State v. FreemanState v. Freeman
- Reporters:
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- Before:
- Lockett
The opinion of the court was delivered by
Lockett, J.:
This is аn appeal by the State of Kansas in a criminal prosecution from an order of the district court dismissing two counts of a four-count indictment. This case was before the Supreme Court once before on a State’s appeal but was dismissed because this court lacked jurisdiction under
On June 19, 1982, a pickup truck driven by the defendant, James D. Freeman, II, was involved in a two-vehicle collision at the junction of Highways 81 and 24 in Cloud County. A passenger in the other vehicle, Edward Strecker, subsequently died. The State alleges Mr. Strecker died as a result of injuries received in the accident and that the accident was caused by the defendant. Defendant was originally charged in a complaint and information with one count of involuntary manslaughter (
On December 6, 1982, defendant was arraigned on all four counts. Defendant pleaded not guilty to counts one, two and four and guilty to count three, the charge of failing to yield the right-of-way. On December 22, 1982, the defendant filed a motion to dismiss counts one and two on the grounds that further prosecution of those two counts would be duplicitous in violation of
In Freeman I, we found that there was no jurisdiction to hear the appeal. We held that there is no statutory authority for the State to appeal from the dismissal in a criminal case of some of the counts of a multiple-count complaint, information or indictment while the cаse remains pending before the district court on a portion of the remaining counts which have not been dismissed nor finally resolved.
Our decision was received by the Clerk of the District Court of Cloud County on December 7, 1983. On December 9, 1983, the State filed a motion to dismiss the remaining count of speeding and to set the date for sentencing on the third count of failure to yield the right-of-way to which Freeman had previously pleaded. Freeman was ordered to appear on January 3, 1984, for sentencing. Freeman appeared by counsel and was fined $50.00 and costs. On January 30, 1984, the State filed its Notice of Appeal pursuant to
The right to appeal in a criminal case is strictly statutory and absent statutory authority there is no right to appeal. The statutes authorizing appeals by the prosecution in criminal actions are found at
“(1) From an order dismissing a complaint, information or indictment;
“(2) From an order arresting judgment;
“(3) Upon a question reserved.”
The Kansas Code of Criminal Procedure does not state a time limit for appeals by the prosecution under
“Except as otherwise provided by statute or rule of the supreme court, the statutes and rules governing procedure on appeals to an appellate court in civil cases shall apply to and govern appeals to an appellate court in criminal cases.”
Since there is no time limit delineated in
When was the judgment in Freeman I final? In City of Topeka v. Martin, 3 Kan. App. 2d 105, 590 P.2d 106 (1979), the Court of Appeals held that a sentence must be imposed or the imposition of sentence suspended in order to have a final appealable judgment. The court said:
“An order finding a defendant guilty is not an appealable order and may not be appealed until the defendant is sentenced or the imposition of sentence is suspended pursuant to 22-3608. State v. Woodbury, 133 Kan. 1, 298 Pac. 794 (1931); Roberts v. State, 197 Kan. 687, 689, 421 P.2d 48 (1966); 21 Am. Jur. 2d, Criminal Law § 525, p. 509; 24 C.J.S., Criminal Law §§ 1556, 1648, 1649, 1653.” 3 Kan. App. 2d at 105.
In State v. Lottman, 6 Kan. App. 2d 741, 633 P.2d 1178 (1981), the defendant appealed from a conviction by a jury of involuntary manslaughter. Lottman moved to suspend imposition of sentence pending appeal. The motion was granted, and he appealed. The Court of Appeals dismissed the appeal for lack of jurisdiction, citing Martin. The court said the appeal was interlocutory since no sentence had been imposed, and it had no jurisdiction to hear the case.
In Freeman I, this court characterized the State’s appeal from the dismissal of two counts of the multiple count complaint as an interlocutоry appeal, since the case had not been terminated in district court. We found that since final orders had not been entered, the district court still had juris diction over the case, and as long as the district court had jurisdiction, an appellate court had no jurisdiction.
The journal entry granting Freeman’s motion for dismissal of the counts one and two was filed January 10,1983. If the January 10 dismissal had been the final judgment in the case, the State’s appeal was required to be filed within 30 days. The State filed its
Freeman claims the State’s appeal is improper under
The rule was reiterated in
State v. Busse,
231 Kan. 108, 642 P.2d 972 (1982), where the appellee asserted that the issue was not one which should be properly considered as а question reserved. We did not agree. The issue before the court was whether a defendant in a criminal action may voluntarily waive the statutory protection of meeting a witness face to face provided by
There is no reason to believe that the question in the present case is not of statewide interest. The issue of whether a defendant can plead to a lesser charge contained in a complaint or information and then claim doublе jeopardy to avoid trial on a
Freeman claims this question has already been considered by this court and cites three cases for such proposition: (1) Jarrell v. State, 212 Kan. 171, 510 P.2d 127 (1973), which dealt with duplicitous charges. The court found three of the counts against the defendant duplicitous and vacated two of them. (2) State v. Garnes, 229 Kan. 368, 624 P.2d 448 (1981), which dealt with multiplicity. The court again found one of the charges against the defendant multiplicitous and set it aside. (3) State v. Becker, 1 Kan. App. 2d 671, 573 P.2d 1096 (1977), which dealt with double jeopardy. Becker pleaded guilty to traffic charges in district court. The county attorney had also filed other charges in district court stemming from the same incident. The court said the defendant was subjected to double jeopardy and reversed the decision of the trial court. None of these cases cited, however, consider this specific issue raised by the State in this appeal.
Freeman also claims he is entitled to discharge under
This issue was partially addressed in
State v. Grimes,
229 Kan. 143, 662 P.2d 143 (1981), in which Grimes claimed the State failed to comply with the Kansas speedy trial statute. (
Freeman, however, is in a different situation. He pleaded guilty to the charge of failure to yield the right-of-way at his arraignment. There was no need for a trial on that charge and the other counts were dismissed.
This state has held in a number of cases that a defendant waives his right to a speedy trial by a plea of guilty in the district court. Witt v. State, 197 Kan. 363, 416 P.2d 717 (1966); Cooper v. State, 196 Kan. 421, 411 P.2d 652 (1966); Moore v. Hand, 187 Kan. 260, 356 P.2d 809 (1960).
Kansas has not directly considered whether the right to a speedy trial applies to sentencing, but other states have said that it does not. In Com. v. Hill, 267 Pa. Super. 264, 406 A.2d 796 (1979), the court found that a delay of eleven months from conclusion of the defendant’s trial to sentencing did not deprive the defendant of the right to a speedy triаl. In Easley v. State, 564 S.W.2d 742 (Tex. Crim. App. 1978), the court said the right to a speedy trial applies to neither delays in sentencing nor the appellate process. In State v. Mick, 229 Kan. 157, 621 P.2d 1006 (1981), the court said:
“The case of Barker v. Wingo, 407 U.S. 514, 532, 33 L.Ed.2d 101, 92 S.Ct. 2182 (1972), sets forth the interests of an accused which the constitutional right to speedy trial is designed to protect. This right is designed to prevent oppressive pretrial incarceration, to minimize anxiety and concern of the accused, and to limit the possibility the defense of the accused will be impaired.” 229 Kan. at 159.
None of these factors are present after a defendant has pleaded guilty and is awaiting sentencing. Freeman cannot claim a denial of speedy trial. A delay of sentencing frоm a defendant’s plea or from a finding of guilty after a trial does not deprive a defendant of the right to a speedy trial.
Freeman argues the State’s charges against him were duplicitous and, having been placed in double jeopardy because the charges are duplicitous, he is entitled to dismissal of all untried charges. The terms “duplicitous” and “multiplicitous” have often been treated as synonymous. “Duplicity” in a criminal pleading is the joining of two or moi‘e distinct and separate offenses in a single count in a complaint or information. “Multiplicity” in a criminal pleading is the charging of a single offense in several counts of a cоmplaint or information. Freeman actually argues the charges are multiplicitous.
The double jeopardy clause of the Constitution of the United States protects against (1) a second prosecution for the same
In order to implement and define the constitutional guarantees of the double jeopardy clause, the Kansas legislature enacted two statutes: (1)
The fact that an accused is charged with multiplicitous crimes is not in and of itself a violation of the double jeopardy clause. The clause merely prevents a defendant from being punished more than once for the same crime.
In Arnold v. Wyrick, 646 F.2d 1225 (8th Cir. 1981), the defendant was charged with both first-degree robbery and armed criminal action. On appeal, he contended that since first-degree robbery was a lesser included offense of armed criminal action, charging him with both placed him in double jeopardy. The court disagreed. Although the double jeopardy clause forbids prosecution for the greater offense after conviction of the lesser offense, Illinois v. Vitale, 447 U.S. 410, 65 L.Ed.2d 228, 100 S.Ct. 2260 (1980), it is not infringed by merely charging both offenses in a single indictment where no multiple рunishment results. See United States v. Wilson, 420 U.S. 332, 43 L.Ed.2d 232, 95 S.Ct. 1013 (1975); North Carolina v. Pearce, 395 U.S. 711, 23 L.Ed.2d 656, 89 S.Ct. 2072 (1969). Arnold was convicted only of the lesser included offense and punished only once. He alleged no prejudice from the mere joinder of the counts in the indictment. His double jeopardy claim was without merit.
The United States Supreme Court reached the same conclusion in Brown v. Ohio, 432 U.S. 161. The court said the double jeopardy clause protects an accused against a second prosecution for the same offense after acquittal or after conviction. The clause protects against multiple punishments for the same offense. North Carolina v. Pearce, 395 U.S. 711. Where consecutive sentences are imposed at a single criminаl trial, the role of the constitutional guarantee is limited to assuring that the court does not exceed its legislative authorization by imposing multiple punishments for the same offense. See Gore v. United States, 357 U.S. 386,2 L.Ed.2d 1405, 78 S.Ct. 1280 (1958); Bell v. United States, 349 U.S. 81, 99 L.Ed. 905, 75 S.Ct. 620 (1955); Ex Parte Lange, 85 U.S. (18 Wall.) 163, 21 L.Ed. 872 (1874).
The defendant’s claim that he was placed in jeopardy because the State’s information was multiplicitous is without merit.
The defendant argues, however, that having pleaded guilty to
“Upon prosecution for a crime, the defendant may be convicted of either the crime charged or an included crime, but not both. An included crime may be any of the following:
“(a) A lesser degree of the same crime;
“(b) an attempt to commit the crime charged;
“(c) an attempt to commit a lesser degree of the crime charged; or
“(d) a crime necessarily proved if the crime charged were proved.”
This issue was considered by the United States Supreme Court in Ohio v. Johnson, 467 U.S. _, 81 L.Ed.2d 425, 104 S.Ct. 2536 (1984). The defendant Johnson was indicted by an Ohio grand jury for four offenses, ranging from murder to grand theft. Johnson offered to plead guilty to charges of involuntary manslaughter and grand theft, but pleaded not guilty to charges of murder and aggravated robbery. Over the State’s objection, the trial court accepted the “guilty” pleas to the lesser offenses and then granted respondent’s motion to dismiss the two most serious charges on the ground that because of his guilty pleas, further prosecution on the more serious offenses was barred by the double jeopardy prohibitions of the Fifth and Fourteenth Amendments.
The Ohio courts “reasoned that since state law permitted conviction on only one of the charges, acceptance of respondent’s guilty plea to the charge of theft prevented conviction for the charge of aggravated robbery. The crime of involuntary manslaughter was held to be distinguishable from the offense of murder only by the mental states required to commit each offense, but that in any one killing, an offender could only be convicted of involuntary manslaughter or murder, but not both crimes.” 81 L.Ed.2d at 432.
The defendant also argued that further prosecution of the counts which were dismissed would violate the double jeopardy prohibition against multiple prosecutions. The court noted that the State was not prohibited from charging the defendant with greater and lesser included offenses and prosecuting those offenses in a single trial. The court said:
“No interest of respondent protected by the Double Jeopardy Clause is implicated by continuing prosecution on the remaining charges brought in the indictment. Here respondent offered only to resolve part of the charges against him, while the State objected to disposing of any of the counts against respondentwithout a trial. Respondent has not been exposed to conviction on the charges to which he pleaded not guilty, nor has the State had the opportunity to marshal its evidence and resources more than once or to hone its presentation of its case through a trial. The acceptance of a guilty plea to lesser included offenses while charges on the greater offenses remain pending, moreover, has none of the implications of an ‘implied acquittal’ which results from a verdict convicting a defendant on lesser included offenses rendered by a jury charged to consider both greater and lesser included offenses. Cf. Price v Georgia, 398 US 323, 329, 26 L Ed 2d 300, 90 S Ct 1757 (1970); Green v United States, 355 US 184, 191, 2 L Ed 2d 199, 78 S Ct 221, 77 Ohio L Abs 202, 61 ALR2d 1119 (1957). There simply has been none of the governmental overreaching that double jeopardy is supposed to prevent. On the other hand, ending prosecution now would deny the state its right to one full and fair opportunity to convict those who have violated its laws. Arizona v Washington, 434 US 497, 509, 54 L Ed 2d 717, 98 S Ct 824 (1978).” Ohio v. Johnson, 81 L.Ed.2d at 435.
The Supreme Court, in reversing the Ohio Supreme Court and remanding for further proceedings, noted that:
“Notwithstanding the trial court’s acceptance of respondent’s guilty pleas, respondent should not be entitled to use the Double Jeopardy Clause as a sword to prevent the State from completing its prоsecution on the remaining charges.” Ohio v. Johnson, 81 L.Ed.2d at 435.
The United States Supreme Court held that the double jeopardy clause does not prohibit the State from continuing its prosecution of the defendant on the charges of murder and aggravated robbery. The court said:
“In contrast to the double jeopardy protection against multiple trials, the final component of double jeopardy — protection against cumulative punishments — is designed to ensure that the sentencing discretion of courts is confined to the limits established by the legislature. Because the substantive power to prescribe crimes and determine punishments is vested with the legislature, Unitеd States v Wiltberger, 5 Wheat 76, 93, 5 L Ed 37 (1820), the question under the Double Jeopardy Clause whether punishments are ‘multiple’ is essentially one of legislative intent, see Missouri v. Hunter, 459 US 359, 368, 74 L Ed 2d 535, 103 S Ct 673 (1983). But where a defendant is retried following conviction, the Clause’s third protection ensures that after a subsequent conviction a defendant receives credit for time already served. North Carolina v. Pearce, supra, at 718, 23 L Ed 2d 656, 89 S Ct 2072.
“We accept, as we must, the Ohio Supreme Court’s determination that the Ohio legislature did not intend cumulative punishment for the two pairs of crimes involved here. But before respondent can ever be punished for the offenses of murder and aggravated robbery he will first have to be found guilty of those offenses. The trial court’s dismissal of these more serious charges did more than simply prevent the imposition of cumulative punishments; it halted completely the proceedings that ultimately would have led to a verdict of guilt or innocence on these more serious charges. Presumably the trial court, in the eventof a guilty verdict on the more serious offenses, will have to confront the question of cumulative punishments as a matter of state law, but because of that court’s ruling preventing even the trial of the more serious offenses that stage of the prosecution was never reached. While the Double Jeopardy Clause may protect a defendant against cumulative punishments for convictions on the same offense, the Clause does not prohibit the State from prosecuting respondent for such multiple offenses in a single prosecution.” Ohio v. Johnson, 81 L.Ed.2d at 433-34.
Freeman has attempted to do the same thing as Johnson did in Ohio, to use the double jeopardy clause to prevent the State from completing its prosecution on the greater charges. The State is not precluded by the Constitutions of the United States and the State of Kansas from continuing its prosecution on the involuntary manslaughter and vehicular homicide charges against Frеeman.
In addition, Freeman claims even if the Constitutions of the United States and the State of Kansas do not prevent the State from continuing its prosecution of the charges remaining after his plea of guilty,
In State v. Becker, 1 Kan. App. 2d 671, the defendant appealed from a conviction for aggravated assault on a law enforcement officer. As a result of a high speed chase, the defendant had been charged with 17 misdemeanor counts in the county court. When the defendant requested a jury trial, these charges were dismissed and 15 of the counts, including one for driving left of center, were refiled in the district court. A week later, the defendant was charged in a separate case with aggravated assault on a law enforcement officer, based on the same incident for which the defendant had been charged with driving left of center.
The defendant pleaded guilty to a number of counts in the first case, including the driving left of center charge. At trial, the defendant was found guilty of aggravated assault on a law enforcement officer and was subsequently sentenced for that offense as well. On appeal of the aggravated assault conviction, the defendant argued that being placed on trial on a charge based on the same conduct as the driving left of center charge was double jeopardy. The Court of Appeals agreed, finding that the same conduct was the basis of two separate prosecutions. In the assault charge, the driving left of center was the threat or attempt to do
The defendant in State v. Fisher, 233 Kan. 29, 661 P.2d 791 (1983), was stopped for speeding by a trooper of the Kansas Highway Patrol. The defendant was issued citations for exceeding the speed limit and failing to produce and surrender his daily log for inspection. Later, the county attorney filed a second case charging the defendant with disorderly conduct, obstructing legal process, and two counts of battery of a law enforcement officer. The defendant pleaded to the speeding and log book charges and fines were imposed. He then moved to dismiss the criminal charges on the grounds that the traffic charges and the criminal charges all grew out of the same acts and transactions; that a trial on the criminal charges would require a re-examination of some of the issues of fact determined in the traffic case; and that the criminal charges could have been included along with the traffic charges in a single complaint.
This court said that three elements must be present to bar a subsequent prosecution under
Freeman is distinguishable from both Becker and Fisher. Unlike Becker and Fisher, who were both charged in two separate complaints based upon the same transaction, Freeman was charged with several counts involving the same transactiоn in a single complaint. Both Becker and Fisher, after pleading guilty to the charges in one complaint, could attempt to claim former jeopardy barred prosecution in the second untried complaint arising out of the same transaction.
The purpose of a complaint or information is to inform the accused of the particular offense or offenses with which the defendant is charged and must defend against at time of trial.
Uрon prosecution the accused may be convicted of either a crime charged in a complaint or information or an included crime, but not both.
When revising the criminal code, the legislature combined
Therefore, we must look at the subject matter of the three prior statutes incorporated into
The fundamental rule of statutory construction, to which all others are subordinate, is that the purpose and intent of the legislature governs when that intent can be ascertained from the statute. Our legislature never intended thаt an accused’s plea of guilty to one count of a multi-count complaint or information would immediately allow the defendant to raise a double jeopardy bar to continued prosecution on any remaining counts that are greater or included offenses of the charge to which a defendant pleaded. The acceptance by the trial court of a plea of guilty to a lesser or an included offense while charges on the greater offense remain pending has none of the implications of an implied acquittal which results from a verdict convicting a
It was the intent of the legislature when it enacted 21-3107 that a defendant be subject to trial on a complaint or information on charges to which he has not pleaded guilty. The legislature never intended to deny the State the opportunity to present its case on the untried charges to the trier of fact. The defendant’s final claim is without merit.
Freeman should be allowed to withdraw his plea of guilty to the charge to which he pleaded, failure to yield the right-of-way, if he so desires. The district court is reversed. The case is remanded for trial on all untried counts of the State’s amended information.
Prager, J., concurs in the result.