Title: State v. Grega

State: vermont

Issuer: Vermont Supreme Court

Document:

State v. Grega (99-058); 170 Vt. 573; 750 A.2d 978

[Filed 30-Dec-1999]

                                 ENTRY ORDER

                       SUPREME COURT DOCKET NO. 99-058

                             NOVEMBER TERM, 1999

State of Vermont	               }	APPEALED FROM:
	                               }
	                               }
     v.	                               }	District Court of Vermont,
	                               }	Unit No. 1, Windham Circuit
John Grega	                       }
	                               }	DOCKET NO. 1526-12-94Wmcr	

             In the above-entitled cause, the Clerk will enter:

       Defendant John Grega appeals from the district court's denial of his
  V.R.Cr.P. 35 motion to  correct and reduce his sentence and his V.R.Cr.P.
  33 motion for a new trial.  We affirm the  judgment on defendant's
  V.R.Cr.P. 35 motion and vacate the judgment on defendant's  V.R.Cr.P. 33
  motion.
	
       In August 1995, a jury convicted defendant of aggravated murder, under
  13 V.S.A. § 2311, and  aggravated sexual assault, under 13 V.S.A. § 3253. 
  In October 1995, prior to sentencing,  defendant filed a motion to preclude
  the imposition of sentence, challenging the constitutionality  of 13 V.S.A.
  § 2311(c), which mandates the imposition of a life sentence without parole
  in cases  of aggravated murder.  Defendant argued that 13 V.S.A. § 2311(c)
  violates the separation-of-powers and proportionality clauses of the
  Vermont Constitution.  The court denied the motion.
	
       In December 1995, again prior to sentencing, defendant filed a second
  motion to preclude the  imposition of his sentence.  In this motion,
  defendant argued that he could not be sentenced for  both crimes because
  aggravated sexual assault was a lesser-included offense of aggravated 
  murder.  Therefore, defendant contended, sentencing him for both crimes
  would violate the  Double Jeopardy Clause of the Fifth Amendment to the
  United States Constitution.  The court  denied the motion and imposed a
  sentence of life without parole for the aggravated murder  conviction and
  fifty years to life for the aggravated sexual assault conviction.
	
       Defendant appealed to this Court, arguing, among other things, that
  the court erred in denying  his December 1995 motion.  However, he did not
  appeal the denial of his October 1995 motion.  We concluded that sentencing
  defendant for both aggravated murder and aggravated sexual  assault
  violated the Double Jeopardy Clause.  Hence, we vacated defendant's
  sentence for  aggravated sexual assault.  See State v. Grega,         Vt.       
  ,        ,