Title: Com. v. Harris

State: pennsylvania

Issuer: Pennsylvania Supreme Court

Document:

400 Pa. Superior Ct. 12 (1990) 582 A.2d 1319 COMMONWEALTH of Pennsylvania v. William Robert HARRIS, Appellant. Supreme Court of Pennsylvania. Argued March 30, 1990. Filed November 30, 1990. *14 Sally A Frick, Pittsburgh, for appellant. Kemal A. Mericli, Asst. Dist. Atty., Pittsburgh, for Com., appellee. Before CIRILLO, President Judge, and WIEAND, McEWEN, MONTEMURO, BECK, KELLY, JOHNSON, HUDOCK and FORD ELLIOTT, JJ. WIEAND, Judge: William Robert Harris was charged by criminal information with committing the crimes of robbery in violation of 18 Pa.C.S. § 3701(a)(1)(i) and aggravated assault in violation of 18 Pa.C.S. § 2702(a)(1). At trial, Harris requested and received from the trial court a jury instruction on simple assault as defined at 18 Pa.C.S. § 2701(a)(1). The jury found Harris not guilty of robbery but guilty of simple assault. It was unable to reach a verdict on the charge of aggravated assault, and with respect thereto the trial court *15 declared a mistrial. When the Commonwealth attempted to retry Harris on the aggravated assault charge, he filed a motion to dismiss on grounds of double jeopardy. This motion, following hearing, was denied by the trial court, and Harris appealed. The Commonwealth's trial evidence disclosed the following facts. On January 28, 1986, at or about 7:30 p.m., David Johnston was approached in the parking lot of Three Rivers Stadium, Pittsburgh, and asked for a quarter by a person later identified as appellant. When Johnston refused the request, appellant pointed a gun at Johnston and demanded all his money. Johnston again refused; whereupon, appellant pulled the trigger. The gun, however, did not fire. Johnston then ran toward his car, with appellant in pursuit. Appellant was able to overtake Johnston before he entered his car and beat him with the gun. As a result of this beating, Johnston sustained injuries which included four broken facial bones and required hospitalization for a period of ten (10) days. As a general rule, a mistrial because of a jury's inability to agree upon a verdict does not implicate principles of double jeopardy; and, therefore, a retrial is not barred. This was explained by the Supreme Court of the United States in Richardson v. United States, 468 U.S. 317, 104 S. Ct. 3081, 82 L. Ed. 2d 242 (1984), as follows: Id. at 324-325, 104 S. Ct. at 3085-3086, 82 L. Ed. 2d at 250, quoting Wade v. Hunter, 336 U.S. 684, 688-689, 69 S. Ct. 834, 837, 93 L. Ed. 974, 978 (1949). See also: United States v. Perez, 9 Wheat 579, 6 L. Ed. 165 (1824); Commonwealth v. James, 506 Pa. 526, 531, 486 A.2d 376, 378-379 (1985); Commonwealth v. Mehmeti, 501 Pa. 589, 592, 462 A.2d 657, 659 (1983). In Commonwealth v. McCane, 517 Pa. 489, 539 A.2d 340 (1988), the Pennsylvania Supreme Court held that principles of double jeopardy did not preclude reprosecution on a charge of homicide by vehicle while driving under the influence of alcohol after a jury had found the defendant guilty of driving under the influence but could not agree upon a verdict on the charge of homicide by vehicle while driving under the influence. The Court reasoned as follows: Id. 517 Pa. at 499-500, 539 A.2d at 345-346. See also: Commonwealth v. Vincent, 345 Pa.Super. 173, 497 A.2d 1360 (1985). Principles of collateral estoppel, it has been held, are a part of the double jeopardy analysis. Ashe v. Swenson, 397 U.S. 436, 90 S. Ct. 1189, 25 L. Ed. 2d 469 (1970); Commonwealth v. Crenshaw, 504 Pa. 33, 37, 470 A.2d 451, 453 (1983); Commonwealth v. Hude, 492 Pa. 600, 425 A.2d 313 (1980) (plurality opinion). Thus, in Commonwealth v. Zimmerman, 498 Pa. 112, 445 A.2d 92 (1981), the Court held that retrial on charges of third degree murder, voluntary manslaughter and involuntary manslaughter was barred after a jury had been unable to agree upon a verdict, because the same jury had acquitted the defendant on charges of first degree murder and simple assault. The Court reasoned that simple assault was a constituent element of all grades of homicide, and having been found not guilty of simple assault, the defendant could not thereafter be found guilty of any degree of homicide. A similar analysis was applied by the Superior Court in Commonwealth v. Jones, 274 Pa.Super. 162, 418 A.2d 346 (1980). There, the defendant had been acquitted of rape by forcible compulsion and simple assault by causing or attempting to cause bodily injury. The jury was unable to reach a verdict, however, on charges of rape by threat of forcible compulsion and simple assault by putting another in fear of serious bodily injury through physical menace. The Court held that double jeopardy did not bar retrial of the charges on which the jury had been unable to agree. The Court said: Id. 274 Pa.Super. at 171-172, 418 A.2d at 350-351 (footnote omitted). See also: Commonwealth v. Pounds, 281 Pa.Super. 19, 421 A.2d 1126 (1980) (reprosecution for homicide by *19 vehicle following hung jury was not barred by double jeopardy where defendant had also been convicted of driving under the influence of alcohol and summary offense of driving to the left of center). The rule which emerges from the decided cases, therefore, is that retrial of charges on which a jury has been unable to agree is not barred unless the jury made findings on one or more other charges which must be interpreted as an acquittal of the offense for which the defendant is to be retried. The aggravated assault charge, on which the jury was unable to reach a verdict in this case, is defined at 18 Pa.C.S. § 2702(a)(1) as follows: The offense of robbery, for which appellant was acquitted, is defined at 18 Pa.C.S. § 3701(a)(1)(i) as follows: After careful review, we conclude that the acquittal of robbery did not necessarily operate as an acquittal of aggravated assault. The charge of robbery involved (a) the infliction of serious bodily injury (b) in the course of committing a theft. The crime of aggravated assault, however, does not require either a theft or the infliction of serious bodily injury. It is enough for conviction that appellant attempted to cause serious bodily injury to Johnston. The crime of aggravated assault also does not involve a theft. The jury in this case may have acquitted appellant of robbery because it concluded that the commission of a theft had not been proven. Because neither a theft nor the actual infliction of serious *20 bodily injury was a necessary element of aggravated assault, a retrial for aggravated assault is not barred by principles of collateral estoppel. Similarly, the jury's finding that appellant was guilty of committing a simple assault does not preclude a retrial on the charge of aggravated assault.[1] Simple assault is defined at 18 Pa.C.S. § 2701(a)(1) as follows: By its verdict, the jury found that appellant had caused or attempted to cause bodily injury.[2] This finding does not necessarily prevent a finding by another jury that appellant also had caused or attempted to cause serious bodily injury.[3] We conclude, therefore, that a retrial of appellant on the charge of aggravated assault is not barred by principles of double jeopardy. Appellant also contends that a retrial is barred by Pa.R.Crim.P. 1120(d). This rule provides as follows: The rule was applied in Commonwealth v. Roberts, 484 Pa. 500, 399 A.2d 404 (1979), where a jury had been unable to agree upon a verdict on a charge of murder of the second degree after finding the defendant guilty of burglary and conspiracy but acquitting him of first degree murder, third degree murder, voluntary manslaughter and involuntary manslaughter. The Supreme Court held that the trial court had properly dismissed the second degree murder charge on the authority of Rule 1120(d), because involuntary manslaughter, voluntary manslaughter and third degree murder were lesser included offenses of second degree murder and because murder of the second degree was a lesser included offense of first degree murder. Justice Nix (now Chief Justice) wrote a strong dissent in which Justice Larsen joined. They reasoned: Id. 484 Pa. at 507-508, 399 A.2d at 407-408 (Nix, J., dissenting) (footnotes omitted). In Commonwealth v. McCane, supra, the Supreme Court interpreted Rule 1120(d) in a manner similar to that suggested in the dissenting opinion in Roberts. There, the issue was whether the defendant's conviction for driving while under the influence of a controlled substance operated under Rule 1120(d) as an acquittal of homicide by vehicle while under the influence a charge on which the jury could not agree. In an opinion written by Justice Larsen, the Court held: Id. 517 Pa. at 497, 539 A.2d at 344. See also: Commonwealth v. Vincent, supra. Under McCane, retrial on a charge upon which a jury could not reach a verdict will be barred only where the same jury has also returned verdicts on lesser or greater offenses which necessarily operate as an acquittal of the charge on which the jury could not agree. Rule 1120(d), the Court held, is merely a codification of the double jeopardy bar against successive prosecutions for the same offense. This analysis is in clear conflict with the earlier decision of a majority of the Court in Roberts and can only be interpreted as a repudiation thereof. Compare: Commonwealth v. Kemmerer, 381 Pa.Super. 533, 554 A.2d 514 (1989), allocatur granted, 522 Pa. 574, 559 A.2d 35 (1989). But see the Dissenting Opinion by Wieand, J. We conclude that the McCane analysis is the better view and that Roberts has been overruled sub silentio. When Rule 1120(d) is applied consistently with McCane, we find that the analysis in the instant case must necessarily be the same as that employed to determine whether retrial on the charge of aggravated assault is barred by principles of double jeopardy. Because retrial is not barred by principles of double jeopardy, it also is not barred by Rule 1120(d). Neither appellant's acquittal of robbery nor his conviction of simple assault necessarily requires a finding that he is not guilty of aggravated assault. Finally, appellant's retrial is not barred by the provisions of 18 Pa.C.S. § 110.[4] This section of the Crimes Code *24 "applies only to successive prosecutions, not to the distinct problem of retrial following a deadlocked jury." Commonwealth v. Vincent, supra 345 Pa.Super. at 177, 497 A.2d at 1362 (footnote omitted). See also: Commonwealth v. McCane, supra 517 Pa. at 497-498, 539 A.2d at 344-345. Section 110 "applies only where the prosecution is attempting to bring charges to trial on a new offense which follows a previous trial for the same conduct." Commonwealth v. Pounds, supra 281 Pa.Super. at 22, 421 A.2d at 1127. It was designed to limit successive prosecutions where all charges arising out of the same criminal transaction could have been brought in a single prosecution. See: Commonwealth v. Holmes, 480 Pa. 536, 391 A.2d 1015 (1978); Commonwealth *25 v. Campana, 452 Pa. 233, 304 A.2d 432 (1973), vacated and remanded, 414 U.S. 808, 94 S. Ct. 73, 38 L. Ed. 2d 44 (1973), on remand, 455 Pa. 622, 314 A.2d 854 (1974), cert. denied, 417 U.S. 969, 94 S. Ct. 3172, 41 L. Ed. 2d 1139 (1974). Instantly, the Commonwealth complied with Section 110 by bringing all charges against appellant in a single proceeding. A retrial on the charge of aggravated assault because of a deadlocked jury, therefore, is not precluded. See: Commonwealth v. McCane, supra; Commonwealth v. Vincent, supra; Commonwealth v. Pounds, supra. It is apparent, for the foregoing reasons, that a retrial of appellant on a charge of aggravated assault is not barred by statute, rule of court, or constitutional safeguard. The order of the trial court, therefore, must be affirmed. Order affirmed. [1] The reverse is not true. If the jury had found appellant not guilty of simple assault, principles of collateral estoppel would have barred a retrial for aggravated assault. See: Commonwealth v. Zimmerman, supra. [2] Bodily injury is defined at 18 Pa.C.S. § 2301 as an "[i]mpairment of physical condition or substantial pain." [3] Serious bodily injury is defined at 18 Pa.C.S. § 2301 as "[b]odily injury which creates a substantial risk of death or which causes serious, permanent disfigurement or protracted loss or impairment of the function of any bodily member or organ." [4] This section of the Crimes Code is as follows: § 110. When prosecution barred by former prosecution for different offense Although a prosecution is for a violation of a different provision of the statutes than a former prosecution or is based on different facts, it is barred by such former prosecution under the following circumstances: (1) The former prosecution resulted in an acquittal or in a conviction as defined in section 109 of this title (relating to when prosecution barred by former prosecution for the same offense) and the subsequent prosecution is for: (i) any offense of which the defendant could have been convicted on the first prosecution; (ii) any offense based on the same conduct or arising from the same criminal episode, if such offense was known to the appropriate prosecuting officer at the time of the commencement of the first trial and was within the jurisdiction of a single court unless the court ordered a separate trial of the charge of such offense; or (iii) the same conduct, unless: (A) the offense of which the defendant was formerly convicted or acquitted and the offense for which he is subsequently prosecuted each requires proof of a fact not required by the other and the law defining each of such offenses is intended to prevent a substantially different harm or evil; or (B) the second offense was not consummated when the former trial began. (2) The former prosecution was terminated, after the indictment was found, by an acquittal or by a final order or judgment for the defendant which has not been set aside, reversed or vacated and which acquittal, final order or judgment necessarily required a determination inconsistent with a fact which must be established for conviction of the second offense. (3) The former prosecution was improperly terminated, as improper termination is defined in section 109 of this title (relating to when prosecution barred by former prosecution for the same offense) and the subsequent prosecution is for an offense of which the defendant could have been convicted had the former prosecution not been improperly terminated.