Opinion ID: 853385
Heading Depth: 3
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: Murder and Burglary

Text: Johnson contends that his convictions and sentencing for murder and burglary as a Class A felony violate Indiana's double jeopardy clause. The double jeopardy rule prohibits multiple punishments for the same offense. In Richardson v. State, 717 N.E.2d 32 (Ind. 1999), this Court developed a two-part test for determining whether two convictions are permissible under Indiana's double jeopardy clause. Id. at 49. A double jeopardy violation occurs when `the State ... proceed[s] against a person twice for the same criminal transgression.' Hampton v. State, 719 N.E.2d 803, 809 (Ind.1999) (quoting Richardson, 717 N.E.2d at 49). Under Richardson, two or more offenses are the `same offense' ... if, with respect to either the statutory elements of the challenged crimes or the actual evidence used to convict, the essential elements of one challenged offense also establish the essential elements of another challenged offense. Richardson, 717 N.E.2d at 49. When we look to the actual evidence presented at trial, we will reverse one of the convictions if there is a reasonable possibility that the evidentiary facts used by the fact-finder to establish the essential elements of one offense may also have been used to establish the essential elements of a second challenged offense. Id. at 53. In this case, the record is clear that the same evidence that supported Johnson's murder conviction was also used to elevate Johnson's burglary conviction to a Class A felony. Burglary is a Class A felony if it results in serious bodily injury. The serious bodily injury alleged and proven by the State in this case was Miller's death, the same facts used to convict Johnson of murder. Thus, under Richardson, Johnson's conviction of Class A burglary cannot stand. However, this does not entitle Johnson to escape punishment for the burglary of which he was convicted. When two convictions are found to contravene double jeopardy principles, we may remedy the violation by reducing either conviction to a less serious form of the offense if doing so will eliminate the violation. Id. at 54. The burglary statute provides: A person who breaks and enters the building or structure of another person, with intent to commit a felony in it, commits burglary, a Class C felony. However, the offense is a Class B felony if it is committed while armed with a deadly weapon or if the building or structure is a dwelling, and a Class A felony if it results in either bodily injury or serious bodily injury to any person other than a defendant. I.C. § 35-43-2-1 (1998) (emphasis added). Here, the evidence presented at trial showed that Johnson broke and entered Miller's homea dwelling. Thus, we reduce Johnson's burglary conviction to a Class B felony.