FOR PUBLICATION
ATTORNEY FOR APPELLANT: ATTORNEYS FOR APPELLEE:
JANET S. DOWLING JEFFREY A. MODISETT
Indianapolis, Indiana Attorney General of Indiana
PRISCILLA J. FOSSUM
Deputy Attorney General
Indianapolis, Indiana
GARRY MOORE, )
)
Appellant-Defendant, )
)
vs. ) No. 49A02-9703-CR-160
)
STATE OF INDIANA, )
)
Appellee-Plaintiff. )
OPINION - FOR PUBLICATION
he responded that he wanted to buy a $20.00 rock of cocaine. Boster went to the front porch
of the house where Moore was sitting. Moore pulled a bag from his pocket and handed her
a rock that appeared to be cocaine. Boster took the rock to Nelson, who gave her $20.00
which she carried back to Moore. The rock was later determined to contain .1864 grams of
crack cocaine.
Three days later, Nelson returned to Moore's residence and engaged in a virtually
identical transaction. The rock purchased in this transaction was later determined to contain
.2152 grams of cocaine. Odier witnessed these transactions from a window in Washington
Elementary School where he had set up a video camera. Both transactions were videotaped.
mechanical application of the Blockburger test will seldom result in two offenses being the
same" and, thus, "leaves a defendant with little double jeopardy protection."
The issue Moore presents is one of first impression. Recently, our supreme court
decided the cases of Games v. State, 684 N.E.2d 466 (Ind. 1997) and Grinstead v. State, 684
N.E.2d 482 (Ind. 1997) which held that when an Indiana court is presented with a federal
double jeopardy claim, it must apply the federal standard as articulated in Dixon, 509 U.S.
at 704, 113 S. Ct. at 2860, 125 L. Ed. 2d at 573. That test, known as the "same elements"
test, requires that we look only to the statutory elements of the offenses, not to the
information, the jury instructions outlining the elements of the crime or the underlying proof
needed to establish the elements. Games, 684 N.E.2d at 477; Grinstead, 684 N.E.2d at 486.See footnote
3
Our supreme court recently reaffirmed these holdings in Carter v. State, 686 N.E.2d 834, 837
(Ind. 1997).
After Games
and Grinstead were issued, this court decided several cases that have
since been vacated in which the appellants argued that Indiana had previously adopted its
own double jeopardy analysis under the Indiana Constitution. Compare Richardson v. State,
687 N.E.2d 241 (Ind. Ct. App. 1997), trans. granted, (proper inquiry into alleged violations
of double jeopardy clause of Indiana Constitution is essentially the same as that under the
federal constitution) with Valentin v. State, 685 N.E.2d 1100 (Ind. Ct. App. 1997) (Dixon
has not changed Indiana double jeopardy analysis which requires an examination of the jury
instructions and informations), rev'd. (Court of Appeals erred in deciding Indiana double
jeopardy issue because it was not raised by defendant) and Thorpe v. State, 686 N.E.2d 1296
(Ind. Ct. App. 1997) (Indiana double jeopardy analysis has not changed and requires an
examination of the jury instructions and informations) rev'd. (Court of Appeals erred in
deciding Indiana double jeopardy issue because it was not raised by defendant). However,
this is the first case before this Court in which an appellant has squarely presented the issue
of whether Indiana should adopt its own double jeopardy analysis.
Moore makes a cogent argument that the "same concerns which sparked a departure
from Blockburger" dictate that Indiana should adopt its own double jeopardy analysis. He
then goes on to claim that the Indiana Constitution should be interpreted in a manner which
safeguards a defendant's jeopardy rights and avoids the harsh results of a strict application
of Blockburger.
Article 1 § 14 of the Indiana Constitution states that "no person shall be put in
jeopardy twice for the same offense." This language is slightly different from that found in
the Fifth Amendment of the United States Constitution which provides that "[n]o person
shall be subject to the same offense or be twice put in jeopardy of life or limb." However,
the difference in language is insignificant, and the analysis under each of these clauses has
been essentially the same since Elmore v. State, 269 Ind. 532, 382 N.E.2d 893 (1978). Thus,
we find nothing in the text of the Indiana Constitution which supports Moore's contention
that Indiana requires a separate analysis.
In addition, both clauses have been interpreted to provide the same protections.
Double jeopardy protects "against successive prosecutions following conviction,
reprosecution after acquittal, and multiple punishments for the same offense." Games, 684
N.E.2d at 473 (citing North Carolina v. Pearce, 395 U.S. 711, 89 S. Ct. 2072, 23 L. Ed. 2d
656 (1969)). Like the defendant in Games, Moore bases his appeal on the third protection
and claims that his convictions for both conspiracy to deal in cocaine and dealing in cocaine
violate the prohibition against multiple punishments for the same offense.
The phrase "same offense" appears in the text of both the state and federal double
jeopardy clauses. The dispute over the proper test to determine whether double jeopardy has
been violated has turned on the definition of that phrase. In Dixon, Justice Scalia
incorporated his dissent in Grady v. Corbin, 495 U.S. 508, 110 S. Ct. 1032, 109 L. Ed. 2d
548 (1990). Dixon, 509 U.S. 688, 704, 113 S. Ct. at 2860, 125 L. Ed. 2d at 573. In that
dissent, Justice Scalia discussed the meaning of the term "offense," and stated that at the time
the Fifth Amendment to the United States Constitution was drafted and adopted, the term
"offense" was commonly understood to mean "transgression" which was defined as the
violation or breaking of a law. Grady, 495 U.S. at 529, 110 S. Ct. 2097, 109 L. Ed. 2d at
569. Under that definition, it is possible to commit two offenses during one act. As such,
the double jeopardy clause of the United States Constitution has been "interpreted since its
inception . . . to permit a prosecution based upon the same acts but for a different crime." Id.
at 526, 110 S. Ct. at 2096, 109 L. Ed. 2d at 569. Because the definition of what constitutes
an offense is the province of the legislature, the Blockburger test was developed to assist the
court in determining the legislative intent when it is not clear from the face of the statutes
themselves. See id.; see also Games, 684 N.E.2d at 474. Therefore, the ultimate protection
afforded by the double jeopardy clause is that a defendant will not be punished twice for the
same offense, as established by the legislature, not that the defendant will not be punished
for several offenses resulting from the same act.
The two-prong test approved by Grady and utilized in Indiana until Games and
Grinstead produced untenable results because of the inconsistency inherent in its application.
For example, a defendant charged with conspiracy to commit a crime based on an overt act
that is not listed in the information charging the defendant with the crime itself can be
convicted of both crimes without violating double jeopardy. However, the defendant who
is charged with an overt act in furtherance of a conspiracy that is also listed as an act in the
commission of the crime itself cannot be convicted of both crimes without violating double
jeopardy. Thus, under this test, the constitutional rights of the accused are dependent on the
writing skill of the prosecutor and not on whether the legislature intended that the defendant
be punished for two separate offenses arising out of the same act. Moore may be correct in
his assertion that strict application of the Blockburger test will seldom result in two identical
offenses. However, a strict application of the test will yield clear and consistent results,
unlike the two-prong test he advocates. Therefore, we conclude that the better alternative is
to remain consistent with federal double jeopardy analysis and utilize the Blockburger "same
elements" test when our courts are asked to analyze double jeopardy claims under the Indiana
Constitution.
In the present case, Moore, concedes that conspiracy to deal in cocaine and dealing
in cocaine each contain an element that the other does not.See footnote
4
Accordingly we conclude that
Moore's convictions for both conspiracy to deal in cocaine and dealing in cocaine do not
violate double jeopardy under the Indiana Constitution.
As an additional matter, Moore contends that his convictions for both possession of
cocaine and dealing in cocaine violate double jeopardy even under the "same elements" test.
An examination of the statutory elements of these two offenses shows that possession of
cocaine is a lesser included offense of dealing in cocaine because the dealing statute requires
proof of possession. Therefore, we remand to the trial court to vacate the conviction for
possession of cocaine in that it is a lesser included offense of dealing in cocaine. See Molino
v. State, 546 N.E.2d 1216, 1219 (Ind. 1989).
§ 35-38-7-7.1; see also Concepcion v. State, 567 N.E.2d 784, 790 (Ind. 1991). This court
will revise a sentence authorized by statute only where the sentence is manifestly
unreasonable in light of the nature of the offense and the character of the offender.
Ind.Appellate Rule 17(B).
At the sentencing hearing the trial court found as aggravating factors that Moore has
a prior criminal history including an arrest for possession of a handgun without a license in
1995, followed by a conviction after his arrest in this case; robbery with a deadly weapon in
1986; and receiving stolen property in 1982. In addition, the court found that Moore has a
history of failure of rehabilitation or being successful on any type of probation or parole and
was in need of correctional rehabilitative treatment provided by commitment to a penal
facility and that the type of acts that occurred and the location of these acts could have
possibly endangered children and, thus, a reduction of his sentence would depreciate the
seriousness of the crime. The court found no mitigating factors and sentenced Moore to
forty-five years on each count to be served concurrently.
The presumptive term for a class A felony is thirty years. Ind. Code § 35-50-2-4.
That term may be enhanced by an additional twenty years based on a finding of aggravating
circumstances.
Id. Although Moore claims that several of the aggravators listed by the trial
court were improper, he concedes that a single aggravator may support an enhanced
sentence. See Smith v. State, 675 N.E.2d 693 (Ind. 1996); Woods v. State, 654 N.E.2d 1153
(Ind. 1995). Moore also concedes that based on his prior criminal history, "some
enhancement may be warranted." See
Ind. Code § 35-38-1-7.1(b)
(defendant's criminal
history is a proper aggravator). Because the trial court properly considered Moore's prior
criminal history as an aggravating circumstance, we do not address the propriety of the other
aggravators and conclude that the trial court did not abuse its discretion when it sentenced
Moore to an enhanced term of forty-five years.
Affirmed in part, reversed in part and remanded.
BAKER, J., and RILEY, J., concur.
Converted from WP6.1 by the Access Indiana Information Network