State v. Pledger

In State v. Pledger, 703 Ariz. Adv. Rep. 21 (Ct. App. Jan. 8, 2015), the Court considered whether the sentence enhancement found under 13-1204(E) required the defendant to have knowledge of the victim's status as a peace officer. The Court noted that under other, related offenses, our legislature explicitly requires the defendant to have knowledge of the victim's status as a peace officer. Id.10, citing A.R.S. 13-1204(A)(8)(a) (aggravated assault against victim known to be peace officer), 13-2508(A) (resisting arrest by "a person reasonably known . . . to be a peace officer"); see also Gamez, 227 Ariz. 445,27, 258 P.3d at 267 ("Statutes that . . . relate to the same subject matter or have the same general purpose as one another . . . should be construed together as though they constitute one law."). In contrast, 13-1204(E) "does not impose a mens rea requirement regarding the status of the victim as a peace officer." Pledger, 703 Ariz. Adv. Rep. 21,10. Thus, the Court concluded "our legislature has expressed its determination that aggravated assault committed with a deadly weapon against a peace officer is an offense serious enough to warrant classification as a class two felony, irrespective of whether the defendant knew the victim was a peace officer." Id.12.