McKnight v. State

906 So. 2d 368, 2005 WL 1704297
District Court of Appeal of Florida·Decided July 22, 2005·No. 5D04-1261·Published·Cited by 19 cases

Opinion

906 So.2d 368 (2005)

Patrick McKNIGHT, Appellant,
v.
STATE of Florida, Appellee.

No. 5D04-1261.

District Court of Appeal of Florida, Fifth District.

July 22, 2005.

*369 James S. Purdy, Public Defender, and Leonard R. Ross, Assistant Public Defender, Daytona Beach, for Appellant.

Charles J. Crist, Jr., Attorney General, Tallahassee, and Pamela J. Koller, Assistant Attorney General, Daytona Beach, for Appellee.

SAWAYA, J.

The issue we must resolve is whether the proscriptions against double jeopardy prohibit multiple convictions of first-degree vehicular homicide under section 782.071(1)(b), Florida Statutes (2001), for the death of each victim involved in a single accident caused by the defendant who subsequently fled the accident scene and failed to render aid to the victims.[1]

*370 We will not belabor the facts, which are especially tragic for the victims and their families. For purposes of the issue we must resolve, suffice it to say that McKnight was pulled over for a cracked windshield and consented to the officer's request to search both McKnight and the vehicle. At some point McKnight became uncooperative and suddenly left the scene in his vehicle. A pursuit ensued during which McKnight ran a red light and caused a collision with another vehicle. Two occupants of the other vehicle were killed and a third occupant was seriously injured. After the collision, McKnight got out of his vehicle and fled on foot. He was subsequently apprehended and arrested.

McKnight was charged with several offenses, but the two with which we are concerned here are the counts charging vehicular homicide for the deaths of each victim. Each of the two counts was charged as a first-degree felony under section 782.071(1)(b), Florida Statutes (2001), because McKnight failed to render aid to the victims. The case was tried, the jury found McKnight guilty as charged of both counts, and he was sentenced to two concurrent 30-year terms of imprisonment.[2] McKnight now contends that the prohibition against double jeopardy was violated when he was convicted of both counts of first-degree vehicular homicide.

The State argues that McKnight waived the double jeopardy argument because he did not raise it in the trial court. We reject that argument. Absent a knowing and voluntary waiver, which may occur when a defendant enters into a negotiated plea agreement with the state for a specific sentence, a violation of double jeopardy is fundamental error that may be raised for the first time on appeal. Novaton v. State, 634 So.2d 607 (Fla.1994); Safrany v. State, 895 So.2d 1145 (Fla. 2d DCA 2005); Hunsicker v. State, 881 So.2d 1166 (Fla. 5th DCA 2004), review denied, 894 So.2d 970 (Fla.2005). There is no such waiver here and, therefore, we will proceed to resolve the double jeopardy issue.

"Three basic protections emanate from the Double Jeopardy Clauses of the Federal and Florida Constitutions: 1) protection against a subsequent prosecution for the same offense after acquittal; 2) protection against a subsequent prosecution for the same offense after conviction; and 3) protection against multiple punishments for the same offense." Hunsicker, 881 So.2d at 1169 (citations omitted). McKnight's double jeopardy claim is based on the third category. In instances where the third category is implicated and multiple convictions are based on violations of different statutes, the courts apply the "same elements" test enunciated in Blockburger v. United States, 284 U.S. 299, 52 S.Ct. 180, 76 L.Ed. 306 (1932), now codified in section 775.021(4), Florida Statutes (2001), to determine whether a double jeopardy violation has occurred. Cruller v. State, 808 So.2d 201 (Fla.2002); Gordon v. State, 780 So.2d 17 (Fla.2001); M.P. v. State, 682 So.2d 79 (Fla.1996).[3] However, *371 McKnight was charged and convicted of two violations of the same statute arising out of a single accident. In cases involving multiple violations of the same statute, the "same elements" test does not apply.[4] In this instance, the courts apply the "allowable unit of prosecution" standard to determine whether a double jeopardy violation has occurred. Sanabria v. United States, 437 U.S. 54, 98 S.Ct. 2170, 57 L.Ed.2d 43 (1978); Bautista v. State, 863 So.2d 1180 (Fla.2003); Wallace v. State, 724 So.2d 1176 (Fla.1998); Grappin v. State, 450 So.2d 480 (Fla.1984).

The "allowable unit of prosecution" standard recognizes that the Double Jeopardy Clauses are offended if multiple punishments are imposed for the same offense. The Legislature defines whether offenses are the same by prescribing the "allowable unit of prosecution," which is the aspect of criminal activity that the Legislature intended to punish. See United States v. Chipps, 410 F.3d 438 (8th Cir. 2005). In other words, it is a distinguishable discrete act that is a separate violation of the statute. The discovery of the allowable unit of prosecution is a task of statutory construction. Bautista; Wallace. If the Legislature fails to establish the unit of prosecution clearly and without ambiguity, we must resolve any doubt as to legislative intent by application of the rule of lenity. Bautista; Wallace; Grappin.

To discern legislative intent, we must apply a common-sense approach which requires that we consider the statutory language, the purpose of the statute, the evil to be corrected, the legislative history, and the pertinent case law that has applied the statute or similar enactments. Bautista, 863 So.2d at 1186 ("`To discern legislative intent, courts must consider the statute as a whole, including the evil to be corrected, the language, title, and history of its enactment, and the state of law already in existence on the statute.'") (quoting State v. Anderson, 764 So.2d 848, 849 (Fla. 3d DCA 2000)). Included within the ambit of this commonsense approach is the "a/any test," which is a "valuable but nonexclusive means to assist courts in determining the intended unit of prosecution." Bautista, 863 So.2d at 1188; see also Wallace; Grappin; Marin v. State, 684 So.2d 859 (Fla. 5th DCA 1996). When the article "a" is used by the Legislature in the text of the statute, the intent of the Legislature is clear that each discrete act constitutes an allowable unit of prosecution. Bautista; Bryan v. State, *372 865 So.2d 677 (Fla. 4th DCA 2004). Use of the adjective "any" indicates an ambiguity that may require application of the rule of lenity. Bautista.

We look first to the language of the vehicular homicide statute. Section 782.071, Florida Statutes (2001), provides:

"Vehicular homicide" is the killing of a human being, or the killing of a viable fetus by any injury to the mother, caused by the operation of a motor vehicle by another in a reckless manner likely to cause the death of, or great bodily harm to, another.
(1) Vehicular homicide is:
(a) A felony of the second degree, punishable as provided in s. 775.082, s. 775.083, or s. 775.084.
(b) A felony of the first degree, punishable as provided in s. 775.082, s. 775.083, or s. 775.084, if:
1.

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McKnight v. State, 906 So. 2d 368, 2005 WL 1704297 (Fla. Ct. App. 2005).

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