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Martin v. Reinstein5/13/1999
commitment is necessary. See id. § 36-3714(C).
The Petitioners
Petitioners are several persons against whom the state has filed SVP petitions. Although the underlying facts of each Petitioner's claim differ slightly from the facts relating to others' claims, all contend that the SVP Act is wholly unconstitutional, both on its face and as applied. We focus here only on the facial challenges and do not decide the challenges to the Act as applied to any individual Petitioner. We therefore do not recite the facts of each Petitioner's case.
B. Procedural History
On January 12, 1998, the trial court heard oral argument on the issues raised in the petition. It denied Petitioners' requested relief. Petitioners filed a special action in the Arizona Supreme Court. Following oral argument, the court declined jurisdiction on March 18, 1998, with two Justices Dissenting. The Supreme Court denied Petitioners' Motion for Reconsideration on April 21, 1998.
On September 18, 1998, Petitioners filed their special action in this court, seeking relief. We heard oral argument on October 14, 1998, and accepted jurisdiction.
C. Special Action Jurisdiction
This Court has jurisdiction to hear and decide special actions and to grant relief. See A.R.S. § 12-120.21(A)(4) (1992); Ariz. R. P. Spec. Act. 1, 4; Vo v. Superior Court, 172 Ariz. 195, 198, 836 P.2d 408, 411 (App. 1992). The exercise of special action jurisdiction is appropriate if a case raises issues of first impression or involves purely legal questions, questions of public importance, or issues that are likely to arise again. See Andrade v. Superior Court, 183 Ariz. 113, 115, 901 P.2d 461, 463 (App. 1995). We generally accept special action jurisdiction "only in those cases in which 'Justice cannot be satisfactorily obtained by other means,'" Pompa v. Superior Court, 187 Ariz. 531, 533, 931 P.2d 431, 433 (App. 1997) (quoting King v. Superior Court, 138 Ariz. 147, 149, 673 P.2d 787, 789 (1983)), and may accept jurisdiction if doing so would conserve judicial resources. See id. All conditions are met here.
In this case, Petitioners are being held without bond in a maximum security wing of the Arizona State Hospital. They have no adequate remedy by appeal because there has been no final adjudication and other similarly situated inmates may be affected by the statute at issue here. See State v. Superior Court, 187 Ariz. 411, 414, 930 P.2d 488, 491 (App. 1996). Respondents nonetheless urge us not to accept jurisdiction of the case because the legislature has amended the SVP law since the trial court's hearings in this matter, and by doing so has mooted some of the Petitioners' claims. Specifically, the legislature has substituted the rules of civil procedure for the rules of criminal procedure and has moved the SVP Act from Title 13, the title encompassing Arizona's criminal statutes, to Title 36, the title involving mental health. See footnote 1, supra. These changes, Respondents argue, resolve most of Petitioners' complaints because the changes are presumed to apply retroactively to cover Petitioners' claims. See State v. Leonard, 151 Ariz. 1, 4, 725 P.2d 493, 496 (App. 1986) (procedural rules may apply retroactively unless retroactive application would impair vested rights); Allen v. Fisher, 118 Ariz. 95, 96, 574 P.2d 1314, 1315 (App. 1977) (same). Even if the changes do apply retroactively, however, this case still raises constitutional issues of first impression and statewide importance and thus is appropriate for review. See State v. Superior Court, 187 Ariz. at 414, 930 P.2d at 491.
Respondents also urge us not to take the case because issues will rem
Page 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 Arizona Personal Injury Attorneys
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