Case Title: Wilkins v. State

Citation: 343 Md. 444

Docket Number: 70/96

State: maryland

Court: Maryland Supreme Court

Date: 1996-09-11T00:00:00Z

Document:
IN THE COURT OF APPEALS OF MARYLAND
No. 70 
September Term, 1996
________________________________________
ANDRE WILKINS
v.
STATE OF MARYLAND
_______________________________________
Murphy, C.J.,
       Eldridge
Rodowsky
Chasanow
Karwacki
Bell
Raker,
    
       
            JJ.
________________________________________
Per Curiam
________________________________________
        Filed: September 11, 1996
Per Curiam:
In this criminal case, the petitioner Andre Wilkins was
convicted, after a jury trial in the Circuit Court for Baltimore
City, of assault with intent to murder, assault, use of a handgun
in the commission of a felony in violation of Maryland Code (1957,
1992 Repl. Vol.), Art. 27, § 36B(d), and wearing or carrying a
handgun in violation of Art. 27, § 36B(b).  The two handgun
convictions were based upon the same acts or transaction.  In
addition to the sentences for assault, Wilkins was sentenced to
five years imprisonment without the possibility of parole for use
of a handgun in the commission of a felony and three years
imprisonment for unlawfully wearing or carrying a handgun.  All
sentences were concurrent.  Wilkins did not, in the circuit court,
object to the separate sentences for use of a handgun in the
commission of a felony and for wearing or carrying a handgun.
On appeal to the Court of Special Appeals, Wilkins argued,
inter alia, that the circuit court "erred in failing to merge [his]
conviction for wearing or carrying a handgun into his conviction
for use of a handgun in the commission of a" felony.  (Appellant's
brief in the Court of Special Appeals at 6).  The State, in its
- 2 -
Court of Special Appeals' brief, agreed, affirmatively arguing that
Wilkins's "sentence for wearing and carrying a handgun should merge
into his . . . sentence for use of a handgun in the commission of
a" felony.  (State's brief in the Court of Special Appeals at 2).
The State did not rely upon Wilkins's failure to raise this issue
at trial and did not argue that the issue was not preserved for
appellate review.
Nevertheless, the Court of Special Appeals, in affirming the
judgments in an unreported opinion, refused to consider the merger
issue.  The intermediate appellate court held that, because of the
defendant's failure to object to the separate sentence for
unlawfully wearing or carrying a handgun, the merger issue "has not
been preserved for our review."
Wilkins filed in this Court a petition for a writ of
certiorari, presenting the single question of whether the Court of
Special Appeals erred in "refus[ing] to order merger of" the
sentence for wearing or carrying a handgun.  The State, in its
answer to the petition, agreed with Wilkins that the Court of
Special Appeals erred; the State urged us to grant the petition and
order that the sentence for wearing or carrying a handgun be
vacated.
We have granted the certiorari petition, and we shall
summarily reverse that part of the Court of Special Appeals'
judgment relating to the sentence for wearing or carrying a
handgun.
- 3 -
In Hunt v. State, 312 Md. 494, 510, 540 A.2d 1125, 1133
(1988), we held that the Legislature did not intend that a separate
punishment should be imposed for carrying, wearing, or transporting
a handgun in addition to that imposed for using a handgun during
commission of a felony or crime of violence.  We took the position
that the sentence for carrying, wearing, or transporting the
handgun should merge into the sentence for using the handgun during
the commission of a felony or crime of violence.  In Hunt, the
separate sentence for wearing, carrying, or transporting a handgun
was held to be illegal, and we vacated it.  See also Hunt v. State,
321 Md. 387, 401, 583 A.2d 218, 224 (1990), cert. denied, 502 U.S.
835, 112 S.Ct. 117, 116 L.Ed.2d 86 (1991).
On numerous occasions this Court has pointed out that
"`illegal sentences may be challenged at any time, even on
appeal,'" Spitzinger v. State, 340 Md. 114, 122, 665 A.2d 685, 688-
689 (1995), quoting Campbell v. State, 325 Md. 488, 509, 601 A.2d
667, 677 (1992).  See, e.g., Jordan v. State, 323 Md. 151, 161, 591
A.2d 875, 880 (1991) (even though the defendant did not raise the
issue at trial, "Jordan has not waived his right to object to the
unlawful sentence"); Osborne v. State, 304 Md. 323, 326 n.1, 499
A.2d 170, 171 n.1 (1985) ("where the trial court has allegedly
imposed an illegal sentence, the issue may be reviewed on direct
appeal even if no objection was made in the trial court"); Matthews
v. State, 304 Md. 281, 287-288, 498 A.2d 655, 658 (1985); Walczak
- 4 -
v. State, 302 Md. 422, 427, 488 A.2d 949, 951 (1985).
Consequently, Wilkins's separate sentence for wearing or
carrying a handgun should be vacated.
JUDGMENT OF THE COURT OF SPECIAL
APPEALS REVERSED IN PART, AND
CASE REMANDED TO THAT COURT WITH
DIRECTIONS TO VACATE THE SENTENCE
FOR 
WEARING 
OR 
CARRYING 
A
HANDGUN.  COSTS IN THIS COURT TO
BE PAID BY THE MAYOR AND CITY
COUNCIL OF BALTIMORE.  COSTS IN
THE COURT OF SPECIAL APPEALS TO
BE EQUALLY DIVIDED.