Opinion ID: 853350
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: What Is A Conviction?

Text: The word conviction is not a term of art, and its multiple definitions create some confusion. Black's Law Dictionary 335 (7th ed.1999) offers two legal definitions. The first is: The act or process of judicially finding someone guilty of a crime; the state of having been proved guilty. Id. (emphasis added). The second is: The judgment (as by a jury verdict) that a person is guilty of a crime. Id. Courts, including this one, commonly say a jury convicted the defendant of.... See, e.g., Hulfachor v. State, 735 N.E.2d 214, 216 (Ind.2000). This is a true statement, using Black's second definition. This periodic mingling of terms, however, should not obscure the fact that a guilty verdict and a judgment of conviction are two rather different things. It is highly ordinary that a jury (or, as with Count III here, a judge in a bench trial) may hear evidence about multiple counts during a single trial and determine guilt on each of them. These findings of guilt do not mean that a defendant has faced multiple sentences or multiple judgments of conviction. Asking the jury to deliberate on all potential charges that are supported by the evidence is a sensible and efficient practice. A verdict of guilty can certainly be a significant legal event, but only if a court later enters judgment on it. A verdict on which the trial court enters judgment notwithstanding the verdict, [6] for example, is a victory for the defendant. Similarly, a verdict of guilt on which no judgment or sentence has been entered would not constitute legal grounds for incarceration. We treat the judgments and sentences entered by courts in a different way. When two or more of the charges constitute the same offense for double jeopardy purposes, for example, the defendant may not be punished on all the charges. See, e.g., Duncan v. State, 735 N.E.2d 211, 212, 214 (Ind.2000)(jury found defendant guilty of murder, felony murder, robbery, and auto theft, but court properly sentenced for murder and robbery only because the other two charges were lesser included offenses). This is true when a court enters convictions and sentences on a greater and lesser offense. Mason v. State, 532 N.E.2d 1169 (Ind.1989), cert. denied, 490 U.S. 1049, 109 S.Ct. 1960, 104 L.Ed.2d 428 (1989). Indeed, we have regarded a judgment of conviction as constituting punishment even if the defendant avoids imprisonment. Here, for example, the fact of Carter's prior OWI conviction justified enhancement of the current charge from misdemeanor to felony status, without regard to whether any sentence was imposed for that prior conviction. See also Patton v. State, 242 Ind. 477, 488, 179 N.E.2d 867, 872 (1962)(A sentence, although suspended, places some limitation upon the conduct of the party involved and, to this extent, it is a penalty imposed.). Our statutes likewise suggest that a verdict by a jury and a judgment issued by a court are two rather different acts from which different consequences flow. They describe a two-tier process of verdicts or findings that are usually, but not invariably, followed by conviction and sentencing. Indiana Code Ann. Title 35, article 38, Proceedings Following Dismissal, Verdict, or Finding, sets forth what follows the jury's or judge's factual findings. Chapter 1, Entry of Judgment and Sentencing, reads in part: After a verdict, finding, or plea of guilty, if a new trial is not granted, the court shall enter a judgment of conviction. Ind.Code Ann. § 35-38-1-1(a) (West 2000). [7] Indiana Code Ann. § 35-38-1-6 (West 2000) qualifies this mandate: Whenever (1) a defendant is charged with an offense and an included offense in separate counts; and (2) the defendant is found guilty of both counts; judgment and sentence may not be entered against the defendant for the included offense.