Opinion ID: 1451006
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: The Double Jeopardy Clause Precludes Henry's Being Twice Convicted For Possessing The Same Firearm.

Text: Finally, as noted above, both of Henry's indictments included illegal possession of a firearm charges based on Henry's possession of the .45 caliber handgun; first when he stole the gun in January 2004 and again when he threw it into the vacant lot in February of that year. Henry's guilty plea simply recites the indictments with the result that in both cases he was convicted of the firearm offense. Henry maintains that the constitutional guarantee against double jeopardy precludes his double conviction for what amounts to a single offense. We agree. As Henry correctly observes, uninterrupted possession of the same contraband over a period of time is but one offense constituting a continuing course of conduct, precluding convictions of multiple offenses for possession of the same contraband on different dates. Fulcher v. Commonwealth, 149 S.W.3d 363, 376 (Ky.2004). Because Henry's possession of the handgun was not interrupted by legal process it thus constituted a single offense for which Henry should not have been indicted and convicted a second time. Henry did not raise this issue in the trial court, however, and the Court of Appeals ruled that his plea bargain effected a waiver of the constitutional right. Although we agree with the Court of Appeals that an express waiver of one's right to avoid double jeopardy in exchange for some benefit would preclude a subsequent double jeopardy challenge, there was no express waiver here. Moreover, the United States Supreme Court has held that where, as here, the double jeopardy violation is clear from the record without the need for additional fact finding, a guilty plea does not preclude subsequent relief. United States v. Broce, 488 U.S. 563, 109 S.Ct. 757, 102 L.Ed.2d 927 (1989) (citing Menna v. New York, 423 U.S. 61, 96 S.Ct. 241, 46 L.Ed.2d 195 (1975)). We agree with Henry, therefore, that his second conviction for illegal firearm possession in case number 04-CR-00884 must be reversed.