Title: State v. Johnson

State: arkansas

Issuer: Arkansas Supreme Court

Document:

STATE of Arkansas v. John Edward JOHNSON

CR 97-593                                          ___ S.W.2d ___

                    Supreme Court of Arkansas
               Opinion delivered December 4, 1997


1.   Constitutional law -- Double Jeopardy Clause -- protection offered. -- The
     Double Jeopardy Clause of the Fifth Amendment to the United
     States Constitution protects a defendant from (1) a second
     prosecution for the same offense after acquittal, (2) a second
     prosecution for the same offense after conviction, and (3)
     multiple punishments for the same offense.

2.   Constitutional law -- Double Jeopardy Clause -- evidence of related
     criminal conduct to enhance sentence for separate crime within statutory
     limits does not constitute punishment. -- Use of evidence of related
     criminal conduct to enhance a defendant's sentence for a
     separate crime within the authorized statutory limits does not
     constitute punishment for that conduct within the meaning of
     the Double Jeopardy Clause.

3.   Constitutional law -- dual sovereignty -- State is separate sovereign with
     respect to federal district court -- rape prosecution was not barred. --
     When a defendant in a single act violates the peace and
     dignity of two sovereigns by breaking the laws of each, he has
     committed two distinct offenses; consequently, when the same
     act transgresses the laws of two sovereigns, it cannot be
     truly averred that the offender has been twice punished for
     the same offense, but only that by one act he has committed
     two offenses, for each of which he is justly punished; thus,
     even if the enhancement of appellee's federal sentence
     constituted punishment, because the State is clearly a
     separate sovereign with respect to the federal district court,
     the State's prosecution of appellee's rape charge would not
     have been barred.

4.   Appeal & error -- trial court erroneously dismissed rape charge -- case
     reversed and remanded for trial. -- Based on the United States
     Supreme Court's holding in Witte v. United States,