony sexual assault. The State has filed a motion for judgment on the pleadings. It argues that the plain language of the Act, principally 13 V.S.A. § 5572 (right of action; procedure), demonstrates that Mr. Reynolds cannot be entitled to relief in this case. Mr. Reynolds, without addressing § 5572, argues that his complaint includes all allegations required by 13 V.S.A. § 5573 (complaint) and that no more is needed to have a viable claim. The Court makes the following determinations.

As the Vermont Supreme Court has explained, the question posed by a Vt. R. Civ. P. 12(c) motion for judgment on the pleadings '"is whether, once the pleadings are closed, the movant is entitled to judgment as a matter of law on the basis of the pleadings.' 'For the purposes of [a] motion [for judgment on the pleadings] all well pleaded factual allegations in the nonmovant's pleadings and all reasonable inferences that can be drawn therefrom are assumed to be true and all contravening assertions in the movant's pleadings are taken to be false.' 'A defendant may not secure judgment on the pleadings if contained therein are allegations that, if proved, would permit recovery.'" Island Indus., LLC v. Town of Grand Isle, 2021 VT 49, ¶ 10, 215 Vt. 162, 169 (citations omitted).

The "primary objective when construing a statute is to give effect to the intention of the Legislature.' In effectuating that intent, '[w]e examine the plain language of the statute, and if this language is clear and unambiguous, we enforce the statute according to its terms.'" Maple Run Unified Sch. Dist. v. Vermont Hum. Rts. Comm'n, 2023 VT 63, ¶ 13 (citations omitted). "As a corollary of this principle, we resort to other tools of statutory construction-such as legislative history-only if the plain language of the statute is unclear or ambiguous." In re 204 N. Ave. NOV, 2019 VT 52, ¶ 5, 210 Vt. 572, 575; see also H.H., 2020 VT 107, ¶ 18, 214 Vt. 1, 10 ("Where that statutory language is clear and unambiguous, we look no further.").

To properly interpret a statute, the Court "will not excerpt a phrase and follow what purports to be its literal reading without considering the provision as a whole, and proper construction requires the examination of the whole and every part of the statute." TD Banknorth, N.A. v Dep't of Taxes, 2008 VT 120, ¶ 15, 185 Vt. 45 53 (citation omitted); see also Ran-Mar, Inc. v. Town of Berlin, 2006 VT 117, ¶ 5, 181 Vt. 26, 29 ("We construe all parts of the statutory scheme together, where possible, as a harmonious whole, and '[w]e will avoid a construction that would render the legislation ineffective or irrational.'") (citations omitted).

Here, the parties agree that the controversy presented in this case is properly resolved on the plain language of the Act. Neither argues that the Act is unclear or ambiguous, requiring resort to collateral rules of construction or legislative history to determine its meaning.

The Act consists of 4 subchapters, the first two of which are of central importance to this case. Subchapter 1 (post-conviction DNA testing, 13 V.S.A. §§ 5561-5570) creates a process whereby one convicted of a qualifying crime may petition a court to require DNA testing of biological evidence from the criminal case. If the court grants the petition, and the testing produces evidence that undermines the conviction or sentence, the court is empowered to grant appropriate relief including, among other things, vacating the conviction, granting a new criminal trial, or granting a new sentencing hearing. See 13 V.S.A. § 5569(c).

Subchapter 2 (compensation for wrongful convictions, 13 V.S.A. §§ 5572-5578) creates a statutory cause of action for damages for certain "wrongful convictions." In particular, 13 V.S.A. § 5572(a) provides: "A person convicted and imprisoned for a crime of which the person was exonerated pursuant to this chapter shall have a cause of action for damages against the State." Section 5573 further requires such a claimant to allege in the complaint that: "(1) the complainant has been convicted of a felony crime, been sentenced to a term of imprisonment, and served at least six months of the sentence in a correctional facility; and (2) the complainant was exonerated through the complainant's conviction being reversed or vacated, the information or indictment being dismissed, the complainant being acquitted after a second or subsequent trial, or the granting of a pardon." 13 V.S.A. § 5573(a).

To be entitled to relief, the claimant then must prove by clear and convincing evidence that:

(1) The complainant was convicted of a felony crime, was sentenced to a term of imprisonment, and served at least six months of the sentence in a correctional facility.

(2)(A) the complainant's conviction was reversed or vacated, the complainant's information or indictment was dismissed, or the complainant was acquitted after a second or subsequent trial; or

(B) the complainant was pardoned for the crime for which he or she was sentenced.

(3) The complainant is actually innocent of the felony or felonies that are the basis for the claim. As used in this chapter, a person is "actually innocent" of a felony or felonies if he or she did not engage in any illegal conduct alleged in the charging documents for which he or she was charged, convicted, and imprisoned.

(4) The complainant did not fabricate evidence or commit or suborn perjury during any proceedings related to the crime with which he or she was charged.

13 V.S.A. § 5574(a).

The above provisions, thus, separately describe: (a) who may have a cause of action; (b) the necessary allegations in the complaint; and (c) what the claimant must prove to be entitled to a remedy.

There can be no doubt that Mr. Reynolds' complaint in this case includes the allegations required by 13 V.S.A. § 5573(a). It also includes allegations relevant to his ultimate burden of proof under § 5574(a): that he is actually innocent and neither fabricated evidence nor committed or suborned perjury. On that basis, he maintains that his claim satisfies the Act's requirements.

The State, however, focuses on 13 V.S.A. § 5572(a), which creates the cause of action and limits it to circumstances in which the claimant "was exonerated pursuant to this chapter" (Emphasis added.) Under that provision, to be qualified to seek damages, one must already have been: (1) exonerated, (2) pursuant to, (3) this chapter. Exonerated, or exoneration, is not expressly defined in the Act, but the meaning of the expression is apparent in 13 V.S.A. § 5573(a)(2), which requires the complaint to include the allegation that "the complainant was exonerated through the complainant's conviction being reversed or vacated, the information or indictment being dismissed, the complainant being acquitted after a second or subsequent trial, or the granting of a pardon." Exoneration, thus, refers to a conviction that was reversed or vacated, an information or indictment that was dismissed, acquittal at a second or subsequent trial, or a pardon.

The expression "pursuant to" means "in conformity with," "according to," or "in compliance with." Black's Law Dictionary (11th ed. 2019), pursuant to; Merriam-Webster Dictionary, pursuant to (online). The phrase plainly refers to a mechanism through which exoneration occurred prior to the filing of the complaint for damages. This "chapter" clearly refers to the entirety of the Act, Chapter 182 of Title 13.

Importantly, however, the only mechanism through which one might become "exonerated" of an underlying crime "pursuant to" the Act exists in subchapter 1-via a petition for DNA testing and a resulting change in the defendant's conviction. While there are certainly other independent vehicles through which a defendant may become exonerated, the Act itself provides no other avenue to achieve that result.

Plainly read, Section 5572 provides a statutory limitation on the persons who can seek compensation, and its provisions are not unclear or ambiguous. To bring an action for damages under the Act, a defendant must have been exonerated pursuant to the Act.

Other provisions of the Act, which are to be read in pari materia with Section 5572, lend support to that view. See State v. A.P., 2021 VT 90, ¶ 12, 216 Vt 76, 81 ("We do not read statutory language in isolation; we read and construe together the whole and every part of the statute, together with other statutes standing in pari materia with it, as parts of a unified statutory system."). Section 5576, specifically entitled "Limitati...