Opinion ID: 2582263
Heading Depth: 3
Heading Rank: 4

Heading: Summary/Analytical Framework

Text: In order to analyze Schoonover's arguments, it is helpful to state an analytical framework which applies when, as here, the issues arise from cumulative punishments imposed in one case. In considering a double jeopardy issue, the overarching inquiry is whether the convictions are for the same offense. There are two components to this inquiry, both of which must be met for there to be a double jeopardy violation: (1) Do the convictions arise from the same conduct? and (2) By statutory definition are there two offenses or only one? See Blockburger v. United States, 284 U.S. 299, 304, 76 L. Ed. 306, 52 S. Ct. 180 (1932) ([W]here the same act or transaction constitutes a violation of two distinct statutory provisions, the test to be applied to determine whether there are two offenses or only one, is . . . .); K.S.A. 2005 Supp. 21-3107(1) (When the same conduct of the defendant may establish the commission of more than one crime . . . . [emphasis added]); K.S.A. 2005 Supp. 21-3107(2) (the defendant may be convicted of either the crime charged or a lesser included crime, but not both). 1. Do the charges arise from the same conduct? If the conduct is discrete, i.e., committed separately and severally, the convictions do not arise from the same offense and there is no double jeopardy violation. If the charges arise from the same act or transaction, the conduct is unitary and the second component must be analyzed to see if the convictions arise from the same offense. To determine if the charges arise from the same conduct, there are several factors which can be applied. State v. Garnes, 229 Kan. 368, 373, 624 P.2d 448 (1981), stated that if the offenses were committed separately and severally, at different times and different places, they cannot be said to arise out of a single wrongful act. In State v. Smallwood, 264 Kan. at 92, time, distance, and causal relationship were identified as factors for determining if the acts were committed separately and severally. The Smallwood court did not explain the causal relationship factor, but other courts have explained that the presence of an intervening event could be a factor. See Herron v. State, 111 N.M. 357, 361, 805 P.2d 624 (1991). Additionally, we note the similarity between the same conduct inquiry and the test to determine if there are multiple acts requiring a jury unanimity instruction. In those cases we have stated: `Incidents are factually separate when independent criminal acts have occurred at different times or when a late[r] criminal act is motivated by a fresh impulse.' [Citations omitted.] State v. Kesselring, 279 Kan. 671, 683, 112 P.3d 175 (2005). Thus, some factors to be considered in determining if conduct is unitary, in other words if it is the same conduct, include: (1) whether the acts occur at or near the same time; (2) whether the acts occur at the same location; (3) whether there is a causal relationship between the acts, in particular whether there was an intervening event; and (4) whether there is a fresh impulse motivating some of the conduct. 2. By statutory definition are there two offenses or only one? The test to be applied to answer this question depends on whether the convictions arise from a single statute or from multiple statutes. If the double jeopardy issue arises from convictions for multiple violations of a single statute the unit of prosecution test is applied. If the double jeopardy issue arises from multiple convictions of different statutes, in other words it is a multiple description issue, the same-elements test is applied. (i) Unit of prosecution test applied to multiple convictions of a single statute. If the double jeopardy issue arises because of convictions on multiple counts for violations of a single statute, the test is: How has the legislature defined the scope of conduct which will comprise one violation of the statute? Under this test, the statutory definition of the crime determines what the legislature intended as the allowable unit of prosecution. There can be only one conviction for each allowable unit of prosecution. The unit of prosecution test applies under either the Double Jeopardy Clause of the Fifth Amendment or § 10 of the Kansas Constitution Bill of Rights. (ii) Same-elements test applied to multiple convictions of different statutes (multiple descriptions). If the double jeopardy issue arises because there are multiple convictions for violations of different statutes, in other words a multiple descriptions issue is stated, the test is: Does one statute require proof of an element not necessary to prove the other offense? If so, the statutes do not define the same conduct and there is not a double jeopardy violation. Under this test, when analyzing the claim under the Double Jeopardy Clause of the Fifth Amendment, the same-elements test serves as a rule of statutory construction to discern whether Congress intended multiple offenses and multiple punishments. When the claim is analyzed under § 10 of the Kansas Constitution Bill of Rights, the same-elements test is applied to implement the legislative declaration in K.S.A. 2005 Supp. 21-3107 that a defendant may be convicted of two crimes arising from the same conduct unless one is a lesser included offense of the other.