Opinion ID: 2548669
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 10

Heading: Do Strickland's Sentences Violate Double Jeopardy Principles

Text: [¶39] In issues X and XI, Strickland contends that he is, in essence, being convicted of two crimes and being punished twice when he only set fire to one house, one time. This reasoning is overly simplistic and flies in the face of established authority to the contrary. The two statutes in question are set out in footnotes 1 and 2 at the beginning of the opinion. It is clear upon cursory examination that each has an element that distinguishes it from the other. First-degree arson protects potential victims where an inhabited structure is set afire. Second-degree arson vindicates victims of insurance fraud. Strickland's argument also suffers from a reliance on the belief that malice must be directed to the owner of the structure. In the first section of our opinion we settled that issue. [¶40] The framework for our review of this issue is summarized in Pope v. State, 2002 WY 9, ¶¶14-16, 38 P.3d 1069, ¶¶14-16 (Wyo. 2002): The Wyoming Supreme Court reviews claims that a constitutional right has been violated by applying our de novo standard of review. Burdine v. State, 974 P.2d 927, 929 (Wyo. 1999). The Fifth Amendment to the United States Constitution and art. 1, § 11 of the Wyoming Constitution guarantee that a person will not be placed twice in jeopardy for the same offense. The double jeopardy provisions of the Wyoming and United States constitutions have the same meaning and are coextensive in application. Vigil v. State, 563 P.2d 1344, 1350 (Wyo. 1977). See also Amrein v. State, 836 P.2d 862, 864 (Wyo. 1992). The double jeopardy constitutional guarantee provides three protections to persons accused of crimes: It protects the accused who has been acquitted against a second prosecution for the same offense; it protects the accused who has been convicted against a second prosecution for the same offense; and it protects the accused against multiple punishments for the same offense. Amrein, 836 P.2d at 864. See also Frenzel v. State, 938 P.2d 867, 868 (Wyo.), cert. denied 522 U.S. 959, 118 S.Ct. 388, 139 L.Ed.2d 303 (1997); Brown v. Ohio, 432 U.S. 161, 165, 97 S.Ct. 2221, 2225, 53 L.Ed.2d 187 (1977). We are concerned with the second protection in this case. The statutory elements test articulated in the famous United States Supreme Court case of Blockburger v. United States, 284 U.S. 299, 304, 52 S.Ct. 180, 182, 76 L.Ed. 306 (1932), is used by this court to analyze claims that a person has been prosecuted twice for the same offense. See e.g., Longstreth v. State, 890 P.2d 551, 553 (Wyo. 1995). The Blockburger test is articulated as follows: The applicable rule is that where 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 whether each provision requires proof of an additional fact which the other does not. Blockburger, 284 U.S. at 304, 52 S.Ct. at 182. See also Longstreth, 890 P.2d at 553. Also see Umbach v. State, 2002 WY 42, ¶8, 42 P.3d 1006, ¶8 (Wyo. 2002); and Bilderback v. State, 13 P.3d 249, 253-55 (Wyo. 2000). [¶41] Strickland also relies on Wyo. Stat. Ann. § 6-3-101(b)(ii) (LexisNexis 2003), which provides that one penalty for first-degree arson is: A fine of not more than the greater of twenty thousand dollars ($20,000.00) or two (2) times the face amount of insurance if the fire was started to cause collection of insurance for the loss. We must, of course, evaluate these statutes as a whole, and we agree with the State that section would only affect punishment. [¶42] Strickland contends that he was, in essence, tried twice for the same crime and that he is punished twice for the same crime. We conclude, as have other jurisdictions, that Strickland was properly tried, convicted, and punished for both first-degree and second-degree arson. Land v. State, 802 N.E.2d 45, 51-52 (Ind.App. 2004) (no double jeopardy violation where defendant convicted of class B felony (arson damage to neighbor's residence) and class D felony (arson damage to his estranged wife's personal property)); State v. Woodson, 629 A.2d 386, 392 (Conn. 1993) (The obvious purpose subsection (a)(3) [of the arson statute] is to prevent and punish fraud against the fire insurance industry, fraud for which the public pays in the long run. In contrast, the purpose of subsection (a)(4) is to protect the life and limb of those public servants charged with the dangerous duty of fighting fires.); and see Belser v. State, 727 N.E.2d 457, 460-61 (Ind. App. 2000) (defendant properly convicted of both arson causing damage to person's dwelling without that person's consent, and arson endangering human life); People v. Walker, 593 N.W.2d 673, 678-79 (Mich. App. 1999) (statutes punishing destruction of property of another by any means, and burning any personal property whether owned by himself or another, protect distinct societal norms); People v. Ayers, 540 N.W.2d 791, 797 (Mich. App. 1995) (convictions for arson of dwelling and for burning insured property did not violate double jeopardy). [¶43] Strickland's double jeopardy rights were not violated.