Opinion ID: 2582263
Heading Depth: 4
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: Groves

Text: The analysis of the Court of Appeals panel in this case and the Groves decision attempt to reconcile two lines of decisions in Kansas. Under one, the cases hold that the common-law elements test is the only test to be applied. The second applies the concept of merger to cases arising from a single course of conduct or single act of conduct. Groves, 278 Kan. at 305-07. Both lines of cases are stated in terms of multiplicity. In Groves, this court determined that the defendant's convictions for aggravated robbery and aggravated battery were multiplicitous because they arose from a single act of violence. The defendant, in one physical motion, grabbed a woman's purse and threw her to the ground causing great bodily injury. This court's decision in Groves arose on review of a holding by a Court of Appeals panel that the convictions were multiplicitous. The panel noted the impressive case precedent supporting Groves' claim of multiplicitous convictions. State v. Groves, 31 Kan. App. 2d 635, 636, 70 P.3d 717 (2003), aff'd 278 Kan. 302, 95 P.3d 95 (2003). The panel cited State v. Warren, 252 Kan. 169, 182, 843 P.2d 224 (1992) (aiding and abetting aggravated battery conviction was multiplicitous with aggravated robbery conviction where both counts charged participation in the act of knocking down an elderly woman to steal a purse), and State v. Vontress, 266 Kan. 248, 257, 970 P.2d 42 (1998) (aggravated robbery and aggravated battery convictions were multiplicitous where shooting of one of the victims was used to prove both crimes). The Court of Appeals panel in Groves noted it was bound to follow this precedent. Additionally, it concluded that this court would not retreat from Warren and Vontress even though there had been indications otherwise. We acknowledge since Warren and Vontress were decided, K.S.A. 21-3107 has been amended to remove former K.S.A. 21-3107(2)(d). See L. 1998, ch. 185, § 1. The significance of that amendment was considered in State v. Garcia, 272 Kan. 140, 32 P.3d 188 (2001). In Garcia, the Supreme Court followed its decisions in Warren and Vontress when it held the appellant's conviction for aggravated kidnapping was multiplicitous with either the rape or aggravated criminal sodomy convictions because `the bodily harm needed to prove aggravated kidnapping was the same bodily harm supplied by one of the rape convictions or the aggravated criminal sodomy conviction.' 272 Kan. at 147. Although the court followed Warren and Vontress, it pointed out a change in the multiplicity analysis as a result of the revision of K.S.A. 21-3107: `It should be noted that in 1998, the Kansas Legislature amended K.S.A. 21-3107 to essentially remove the former K.S.A. 21-3107(2)(d). See L. 1998, ch. 185, § 1. In its place, the legislature inserted a new version, K.S.A. 2000 Supp. 21-3107(2)(b), which provides that an included crime is one where all of the elements of the lesser crime are identical to some of the elements of the crime charged. This will necessarily change the multiplicity analysis for cases which occur under the new statute and signifies a return to the identity of the elements standard that this court used prior to the enactment of K.S.A. 21-3107. Such a change, while allowing convictions for crimes which would have been multiplicitous under the statute at issue here, does not violate constitutional prohibitions against double jeopardy as it does not subject defendants to punishments greater than those intended by the legislature. [Citation omitted.]' 272 Kan. at 147. We do not believe the dicta in Garcia signifies a retreat by the Kansas Supreme Court from its holdings in Warren and Vontress. Both of those cases were analyzed under a single act of violence paradigm unaffected by a lesser included analysis under K.S.A. 21-3107, before or after the 1998 amendment. We conclude the dicta in Garcia is not persuasive authority the Supreme Court will retreat from its holdings in Warren and Vontress. Accordingly, we hold Groves' conviction for aggravated battery must be set aside and the charge dismissed. 31 Kan. App. 2d at 636-38. This court agreed that the single act of violence paradigm concerning multiplicity is unaffected by the lesser included analysis under K.S.A. 21-3107 before or after the 1998 amendment. 278 Kan. at 305. To support this conclusion, the court discussed the general principles of multiplicity as set out in Schuette, 273 Kan. 593; Garcia, 272 Kan. 140; and Garnes, 229 Kan. 368, and cited other cases applying a single act of violence paradigm, including State v. Cathey, 241 Kan. 715, 741 P.2d 738 (1987); State v. Bishop, 240 Kan. 647, 732 P.2d 765 (1987); and State v. Racey, 225 Kan. 404, 590 P.2d 1064 (1979). Application of the single act of violence paradigm resulted in Groves' conviction for aggravated battery being set aside. This same relief would not have resulted from application of the same-elements test; aggravated robbery and aggravated battery do not share identical elements. Thus, Groves illustrates that the single act/merger test provides broader protection against prosecution and conviction in multiple description cases than does the Blockburger analysis applied under a Fifth Amendment analysis. The State suggests that there is no constitutional basis for this broader protection. To resolve this issue, we must examine the development of the multiplicity and double jeopardy issue in Kansas. In doing so, we divide our discussion into (1) early common law; (2) single act of violence cases decided prior to 1969 (when K.S.A. 21-3107 was enacted); (3) cases decided between 1969 (following the enactment of K.S.A. 21-3107) and 1998 (when K.S.A. 21-3107 was amended); (4) cases decided after the 1998 amendment; (5) cases applying the merger doctrine; and (6) felony-murder cases.