State v. Ford

634 A.2d 1188, 33 Conn. App. 143, 1993 Conn. App. LEXIS 459
Connecticut Appellate Court·Decided November 30, 1993·No. 11940·Published·Cited by 13 cases

Opinions

O’Connell, J.

The defendant appeals from his conviction, after a jury trial, of robbery in the first degree in violation of General Statutes § 53a-134 (a) (3),1 robbery in the second degree in violation of General Statutes § 53a-135 (a) (l)2 and tampering with a witness in violation of General Statutes §§ 53a-1513 and 53a-8.4 The defendant was acquitted of a second count of tampering with a witness.

The defendant claims that (1) his conviction of both robbery in the first degree and robbery in the second degree violated his privilege against double jeopardy, (2) there was insufficient evidence to convict him of tampering with a witness and (3) there was insufficient evidence to support a jury charge of tampering with a witness on the theory of accessory liability. We affirm the trial court’s judgment in part and reverse it in part.

[145] The jury could have reasonably found the following facts. On January 30,1991, the defendant and a companion entered Store 24 located at 25 Broadway in New Haven. The defendant approached clerk Carlos Robles, pointed a knife at him and ordered him to open the cash register. Robles had difficulty doing so and during his attempts the defendant handed the knife to his companion, who walked around the counter and threatened to kill Robles if he did not open the register quickly. The defendant then became impatient, grabbed the register and fled with it to his girlfriend’s apartment. Factual details giving rise to the witness tampering charge are included in the analysis of that claim.

I

Double Jeopardy

The defendant’s first claim is based on the fifth amendment to the United States constitution, the relevant portion of which provides, “[n]or shall any person be subject for the same offense to be twice put in jeopardy of life or limb.” This constitutional provision applies to the states through the due process clause of the fourteenth amendment. Benton v. Maryland, 395 U.S. 784, 787, 89 S. Ct. 2056, 23 L. Ed. 2d 707 (1969). Although the Connecticut constitution does not include a specific double jeopardy provision, the due process guarantee of article first, § 9, of our state constitution has been held to encompass protection against double jeopardy. Kohlfuss v. Warden, 149 Conn. 692, 695, 183 A.2d 626, cert. denied, 371 U.S. 928, 83 S. Ct. 298, 9 L. Ed. 2d 235 (1962).

In order to prevail on a double jeopardy claim, a defendant must satisfy a two-pronged test. First, the charges must arise out of the same act or transaction. Second, the charged crimes must be the same offense. State v. Chicano, 216 Conn. 699, 706, 584 A.2d 425 (1990), cert. denied, 501 U.S. 1254, 111 S. Ct. 2898, 115 [146] L. Ed. 2d 1062 (1991), citing North Carolina v. Pearce, 395 U.S. 711, 717, 89 S. Ct. 2072, 23 L. Ed. 2d 656 (1969).

A double jeopardy issue may arise in either of two ways. First, it may involve successive prosecutions; Brown v. Ohio, 432 U.S. 161, 97 S. Ct. 2221, 53 L. Ed. 2d 187 (1977); or, second, it may involve simultaneous double jeopardy, where simultaneous prosecution for two nominally distinct crimes violates the constitutional privilege. See id.; State v. Chicano, supra. The present case implicates simultaneous double jeopardy. The defendant claims that he was given multiple punishments for the same crime in the same trial.

The seminal case in double jeopardy law is Blockburger v. United, States, 284 U.S. 299, 52 S. Ct. 180, 76 L. Ed. 306 (1932). In Blockburger, the United States Supreme Court held that “[t]he 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 a fact which the other does not.” Id., 304. Our Supreme Court has stated the rule as follows: “[I]f the elements of one offense as defined by the statute include the elements of a lesser offense; or if one offense is merely nominally distinct from the other; then double jeopardy attaches.” State v. McCall, 187 Conn. 73, 91, 444 A.2d 896 (1982). The Blockburger rule does not bar the conviction of two offenses arising out of the same criminal incident if each crime contains an element not found in the other. State v. Tweedy, 219 Conn. 489, 495, 594 A.2d 906 (1991).

The first degree robbery count charged that “on January 30,1991, at approximately 1:40 a.m. at Store 24, 25 Broadway in New Haven, the accused committed a robbery and in the course of commission of the crime, [147] he or another participant in the crime used or threatened the use of a dangerous instrument, a knife, in violation of General Statutes § 53a-134 (a) (3).” (Emphasis added.) The second degree robbery count charged that “on January 30, 1991, at approximately 1:40 a.m. at Store 24,25 Broadway in New Haven, the accused committed a robbery, and was aided by another person, Michael Jones, actually present, in violation of General Statutes § 53a-135 (a) (1).” (Emphasis added.)

It is readily apparent that each count required proof of an element that the other did not. The first degree robbery count required proof that the defendant or another participant in the crime used or threatened the use of a dangerous instrument. The second degree robbery count required proof that the defendant was aided by another person actually present.

Despite the clear differences in the proof required under the two counts alleged in the information, the defendant urges us to extend our analysis beyond the charging information to the evidence. He argues that such analysis would demonstrate that, under the facts of the present case, second degree robbery did not require proof of an additional fact beyond those required for first degree robbery. We are required, however, to determine the existence of double jeopardy by comparison of the statutes and not by examination of the evidence. Blockburger v. United States, supra.

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State v. Ford, 634 A.2d 1188, 33 Conn. App. 143, 1993 Conn. App. LEXIS 459 (Colo. Ct. App. 1993).

634 A.2d 1188 (State v. Ford) — published by Counsel Stack Legal Research, free access to 12M+ legal documents.

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