Opinion ID: 2265201
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 7

Heading: the robbery judgment and multiple sentences

Text: The common law felony of robbery, recognized in Maryland, is the felonious taking and carrying away of the personal property of another from the victim's person by the use of violence or by putting the victim in fear. See State v. Gover, 267 Md. 602, 606, 298 A.2d 378 (1973). When a deadly weapon is utilized in the robbery, guilt is predicated upon an intent to rob by means of intimidation produced by the use of the weapon, coupled with the apparent ability to execute the threat, expressed or implied, to use the weapon if resistance is offered. Jackson v. State, 231 Md. at 594, 191 A.2d 432. When a robbery is committed without a deadly weapon, the penalty prescribed by the Legislature is imprisonment for not less than three nor more than ten years. § 486. When the robbery is with a deadly weapon the Legislature doubled the penalty, authorizing imprisonment for not more than twenty years. § 488. The reason for the much harsher penalty, of course, was the use of a deadly weapon. There is no expression, indication or suggestion in § 36 or § 488 that the penalty for carrying a deadly weapon, either concealed or openly, may be in addition to the armed robbery sentence. On the other hand, we see an indication to the contrary, arising from the enhancement by the Legislature of the penalty when the robbery is with a deadly weapon. It offends common sense to believe that the Legislature, already punishing the robber for using a deadly weapon, contemplated that the robber could receive an additional term of imprisonment because he carried the weapon used in the robbery. When we have determined that multiple punishments were appropriate where a single course of action violates more than one statutory provision, we have found clear evidence of statutory intent to that effect. When a handgun is the deadly weapon, the Legislature declared its intent in § 36B(d): Any person who shall use a handgun ... in the commission of any felony or any crime of violence . .. shall be guilty of a separate misdemeanor and on conviction thereof shall, in addition to any other sentence imposed by virtue of commission of said felony or misdemeanor.... be sentenced as prescribed in the statute. In Dillon v. State, 277 Md. 571, 584, 357 A.2d 360 (1976), we observed, even though the issue was not directly before us, that § 36B(d) made it clear that the use of a handgun in any felony or crime of violence constitutes a separate misdemeanor, independent of the felony or crime of violence, in connection with which a handgun was used, and mandates a separate minimum sentence. We stated that [t]he provisions in the statute preclude the application of the doctrine of merger of such misdemeanor in the felony or `crime of violence.' Id. In Whack v. State, 288 Md. 137, 149, 416 A.2d 265 (1980), appeal dismissed and cert. denied, 450 U.S. 990, 101 S.Ct. 1688, 68 L.Ed.2d 189 (1981), we announced: In sum, it is clear to us that the General Assembly intended to authorize the imposition of punishment under both § 36B(d) and § 488 of Art. 27, when one commits a robbery with a handgun. We explained: [The General Assembly] has viewed the use of a weapon to intimidate the victim of a robbery as an aggravating factor, warranting the enhanced penalty of § 488. And when that weapon is a handgun, it has viewed it as a further aggravating factor, requiring the additional penalty, under § 36B(d). Id. (emphasis in original). [5] We came to a like conclusion in Frazier v. State, 318 Md. 597, 569 A.2d 684 (1990). Frazier had a record of conviction of a crime of violence. Sections 445(c) and 448 made it a misdemeanor for a person to possess a pistol or revolver if the person had been convicted of a crime of violence. Section 441(c) includes among the definitions of pistol or revolver any firearm with barrel less than twelve inches in length.... Frazier was convicted of this misdemeanor and of carrying the weapon, found to be a handgun, in violation of § 36B. A sentence was imposed on each offense. We found it to be plain, that in the light of § 36B, the Legislature did not intend to prohibit separate penalties for violation of [carrying a handgun and possessing a handgun after having been convicted of a crime of violence]. 318 Md. at 615, 569 A.2d 684. We observed that the two offenses did not merge. Id. We note another example indicating that ordinarily when the Legislature intends that there be multiple penalties it says so. With reference to the Dangerous Controlled Substance Laws it declared: Any penalty for violation of [those Laws] shall be in addition to, and not in lieu of, any civil or administrative penalty or sanction authorized by law. Section 291. We have observed that, unlike § 36B, there is no expression, indication or suggestion in § 36 that the penalty imposed for carrying a deadly weapon, when used in the commission of a robbery may be or shall be in addition to the sentence imposed for the robbery. When a robbery is aggravated by the use of a deadly weapon (other than a handgun), the Legislature responded by enhancing the penalty. And when the robbery was further aggravated by the use of a handgun as the deadly weapon, the Legislature enhanced the penalty even more by calling for a penalty for carrying the handgun in addition to the penalty for armed robbery. Apparently, the Legislature did not believe that a robbery committed by means of a deadly weapon, other than a handgun, is aggravated by the fact that the weapon was carried concealed or openly, for it was silent as to the penalty therefor being in addition to a penalty imposed for robbery or any other crime. Nor do we perceive how robbery with a deadly weapon is aggravated by the mere carrying of the weapon with which the robbery is committed. [T]he general rule for determining whether two criminal violations, treated separately under the statutory provisions, should be deemed the same when both violations are based on the same transaction, is the so-called same evidence or required evidence test set forth in Blockburger v. United States, 284 U.S. 299, 304, 52 S.Ct. 180 [182], 76 L.Ed. 306 (1932).... Whack, 288 Md. at 141-142, 416 A.2d 265 and quoted in Frazier, 318 Md. at 612, 569 A.2d 684. The general rule, however, is not simply a mechanical operation. The required evidence test is not the only standard for determining when two statutory violations, based on the same transaction, will be treated as one. The imposition of multiple punishment ... is often particularly dependent upon the intent of the Legislature. Whack, 288 Md. at 143, 416 A.2d 265. [A]lthough the required evidence test is the normal standard for deciding the allowability of separate sentences, the Legislature may not in certain circumstances intend that separate sentences be imposed for two offenses growing out of the same transaction, even though the two offenses are clearly distinct under the required evidence test. On the other hand ... even though two offenses may be deemed the same under the required evidence test, separate sentences may be permissible, at least where one offense involves a particularly aggravating factor, if the Legislature expresses such an intent. Id. (citation and footnote omitted). Accordingly, in Whack and Frazier, our holding that the two offenses did not merge was predicated on the legislative intent to permit separate penalties. 318 Md. at 615, 569 A.2d 684.