Opinion ID: 1625285
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 5

Heading: Failure to Merge the Sentences.

Text: As we said, the district court sentenced Gallup to two separate terms on the counts of delivery of a controlled substance and distribution of a controlled substance without a drug tax stamp. Gallup contends this sentence is a violation of Iowa Code section 701.9, which provides: No person shall be convicted of a public offense which is necessarily included in another public offense of which the person is convicted. If the jury returns a verdict of guilty of more than one offense and such verdict conflicts with this section, the court shall enter judgment of guilty of the greater offense only. In support of his contention, Gallup urges that the delivery offense is a lesser included offense of the drug tax stamp offense and for that reason section 701.9 precludes judgment of conviction and sentence on both offenses. Gallup insists that the district court should have entered judgment only on the greater offense: the drug tax stamp violation. For this reason, Gallup concludes, the sentence is void and should be set aside. See Iowa R.Crim.P. 23(5). Section 701.9 codifies the double jeopardy protection against cumulative punishment. In division IIIA of this opinion, we determined that the legislature intended to punish cumulatively violations of section 204.401(1)(b)(3) (the delivery offense) of the Uniform Controlled Substances Act and section 421A.12 (the drug tax stamp offense). Because the legislature intended cumulative punishment, no double jeopardy violation is present in this case. For that reason, section 701.9 is not applicable and no merger is required. The lesser included offense analysis in division IIIA is solely for the purpose of determining whether the Double Jeopardy Clause is offended. When a prosecutor charges a chapter 204 offense and a chapter 421A offense in separate counts, district courts should not submit the former to the jury as a lesser included offense of the latter. Rather, district courts should submit these offenses separately. In the event of conviction on both offenses, district courts should not apply the merger provision of section 701.9 but should, instead, render sentence on each conviction.