Opinion ID: 2617027
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 6

Heading: Redundant conviction

Text: We conclude that Dossey's conviction is redundant and therefore vacate two counts of his conviction. In Albitre v. State, 103 Nev. 281, 738 P.2d 1307 (1987), this court reversed as redundant two counts of reckless driving causing death and two counts of involuntary manslaughter while upholding the appellant's conviction of two counts of felony driving under the influence causing death. This court held: The gravamen of all the charges is that Albitre proximately caused the death of two persons by operating a vehicle in a reckless and unsafe manner due to her intoxication. The State has simply compounded the convictions by eliminating the aspect of alcohol from the four counts under question. We are convinced that the Legislature never intended to permit the State to proliferate charges as to one course of conduct by adorning it with chameleonic attire. Although charging to the limit may be justified to cover developing nuances of proof, the jury should have received an instruction limiting the number of conviction alternatives. The failure to do so was error. Id. at 284, 738 P.2d at 1309. We conclude that the same error was committed here. NRS 484.379(1) states: 1. It is unlawful for any person who: (a) Is under the influence of intoxicating liquor; (b) Has 0.10 percent or more by weight of alcohol in his blood; or (c) Is found by measurement within 2 hours after driving or being in actual physical control of a vehicle to have 0.10 percent or more by weight of alcohol in his blood, to drive or be in actual physical control of a vehicle on a highway or on premises to which the public has access. Dossey was charged and convicted of each subsection, resulting in three separate counts. We conclude that the legislature intended the subsections of this statute to define alternative means of committing a single offense, not separable offenses permitting a conviction of multiple counts based on a single act. See, e.g., Long v. State, 109 Nev. 523, 528, 853 P.2d 112, 115 (1993) (holding that [u]nder the plain language of NRS 484.379, a person driving a vehicle may violate NRS 484.379 in either of two ways: by driving while under the influence of intoxicating liquor or by driving while having 0.10 percent or more by weight of alcohol in the blood [2] ); accord Blume v. State, 112 Nev. 472, 915 P.2d 282 (1996). The district court erred by failing to instruct the jury that it could find Dossey guilty of only one count under NRS 484.379(1). Accordingly, we affirm Dossey's conviction and sentence on one count alleging violation of NRS 484.379(1)(a). We vacate his conviction and sentences on the remaining two counts.