Case Title: Carroll v. State

Citation: 

Docket Number: 126/11

State: maryland

Court: Maryland Supreme Court

Date: 2012-09-27T00:00:00Z

Document:
George J. Carroll v. State, No. 126, September Term 2011
JURY INSTRUCTIONS S REASONABLE DOUBT S Due process requires that the State
prove each element of a criminal charge beyond a reasonable doubt.  Under Maryland Rule
4-325, a trial court judge need not give proposed instructions that are fairly covered in the
instructions actually given, even if the requested instructions are applicable to the case at bar
and a correct statement of law.  When the trial court instructs the jury on reasonable doubt
pursuant to Maryland Criminal Pattern Jury Instruction 2:02, followed by the pattern
instructions for each offense charged, the trial court does not abuse its discretion in declining
a defendant’s request to give the jury a more explicit statement of the State’s burden to prove
each element of a charge beyond a reasonable doubt. 
MERGER S CONSPIRACY TO COMMIT ARMED ROBBERY S ATTEMPTED
ARMED ROBBERY S When a defendant’s convictions do not merge under the required
evidence test or the rule of lenity, the crimes may still merge based on principles of
fundamental fairness.  Merger is appropriate based on fairness when, under the specific facts
of a given case, the two crimes are part and parcel of one another, such that one crime is an
integral component of the other.  Conspiracy to commit armed robbery is a separate crime
from attempted armed robbery.  One targets the planning of an offense while the other
punishes the attempted consummation of the crime.  When the facts do not indicate that the
two crimes are part and parcel of one another, merger of conspiracy to commit armed
robbery and attempted armed robbery is not appropriate under principles of fundamental
fairness.
Circuit Court for Frederick County
Case No.10-K-10-048268
IN THE COURT OF APPEALS
OF MARYLAND
No. 126
September Term, 2011
GEORGE J. CARROLL
v.
 STATE OF MARYLAND
Bell, C.J.,
Harrell
Battaglia
Greene
Adkins
Barbera
McDonald,
               JJ.
Opinion by Barbera, J.
Filed:   September 27, 2012
Petitioner, George Carroll, was tried before a jury in the Circuit Court for Frederick
County and convicted of four counts of attempted armed robbery, four counts of conspiracy
to commit those offenses, and related crimes.  In his appeal to the Court of Special Appeals,
Petitioner argued, among other claims of error, that the reasonable doubt instructions were
constitutionally deficient and in violation of Maryland Rule 4-325(c), because the
instructions did not include the advisement that, in order to convict Petitioner of any of the
charged crimes, the jury must be convinced beyond a reasonable doubt that the State proved
every element of the crime.  Petitioner also contended that the law does not permit separate
convictions and sentences for what is but a single conspiracy, and that principles of
fundamental fairness dictate that the conspiracy conviction should merge with the
convictions of attempted armed robbery.
The Court of Special Appeals agreed with Petitioner that the four conspiracy
convictions should merge, leaving but one such conviction.  Carroll v. State, 202 Md. App.
487, 518-19, 32 A.3d 1090, 1107-08 (2011).  The Court rejected Petitioner’s remaining
contentions, holding that the instructions satisfied the constitutional requirement that the jury
be advised of the State’s burden to prove beyond a reasonable doubt each element of the
charged crimes, and that fundamental fairness does not require merger of conspiracy to
commit armed robbery and attempted armed robbery.  Id. at 503-04, 518, 32 A.3d at 1098-
99, 1107.  Petitioner sought, and we granted, review of the latter two holdings of the Court
of Special Appeals.  Carroll v. State, 425 Md. 227, 40 A.3d 39 (2012).  For reasons we shall
explain, we affirm the judgment of the Court of Special Appeals.
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I.
On the night of April 24, 2010,  four teenagers, Andrew Caroglanian, Joshua Phillips,
Jessica Goldzwig, and Lauren Jacobsen, went camping in Frederick County, Maryland.  As
Andrew and Joshua were setting up their tent, they were approached by Petitioner and two
other men, Nicholas Cann and Zachary Lee.  Petitioner and Cann each carried a machete, and
Lee carried a baseball bat.  The encounter was not hostile, although Andrew testified that he
“thought there would be trouble” because the men were carrying weapons.  After a brief
conversation, Petitioner, Cann, and Lee invited the teenagers to visit the men’s campsite,
which was situated nearby.  Andrew and Joshua responded that they would consider the offer
and perhaps visit later.  
Fifteen to twenty minutes later, the four teens were inside their tent when they saw
people adding wood to the campfire.  They also heard and saw shadows of something
striking the outside of the tent.  Petitioner, Cann, and Lee told the teens to “get the fuck out
of the tent and give us everything you have.”  Lauren was able to call 911 from a cell phone
to alert the police of the situation before she was forced from the tent.  Petitioner, Cann, and
Lee wielded machetes and a baseball bat while repeatedly demanding money and valuables
from the teenagers.  Andrew gave them $100 from his wallet and Lauren gave them another
$100 from Andrew’s vehicle.  Petitioner also instructed the teenagers to put all of their cell
phones into a pile.  Lee told them to hand over any personal identification cards, warning that
he would kill them if they ever notified the police.  Petitioner and the other two men began
shouting at each other while demanding more money from the teenagers.  Wanting to get out
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of the woods and into a more populated area, Andrew offered to drive to the ATM to retrieve
more money.  Petitioner and his confederates eventually agreed to that offer.  
After some argument about who would go in the vehicle to the ATM, it was decided
that Cann would ride in the front passenger’s seat while Andrew drove.  Joshua, Jessica, and
Lauren were allowed to sit in the backseat.  Cann told those inside the vehicle that he had a
gun, and he gripped his waistband area.  In an attempt to alert oncoming cars to their
situation, Andrew flashed his vehicle’s high beams while driving.  When a police officer
approached their vehicle, Andrew mouthed the word “help” and then got out of the vehicle.
He told the police that Cann had a gun.  Police arrested Cann at the vehicle and later
apprehended Petitioner and Lee near the campsite.
In an interview with police, Petitioner initially denied going to the campsite but later
admitted he was present.  Petitioner attempted to minimize his involvement in the incident
by telling the police that he was not part of any plan and did not threaten anyone. 
The State secured a 27-count indictment against Petitioner charging him with one
count of armed robbery; one count of kidnapping; one count of theft less than $1000; and
four counts each of conspiracy to commit armed robbery, attempted armed robbery, assault
in the second-degree, reckless endangerment, false imprisonment, and carrying a deadly
weapon with intent to injure.
At trial, Petitioner asked the court to modify Maryland Criminal Pattern Jury
Instruction (MPJI-Cr) 2:02, which addresses the presumption of innocence and reasonable
1 MPJI-Cr 2:02 reads in its entirety:
The defendant is presumed to be innocent of the charges.  This
presumption remains throughout every stage of the trial and is not overcome
unless you are convinced beyond a reasonable doubt that the defendant is
guilty.
The State has the burden of proving the guilt of the defendant beyond
a reasonable doubt.  This burden remains on the State throughout the trial.  The
defendant is not required to prove [his][her] innocence.  However, the State is
not required to prove guilt beyond all possible doubt or to a mathematical
certainty.  Nor is the State required to negate every conceivable circumstance
of innocence.
A reasonable doubt is a doubt founded upon reason.  Proof beyond a
reasonable doubt requires such proof as would convince you of the truth of a
fact to the extent that you would be willing to act upon such belief without
reservation in an important matter in your own business or personal affairs.
If you are not satisfied of the defendant’s guilt to that extent, then reasonable
doubt exists and the defendant must be found not guilty.
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doubt.  That instruction states in relevant part:1
The defendant is presumed to be innocent of the charges.  This
presumption remains throughout every stage of the trial and is not overcome
unless you are convinced beyond a reasonable doubt that the defendant is
guilty.  
The State has the burden of proving the guilt of the defendant beyond
a reasonable doubt.  This burden remains on the State throughout the trial.
The defendant is not required to prove [his][her] innocence.   
Petitioner asked the court to add to the above language of the pattern instruction that “[t]he
State has the burden to prove each element of a charge beyond a reasonable doubt.”  After
some discussion among the court, defense counsel, and the prosecutor (who objected to
Petitioner’s request), the court gave MPJI-Cr 2:02 with the words “of each charge” tacked
onto the second sentence quoted above, so that it read:  “This presumption remains on Mr.
Carroll throughout every stage of the trial and is not overcome unless you are convinced
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beyond a reasonable doubt that the Defendant is guilty of each charge.” 
Petitioner also requested that the MPJI-Cr instruction for each of the charged offenses
be amended to add, after the list of the elements for each crime, the following words:  “In
order for the person to be convicted, the State must prove beyond a reasonable doubt each
of these . . . elements.”  The court declined that request and, for all but the conspiracy charge,
instructed the jury in accordance with the pertinent pattern instruction for each crime
charged.  On the conspiracy charge, the court gave, instead of the MPJI-Cr instruction, the
following instruction based generally on the conspiracy instruction found in David E.
Aaronson, Maryland Criminal Jury Instructions and Commentary, vol. 1 § 4.21 (3d ed.
2009):
[A] conspiracy is an agreement between two or more persons to commit a
crime.  And a conspiracy is in itself a separate crime.  It exists when two or
more persons enter into an agreement to accomplish a criminal or unlawful
purpose.  In order for a person to be guilty of this offense the State must prove
beyond a reasonable doubt that the Defendant or one or more other persons
entered into an agreement, that the object of the agreement was criminal or
unlawful, and that there was a joint intent to enter this agreement.
The jury found Petitioner guilty of four counts each of attempted armed robbery,
conspiracy to commit armed robbery, second-degree assault, reckless endangerment, and
false imprisonment.  At sentencing, the court merged the false imprisonment, reckless
endangerment, and second-degree assault convictions, and sentenced Petitioner to serve a
total of 18 years’ incarceration, with a consecutive 20 years suspended, followed by five
years of probation. 
2 The Fourteenth Amendment states, in pertinent part, “No State shall . . . deprive any
person of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law.”  Article 24 of the Maryland
Declaration of Rights provides, “That no man ought to be taken or imprisoned or disseized
of his freehold, liberties or privileges, or outlawed, or exiled, or, in any manner, destroyed,
or deprived of his life, liberty or property, but by the judgment of his peers, or by the Law
of the land.”
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Petitioner filed a timely appeal to the Court of Special Appeals, which, as mentioned,
issued a reported opinion affirming in part and vacating in part the judgments of conviction.
Carroll, 202 Md. App. at 519-20, 32 A.3d at 1108.  We issued a writ of certiorari to answer
the following questions presented by Petitioner:
1.  Is a defendant entitled, upon request, to an instruction expressly informing
the jury that the State has the burden of proving each element of every charged
offense beyond a reasonable doubt?
2.  Should convictions for the inchoate crime of conspiracy to commit armed
robbery be merged with convictions for the inchoate crime of attempted armed
robbery as a matter of fundamental fairness?  
II.
The Reasonable Doubt Instructions
Petitioner contends that the jury instructions, other than the instruction on the charge
of conspiracy, do not satisfy the requirements of the Due Process Clause of the Fourteenth
Amendment and its counterpart provision in Maryland, Article 24 of the Maryland
Declaration of Rights.2  Petitioner argues that, because the jury was not expressly advised
that the reasonable doubt standard must be applied to each element of each offense, there
was a “reasonable likelihood” that the jury convicted him based on less than what is
mandated by In re Winship, 397 U.S. 358 (1970).  Winship holds that “the Due Process
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Clause protects the accused against conviction except upon proof beyond a reasonable doubt
of every fact necessary to constitute the crime with which he is charged.”  397 U.S. at 364;
accord Savoy v. State, 420 Md. 232, 246, 22 A.3d 845, 853-54 (2011) (“The Due Process
Clause . . . requires the State to prove every element of an offense charged beyond a
reasonable doubt.”).  Petitioner further asserts that the court’s refusal to include defense
counsel’s proposed language in the jury instructions violated Maryland Rule 4-325(c), which
provides in pertinent part that “[t]he court may, and at the request of any party shall, instruct
the jury as to the applicable law and the extent to which the instructions are binding.”
In response, the State directs us to Victor v. Nebraska, 511 U.S. 1 (1994).  In Victor,
the Supreme Court, while recognizing the rule established in Winship, held that no
“particular form of words” need be used in advising the jury of the burden of proof required
for conviction.  Id. at 6.  The State argues that MPJI-Cr 2:02 and the pattern instructions for
each charged offense, read together, adequately conveyed to the jury that it was required to
find Petitioner guilty, beyond a reasonable doubt, of each element that comprised the
offenses.  The State asserts that the jury was not reasonably likely to have interpreted the
court’s instructions in the way Petitioner suggests.  Therefore, according to the State, the
language proposed by Petitioner is not constitutionally required and, consequently, there is
no violation of Maryland Rule 4-325.  
The standard by which we assess the propriety of a trial court’s refusal to give a
requested instruction is well known.  “A trial court must give a requested jury instruction
where ‘(1) the instruction is a correct statement of law; (2) the instruction is applicable to the
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facts of the case; and (3) the content of the instruction was not fairly covered elsewhere in
instructions actually given.’”  Cost v. State, 417 Md. 360, 368-69, 10 A.3d 184, 189 (2010)
(quoting Dickey v. State, 404 Md. 187, 197-98, 946 A.2d 444, 450 (2008)).  The
“instructions are reviewed in their entirety” and “[r]eversal is not required where the jury
instructions, taken as a whole, sufficiently protect the defendant’s rights and adequately
covered the theory of the defense.”  Fleming v. State, 373 Md. 426, 433, 818 A.2d 1117,
1121 (2003).  We apply an abuse of discretion standard to the court’s decision not to give
a requested instruction, yet we will not hesitate to reverse a conviction if we conclude that
“the defendant’s rights were not adequately protected.”  Cost, 417 Md. at 369, 10 A.3d at
189.
The parties agree, and there can be no serious dispute, that the first prong of what we
here shall refer to as the Cost test is satisfied in that the instructions Petitioner sought
accurately state the law.  Indeed, the federal and Maryland constitutions require that in order
to convict a defendant in a criminal case the jury must be convinced that the State has proven
each element of a charged offense beyond a reasonable doubt. 
The parties also agree that the second prong of the Cost test is met in that the
requested instructions are applicable to the facts of the case.  We concur.  Indeed, the same
can be said of any accurate instruction on the burden of proof, whether proposed in a civil
or criminal case.
The parties’ dispute focuses on the third prong of the Cost test.  The parties disagree
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about whether the instructions given fairly covered the requirement that the jury be advised
of the State’s burden to prove beyond a reasonable doubt each element of every offense
charged.  For the reasons that follow, we conclude that the instructions, read as a whole,
satisfy constitutional requirements.
The constitutional sufficiency of an instruction depends, not on whether the jury could
have applied the instructions in an unconstitutional manner, but on “whether there is a
reasonable likelihood that the jury understood the instructions to allow conviction based on
proof insufficient to meet the Winship standard.”  Victor, 511 U.S. at 6 (emphasis added).
And as the State points out, under Victor, no “particular form of words” is required by the
Constitution when instructing the jury on the State’s burden of proof.  See id. at 5.
The court instructed the jury with a near verbatim recitation of MPJI-Cr 2:02.  The
detailed description of the concept of proof beyond a reasonable doubt set forth in that
pattern instruction conveyed to the jurors that they must evaluate guilt based on that standard
of proof.  Then, in each of the separate instructions on the offenses charged, the court
referred to the burden of proof when introducing the elements of each charged offense with
the words “the State must prove” those elements.  Read together, the reasonable doubt
instruction (emphasizing the meaning and importance of that standard of proof) and the
repeated message in every instruction that the State “must prove” the elements of each
charged offense adequately imparted to the jury the mandate that the State must prove each
element beyond a reasonable doubt.
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Other courts are in accord.  See People v. Orchard, 17 Cal. App. 3d 568, 576–77, 95
Cal. Rptr. 66, 71 (1971) (holding that an instruction on the State’s burden to prove each
element of the charged offense beyond a reasonable doubt was not required when the court
instructed on the State’s burden of proof beyond a reasonable doubt, and then defined the
essential elements of the charged offense); City of Billings v. Briner, 744 P.2d 877, 878
(Mont. 1987) (holding that there was no error in the court’s failing to instruct specifically
that the State must prove each and every element of the offense beyond a reasonable doubt,
because the court had instructed the jury that the government had the burden to prove the
defendant’s guilt beyond a reasonable doubt and then instructed the jury on the elements of
the charged offense).
Petitioner counters with two cases on the other side of the ledger, Commonwealth v.
Bishop, 372 A.2d 794 (Pa. 1977) and People v. Newman, 385 N.E.2d 598 (N.Y. 1978).  In
both cases, the courts found reversible error where a trial court did not provide a satisfactory
explanation of the State’s burden of proof in the jury instructions.  In Bishop, the court held
that “[t]he defense had an absolute right to have the jury instructed not only as to the
quantum of proof required to establish guilt but also that the requirement extended to each
of the material elements of the offense.”  372 A.2d at 796.  The holding in Newman is
narrower:  “We hold that . . . it was reversible error for the trial court to have refused a
request to charge that the People had the burden of proving every element of the crimes
charged beyond a reasonable doubt when the ground for that refusal was that the court had
3 Similarly, in one of our own cases, Lansdowne v. State, 287 Md. 232, 412 A.2d 88
(1980), we held that, where the trial judge’s preliminary remarks at the outset of trial
explained “reasonable doubt” but then the trial judge did not include any such definition in
his instructions at the close of the evidence, the instruction requested by defense counsel
explaining reasonable doubt was not “fairly covered” by the instructions given, because
preliminary remarks do not constitute an instruction.  Id. at 247, 412 A.2d at 95-96.  This has
no bearing on our decision in this case because, here, the trial judge read MPJI-Cr 2:02 in
conjunction with the pattern instructions for each offense at the close of the evidence before
the jury began deliberations.
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already advised the jury in a preliminary address at the outset of trial.”3  385 N.E.2d at 599.
Although Bishop and Newman are informative from a “best practices” perspective,
we are, in the end, not persuaded that an otherwise-correct reasonable doubt instruction is
rendered constitutionally deficient by the omission of language that each element of the
offense charged must be proven beyond a reasonable doubt.  We adhere to Victor, which
declares that the constitutional “inquiry is not whether the instruction ‘could have’ been
applied in an unconstitutional manner, but whether there is a reasonable likelihood that the
jury did so apply it.”  511 U.S. at 6 (citing Estelle v. McGuire, 502 U.S. 62, 72 & n.4 (1991);
accord Savoy, 420 Md. at 246-47, 22 A.3d at 854.  See also Aaronson, Maryland Criminal
Jury Instructions and Commentary, Comment to § 1.05, at 1-50 (commenting that the
reasonable likelihood standard “requires a court to evaluate not what a reasonable juror could
or might find but rather ‘whether there is a reasonable likelihood that the jury has applied
the challenged instruction in a way that prevents the consideration of constitutionally
relevant evidence’”) (quoting Boyde v. California, 494 U.S. 370, 381 (1990)).  We therefore
hold, as did our colleagues on the Court of Special Appeals, Carroll, 202 Md. App. at 503-
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04, 32 A.3d at 1098-99, that in the present case the instructions, read as a whole, satisfy the
constitutional mandate that the jury be informed that it is the State’s burden to prove beyond
a reasonable doubt each element of the crime(s) charged.  It follows that there likewise is no
violation of Maryland Rule 4-325(c).
We do not overlook this Court’s endorsement of MPJI-Cr 2:02 in Ruffin v. State, 394
Md. 355, 906 A.2d 360 (2006).  In that case we held that, “in every criminal jury trial, the
trial court is required to instruct the jury on the presumption of innocence and the reasonable
doubt standard of proof which closely adheres to MPJI-Cr 2:02.  Deviations in substance will
not be tolerated.”  Id. at 373, 906 A.2d at 371.  As Petitioner notes, we were not confronted
in Ruffin, or to our knowledge in any other case, with the constitutional challenge to MPJI-Cr
2:02 presented here.  Yet the strong message we sent in Ruffin and in other cases before it
approving the language of the pattern instruction, see Wills v. State, 329 Md. 370, 383-84,
620 A.2d 295, 301-02 (1993); Merzbacher v. State, 346 Md. 391, 404, 697 A.2d 432, 438
(1997), implies satisfaction with the constitutional sufficiency of the pattern instruction.
Given our holding in the present case that MPJI-Cr 2:02—the reasonable doubt instruction
that we approved in Ruffin—does not violate either the federal or Maryland constitution, and
thus does not violate Maryland Rule 4-325(c), we find no error or abuse of discretion on the
part of the trial court in issuing a nearly verbatim version of that instruction in this case.
Notwithstanding our holding, we agree with our colleagues on the Court of Special
Appeals that, “[a]lthough we find no error by the court here, that is not to say that it would
4 The Maryland Bar Association subcommittee on Criminal Pattern Jury Instructions
consists of judges at the trial and appellate level, prosecutors, defense attorneys, law
professors, and other distinguished members of the Maryland Bar.
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not be reasonable for trial courts to give the instruction requested and explicitly state that the
prosecution has the burden to prove beyond a reasonable doubt each element of each
charge.”  Carroll, 202 Md. App. at 504, n.5, 32 A.3d at 1099, n.5.  As the intermediate
appellate court notes, other jurisdictions include such language in the pattern instruction on
the presumption of innocence and/or the burden of proof.  See id. (listing examples).  Like
our colleagues on the Court of Special Appeals, we urge the Maryland State Bar Association
Committee on Maryland Pattern Instructions4 to consider amending MPJI-Cr 2:02 to include
explicit language instructing that the State has the burden to prove beyond a reasonable
doubt each element of each charged offense. 
III.
Merger
Petitioner argues that the trial court erred by failing to merge his conviction for
conspiracy to commit armed robbery with his four convictions for attempted armed robbery.
Maryland recognizes three grounds for merging a defendant’s convictions:  (1) the required
evidence test; (2) the rule of lenity; and (3) “the principle of fundamental fairness.”  Monoker
v. State, 321 Md. 214, 222-23, 582 A.2d 525, 529 (1990); see State v. Prue, 414 Md. 531,
550, n.11, 996 A.2d 367, 378, n.11 (2010) (noting, as grounds for merger, “considerations
of fairness in a particular case”).  Petitioner acknowledges that two of these three
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grounds—the required evidence test and the rule of lenity—do not apply to his case.
Petitioner instead relies on the principle of fundamental fairness to argue that the conspiracy
and attempted armed robbery convictions should merge.  Citing Monoker, Petitioner argues
that both offenses are inchoate and the fleeting nature of the conspiracy made it “part and
parcel” and “an integral component” of the attempted armed robbery.  See Monoker, 321 Md.
at 223, 582 A2.d at 529.  Petitioner cites § 5.05 of the Model Penal Code for support of his
contention that a person cannot be convicted of more than one offense of attempt, conspiracy,
or solicitation that culminates in the commission of a single crime. 
The State counters that, because conspiracy and attempted armed robbery target
different conduct, the trial court properly imposed different punishments for the two crimes.
The State notes that conspiracy is a common law crime that is considered complete after an
unlawful agreement is made, without any overt acts required.  The State argues that, as such,
the court did not err in separately sentencing Petitioner for both his role in planning and
agreeing to commit the armed robbery along with his two co-defendants and his participation
in the attempt to complete that crime.  As for Petitioner’s reliance on the Model Penal Code,
the State points out that Maryland has not adopted the portion of the Code that would require
conspiracy and attempt convictions to merge. 
Fundamental fairness is “[o]ne of the most basic considerations in all our decisions
. . . in meting out punishment for a crime.”  Monoker, 321 Md. at 223, 582 A.2d at 529;
Khalifa v. State, 382 Md. 400, 434, 855 A.2d 1175, 1195 (2004) (observing that additional
reasons for merger include “historical treatment, judicial decisions which generally hold that
5 In Pair v. State, 202 Md. App. 617, 649, 33 A.3d 1024, 1042 (2011), the Court of
Special Appeals declined to apply the fundamental fairness doctrine to a case involving a
challenge pursuant to Rule 4-345(a) (addressing correction of an illegal sentence) but decided
that, even if fundamental fairness did apply, the convictions for first-degree assault, robbery,
and false imprisonment still would not merge.  
6 This Court and the Court of Special Appeals have sometimes considered
fundamental fairness alongside the required elements test or the rule of lenity.  See, e.g., 
White v. State, 318 Md. 740, 746-48, 569 A.2d 1271, 1274-75 (1990) (considering the
fairness of multiple punishments in a particular situation when holding, based on the rule of
lenity, that the statutory offense of child abuse and common law murder should merge when
the convictions are based on the same act); Marlin v. State, 192 Md. App. 134, 171, 993 A.2d
1141, 1163 (2010) (merging reckless endangerment and first-degree assault under “principles
of fundamental fairness or the rule of lenity” when they occurred as part of a single
shooting).  Our research discloses only two cases in which Maryland courts have required
merger based solely on the principle of fundamental fairness:  Monoker in this Court, and
Marquardt v. State in the Court of Special Appeals, 164 Md. App. 95, 882 A.2d 900 (2005).
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offenses merge, and fairness”) (quoting McGrath v. State, 356 Md. 20, 25, 736 A.2d 1067,
1069 (1999)).  In deciding whether fundamental fairness requires merger, we have looked
to whether the two crimes are “part and parcel” of one another, such that one crime is “an
integral component” of the other.  Monoker, 321 Md. at 223-24, 582 A.2d at 529.  This
inquiry is “fact-driven” because it depends on considering the circumstances surrounding a
defendant’s convictions, not solely the mere elements of the crimes.  Pair v. State, 202 Md.
App. 617, 645, 33 A.3d 1024, 1039 (2011).5  
Rare are the circumstances in which fundamental fairness requires merger of separate
convictions or sentences.6  In Monoker, this Court considered whether solicitation to perform
a criminal act should merge with conspiracy to commit the same act.  321 Md. at 216, 582
A.2d at 526.  Monoker was awaiting sentencing on fraud convictions when he solicited a
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group of inmates to break into the home of the principal witness against him, assault her, and
steal what they could from the home.  Id.  The plot was foiled after an alert neighbor spotted
the men scouting out the house in a van, and Monoker was convicted of solicitation and
conspiracy to commit daytime housebreaking for his role in the plan.  Id. at 217, 582 A.2d
at 526.  The court imposed consecutive 10-year sentences for the two convictions.  Id.  
Monoker appealed, arguing that the crime of solicitation should merge with the crime
of conspiracy, based on the required elements test or the rule of lenity.  Id. at 217-18, 582
A.2d at 526-27.  The Court found neither test applicable to Monoker’s situation but held that
the convictions should merge under principles of fundamental fairness.  Id. at 222-23, 582
A.2d at 528-29.  The Court held that it was “unfair to uphold convictions and sentences for
both crimes,” remarking that the conspiracy to burglarize the witness’s home ripened from
the initial solicitation of an inmate to commit the same crime.  Id. at 223, 582 A.2d at 529.
In other words, the “solicitation was part and parcel of the ultimate conspiracy and thereby
an integral component of it.”  Id.  The Court held that it would be “fundamentally unfair” for
Monoker to “suffer twice” for the greater crime of conspiracy and the lesser included offense
of solicitation.  Id. at 223-24, 582 A.2d at 529.  See also Marquardt v. State, 164 Md. App.
95, 152-53, 882 A.2d 900, 934 (2005) (holding that malicious destruction of property merged
with burglary pursuant to fundamental fairness because the destruction of property was
“clearly incidental” to the burglary).  
Petitioner asks the Court to merge his conviction for conspiracy to commit armed
robbery with his convictions for attempted armed robbery based solely on considerations of
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fundamental fairness.  In determining whether merger is required, we examine first the
crimes of  conspiracy and attempt.  “A criminal conspiracy consists of the combination of
two or more persons to accomplish some unlawful purpose, or to accomplish a lawful
purpose by unlawful means.”  Khalifa, 382 Md. at 436, 855 A.2d at 1196 (quoting Townes
v. State, 314 Md. 71, 75, 548 A.2d 832, 834 (1988)).  The agreement at the heart of a
conspiracy “need not be formal or spoken, provided there is a meeting of the minds reflecting
a unity of purpose and design.”  Id.  The crime is complete when the agreement is formed,
and no overt acts are necessary to prove a conspiracy.  Id.  Attempt, by contrast, requires a
“specific intent to commit the offense coupled with some overt act in furtherance of the intent
which goes beyond mere preparation.”  Dixon v. State, 364 Md. 209, 238, 772 A.2d 283, 301
(2001) (quoting Bruce v. State, 317 Md. 642, 646, 566 A.2d 103, 104-05 (2000)). 
Conspiracy to commit a crime is generally distinct from the underlying crime itself.
Khalifa, 382 Md. at 436, 855 A.2d at 1195.  See also Dionas v. State, 199 Md. App. 483,
530, 23 A.3d 277, 304 (2011) (declining to merge second-degree murder and conspiracy to
commit first-degree murder under the fundamental fairness test).  In Wooten-Bey v. State, 76
Md. App. 603, 547 A.2d 1086 (1988), the Court of Special Appeals faced a question similar
to the one presented here, as that Court considered whether attempted robbery with a deadly
weapon should merge with conspiracy to commit robbery under the rule of lenity.  Id. at 628,
547 A.2d at 1098.  The Court noted that the General Assembly provided separate
punishments for conspiracy and robbery with a deadly weapon.  Id. at 629, 547 A.2d at 1099.
As a result, the crimes and penalties “address different criminal behavior,” warranting
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separate sentences.  Id.  The Court observed that the conspiracy sentence was for “planning”
the robbery, and the attempt addressed the steps taken towards “consummating” the plan.
Id.  Accordingly, the Court declined to merge the two convictions.  Id.; see also Kelly v.
State, 195 Md. App. 403, 442, 6 A.3d 396, 419 (2010) (declining to merge convictions for
robbery and conspiracy to commit robbery under the fundamental fairness test).  
One of the principal reasons for rejecting a claim that fundamental fairness requires
merger in a given case is that the crimes punish separate wrongdoing.  See, e.g., Pryor v.
State, 195 Md. App. 311, 339, 6 A.3d 343, 359 (2010) (declining to merge first-degree
assault and first-degree arson under fundamental fairness because “each crime punishes a
different harm”); Fenwick v. State, 135 Md. App. 167, 177, 761 A.2d 1021, 1026-27 (2000)
(holding that fourth-degree burglary and second-degree rape do not merge under fundamental
fairness or the rule of lenity because they are distinct crimes).  Petitioner argues that, under
the facts of his case, the conspiracy to commit armed robbery and the attempted armed
robberies were not separate offenses, but part of a continuous event.  Petitioner contends that
he and his co-defendants had very little time in which to form a conspiracy and the evidence
of conspiracy was “fleeting, at best.”  According to Petitioner, “[t]he evidence at trial thus
showed that the alleged conspiracy formed, if at all, during the very short interim period that
[Petitioner], Lee, and Cann were at their own campsite, during the very short walk back to
[the victims’] campsite, or during the course of the actual attempted armed robberies
themselves.”  Conspiracy quickly ripened into the attempted robberies and was “part and
parcel” and “an integral” component of the robbery attempts, Petitioner argues.  Petitioner
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concludes that fundamental fairness therefore dictates that the convictions should merge.
We disagree.  As Petitioner acknowledges, he and his co-defendants had the
opportunity to form a conspiracy at several different points in time.  In convicting Petitioner
of conspiracy, the jury could have found an agreement formed at any one of those times—at
Petitioner’s own campsite, during the short walk to the victims’ campsite, or just prior to the
attempted armed robberies.  The crime was complete when the agreement formed, and the
evidence at trial demonstrates that this occurred before Petitioner and his partners undertook
the attempted robberies.  The coordination between the three men in demanding that the
teenagers leave the tent and hand over their money demonstrated the agreement’s existence.
Conspiracy does not require a formal agreement or detailed discussion, so long as there is “a
meeting of the minds.”  Khalifa, 382 Md. at 436, 855 A.2d at 1196 (citing Townes, 314 Md.
at 75, 548 A.2d at 834).  In the language of Wooten-Bey, the conspiracy sentence addressed
the “planning” of the crime, and the attempted armed robbery dealt with the steps taken
towards “consummating” the plan.  Wooten-Bey, 76 Md. App. at 630, 547 A.2d at 1099.
Petitioner further argues that fairness dictates merger because the conspiracy and the
attempt both culminate in the commission of the same crime.  Again, we disagree.  If
Petitioner’s argument were correct, one could never be sentenced for both conspiracy and the
offense that is the object of the conspiracy.  What differentiates attempt from conspiracy is
that attempt requires some overt act be taken in furtherance of the crime.  Dixon, 364 Md.
at 238, 772 A.2d at 300 (citing Bruce, 317 Md. at 646, 566 A.2d at 104-05).  The attempt to
complete the elements of a crime is separate and distinct from the group planning of the
7 Section 5.05 addresses “Grading of Criminal Attempt, Solicitation, and Conspiracy;
Mitigation in Cases of Lesser Danger; Multiple Convictions Barred.”  It states, in pertinent
part:
(3) Multiple Convictions.     A person may not be convicted of more than one
offense defined by this Article for conduct designed to commit or to culminate
in the commission of the same crime.
Explanatory Note
* * *
Subsection (3) provides that a person may not be convicted of more
than one inchoate offense for conduct designed to culminate in the commission
of the same crime.  See also Section 1.07(1)(b), which prohibits conviction of
both the inchoate offense and the substantive offense that is its object.  On the
other hand, conduct that has multiple objectives, only some of which have
been achieved, can be prosecuted under the appropriate section of Article 5.
That is, a person may be convicted for one substantive offense and for attempt,
solicitation, or conspiracy in relation to a different offense.
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crime itself.  One of the rationales behind charging conspiracy as a separate crime is that it
acts as a “sanction against group activity.”  2 Wayne R. LaFave & Austin W. Scott, Jr.,
Substantive Criminal Law § 6.4(c) (1986).  A conspiratorial agreement “increases the danger
to society, for by a division of labor the group is more likely to be able to bring about the
criminal result.”  Id.  This rationale justifies separate punishments for the conspiracy and the
object offense or its attempt.
Petitioner finally argues that the Court should adopt the approach of the Model Penal
Code, which prohibits a person from being convicted of more than one inchoate offense
connected to the same crime, i.e., attempt, conspiracy, or solicitation.  American Law
Institute, Model Penal Code and Commentaries § 5.05 (1985).7  We considered this argument
in Monoker but ultimately did not employ the Model Penal Code approach.  Monoker, 321
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Md. at 218, 233-24, 582 A.2d at 527, 529.  We see no reason to revisit the issue.
In sum, Petitioner’s convictions for conspiracy to commit armed robbery and
attempted armed robbery targeted two different crimes and Petitioner properly received two
separate punishments for them.  The conspiracy—whether formed in Petitioner’s campsite,
during the walk to the victims’ campsite, or shortly before the attempted robberies—was a
separate and distinct act from the attempted armed robberies.  We therefore hold, under the
facts of this case, that fundamental fairness does not require merger of Petitioner’s conviction
for conspiracy to commit armed robbery with his attempted armed robbery convictions.
JUDGMENT OF THE COURT OF
SPECIAL APPEALS AFFIRMED.
COSTS IN THIS COURT TO BE PAID
BY PETITIONER.