The Arizona Supreme Court ruled Thursday that a suspended Roman Catholic priest accused of misdemeanor sex crimes has a right to a jury trial because he faces lifetime registration as sex offender if convicted.The court's ruling sets statewide precedent, requiring that anyone accused of misdemeanors with "sexual motivation" receive jury trials. Defendants accused of other misdemeanors only have a right to a bench trial, in which a judge rules on guilt or innocence.
In writing the ruling, Justice Andrew Hurwitz referred to the 1995 bill passed by the Legislature that created the state's sex offender registration law.
"The importance the bill places on protecting the public from sex offenders reflects a legislative view that those who commit offenses with sexual motivation have engaged in more than simple petty offenses," Hurwitz wrote.
"We defer to the Legislature's determination that misdemeanor crimes involving sexual motivation are serious offenses and hold that when a special allegation of sexual motivation exposes a defendant to the possibility of sex offender registration, Article 2, Section 24 of our Constitution entitles the defendant to a trial by jury."
The long-awaited ruling overturns a previous ruling by the Arizona Court of Appeals that Monsignor Dale Fushek was not entitled to a jury trial because the possible sanction of sex offender registration was up to a judge's discretion and not required by law.
The ruling also should remove the last obstacle to Fushek's long-delayed trial on five counts of contributing to the delinquency of a minor, and one count each of assault and indecent exposure.
San Tan Justice of the Peace Sam Goodman granted Fushek a jury trial on the indecent exposure charge, but rejected his request for a jury trial on the other charges. That set off a series of appeals that culminated in Thursday's ruling by the state's highest court.
Once the second-highest ranking official in the Diocese of Phoenix, the charismatic Fushek arranged for the visit to Phoenix of Pope John Paul II and founded the Life Teen ministry for teenagers during his 20-year tenure as pastor of St. Timothy's Catholic Church in Mesa.
But Fushek was suspended in December 2004 when he was accused in a civil suit of performing a sex act on himself and watching as another priest sexually abused a teenaged boy in 1995. The Diocese eventually reached a $100,000 out of court settlement with the victim.
A year later, Fushek was charged with the misdemeanors that stem from his relationships with five teenaged boys between 1984 and 1993. One victim named in the complaint filed by the Maricopa County Attorney's Office died, forcing a charge to be dropped.
In the complaint, prosecutors allege Fushek acted with sexual motivation, exposing him to additional penalties beyond the potential six-month jail sentence on each charge, the ruling said.
The Diocese has been at odds with Fushek since Thanksgiving, when it says that he started violating the terms of his suspension by preaching under contract with the Praise and Worship Center in Mesa.
Fushek has presided over a series of non-denominational worship services that have drawn large crowds, despite a recommendation by the Diocese that Catholics refrain from attending.
The Diocese considers Fushek "a disobedient priest," while Fushek has said that he resigned from the church and no longer considers himself a priest. The Diocese said it's up to The Vatican in Rome to make that determination.
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