Opinion ID: 1210759
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: The Double Jeopardy Clauses of the United States and Hawai`i Constitutions

Text: The circuit court apparently concluded that the Double Jeopardy Clauses of the United States and Hawai`i Constitutions barred retrial of Ake's place to keep firearms charge. We have often recognized that double jeopardy is implicated in three types of situations. Double jeopardy protects individuals against: (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. State v. Quitog, 85 Hawai`i 128, 141, 938 P.2d 559, 572 (1997) (quoting State v. Ontiveros, 82 Hawai`i 446, 450, 923 P.2d 388, 392 (1996)). See also North Carolina v. Pearce, 395 U.S. 711, 717, 89 S.Ct. 2072, 23 L.Ed.2d 656 (1969). The first two situations deal with successive prosecutions, while the third situation deals with multiple punishments. In the successive prosecutions context, this court has adopted the same conduct test as the general standard under the Double Jeopardy Clause of the Hawai`i Constitution. In State v. Lessary, 75 Haw. 446, 865 P.2d 150 (1994), we held that, [u]nder the `same conduct' test, prosecution of [a] charge is barred if the State, to establish the conduct element of [that offense], will prove acts of the defendant on which the State relied to prove the conduct element of [another] offense for which [the defendant] had already been prosecuted. Id. at 460, 865 P.2d at 157. The United States Supreme Court, however, has adopted the same elements test, originally described in Blockburger v. United States, 284 U.S. 299, 52 S.Ct. 180, 76 L.Ed. 306 (1932), as the standard under the Double Jeopardy Clause of the United States Constitution. See United States v. Dixon, 509 U.S. 688, 113 S.Ct. 2849, 125 L.Ed.2d 556 (1993) (overruling Grady v. Corbin, 495 U.S. 508, 110 S.Ct. 2084, 109 L.Ed.2d 548 (1990), and returning to the same elements test). [T]he test to be applied to determine whether there are two offenses or only one, is whether each requires proof of a fact which the other does not. Blockburger, 284 U.S. at 304, 52 S.Ct. 180. [7] In the present case, Ake is clearly invoking the double jeopardy protection against successive prosecutions rather than the protection against multiple punishments. Ake is objecting to the possibility of being retried on the place to keep firearms count after having already been prosecuted in a prior proceeding. Thus, successive prosecutions are at issue in this case, and the same conduct and same elements tests would ordinarily control. It appears, however, that a specific double jeopardy rule governs the particular situation presented here. It is well settled that, when a defendant deliberately seeks termination of his or her proceedings on a basis unrelated to factual guilt or innocence, double jeopardy principles do not bar retrial. See United States v. Scott, 437 U.S. 82, 98-99, 98 S.Ct. 2187, 57 L.Ed.2d 65 (1978); Lee v. United States, 432 U.S. 23, 30-31, 97 S.Ct. 2141, 53 L.Ed.2d 80 (1977); State v. Wells, 78 Hawai`i 373, 377, 894 P.2d 70, 74, reconsideration denied, 78 Hawai`i 474, 896 P.2d 930 (1995); State v. DeCenso, 5 Haw.App. 127, 136, 681 P.2d 573, 580 (1984). [8] The facts in Scott are remarkably similar to the facts in the present case. In Scott, the defendant was charged in a three-count indictment with distribution of various narcotics. Scott, 437 U.S. at 84, 98 S.Ct. 2187. The defendant moved to dismiss the first two counts, and the trial court eventually granted the motion. Id. The third count was submitted to the jury, and the jury found the defendant not guilty. Id. The government appealed the dismissal of the first two counts; however, the United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit concluded that any further prosecution of the defendant was barred by the Double Jeopardy Clause and dismissed the appeal. Id. The Supreme Court reversed the Sixth Circuit for the following reason: We think that in a case such as this the defendant, by deliberately choosing to seek termination of the proceedings against him on a basis unrelated to factual guilt or innocence of the offense of which he is accused, suffers no injury cognizable under the Double Jeopardy Clause.... [W]e conclude that the Double Jeopardy Clause, which guards against Government oppression, does not relieve a defendant from the consequences of his voluntary choice. Id. at 98-99, 98 S.Ct. 2187. Thus, when one or more counts of a multi-count indictment or complaint are terminated on the defendant's own motion and on a basis unrelated to factual guilt or innocence, further proceedings on those counts, including retrial, are permissible. Not only is this rule applicable under the United States Constitution, but it is also applicable under the Hawai`i Constitution. This court's decision in Wells relied heavily on Scott. See Wells, 78 Hawai`i at 376-77, 894 P.2d at 73-74. In DeCenso, the ICA also relied on Scott in addressing double jeopardy principles. See DeCenso, 5 Haw.App. at 136, 681 P.2d at 580. Neither Wells nor DeCenso distinguished between the federal and state constitutions in applying this rule. Therefore, it appears that the rule in Scott is applicable under both the Hawai`i and United States Constitutions. In the present case, Ake was originally charged, in a single two-count complaint, with both terroristic threatening in the first degree and place to keep firearms. However, upon Ake's own motion to dismiss, the circuit court dismissed the place to keep firearms count because it failed to allege all the elements of the offense. Thus, the place to keep firearms count was dismissed on a basis unrelated to factual guilt or innocence. Therefore, the rule in Scott and Wells controls the present case, and retrial is not barred. For these reasons, retrial on the place to keep firearms charge is not barred by the Double Jeopardy Clauses of the United States and Hawai`i Constitutions.