State v. Hite

472 P.2d 600, 3 Wash. App. 9, 1970 Wash. App. LEXIS 881
CourtCourt of Appeals of Washington
DecidedJuly 13, 1970
Docket120-3
StatusPublished
Cited by22 cases

This text of 472 P.2d 600 (State v. Hite) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Court of Appeals of Washington primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
State v. Hite, 472 P.2d 600, 3 Wash. App. 9, 1970 Wash. App. LEXIS 881 (Wash. Ct. App. 1970).

Opinion

Munson, J.

The state appeals from the dismissal of the charges against respondent on five counts of grand larceny. Former jeopardy served as the basis for the court’s action.

On April 2, 1969, respondent was originally charged with four counts of grand larceny under RCW 9.54.010 (5) , 1 One count was dismissed at the close of respondent’s case for lack of evidence and respondent was acquitted of the remaining three. On June 4, 1969, respondent was charged with five counts of grand larceny under RCW 9.54.010(1). 2 Both in-formations involved the theft of leaf-cutter bee boards 3 from *11 the same farms, but the latter set forth three different dates than those originally alleged in the former.

During the first trial the state elicited testimony that respondent not only received the stolen goods but also was instrumental in planning their theft, 'arranging for their concealment, transportation and sale, and in at least one instance actively participating in their theft. With regard to the count dismissed, the state was unable to support its charges except by attempting to show the alleged theft was one incident in an overall scheme masterminded by respondent.

Both article 1, section 9 of the Washington State Constitution and the fifth amendment to the United States Constitution, as applicable to the states through the Fourteenth Amendment, Benton v. Maryland, 395 U.S. 784, 23 L. Ed. 2d 707, 89 S. Ct. 2056 (1969), provide that no person should twice be put in jeopardy for the same offense. One who asserts the bar of double jeopardy under either constitution must affirmatively establish (1) that he has previously been placed on trial for the same offense, and (2) that the court of the former trial was one of competent jurisdiction to hear and determine the merits of the case. State v. Haye, 72 Wn.2d 461, 464, 433 P.2d 884 (1967); State v. Ridgley, 70 Wn.2d 555, 556, 424 P.2d 632 (1967); State v. *12 Williams, 57 Wn.2d 231, 232, 356 P.2d 99 (1960). 4 Respondent’s establishment of the second requisite is unquestioned. Thus, the sole issue before us is whether the taking of goods and the receiving, withholding or concealing of them are the same offense within the scope of the constitutional prohibition.

*11 “The underlying idea, one that is deeply ingrained in at least the Anglo-American system of jurisprudence, is that the State with all its resources and power should not be allowed to make repeated attempts to convict an individual for an alleged offense, thereby subjecting him to embarrassment, expense and ordeal and compelling him to live in a continuing state of anxiety and insecurity, as well as enhancing the possibility that even though innocent he may be found guilty.”

*12 Although this jurisdiction follows the majority rule that double jeopardy exists only if the offenses are identical in law and fact, State v. Johnson, 60 Wn.2d 21, 24, 371 P.2d 611 (1962), we have long held the test of identity of offenses to be:

“[Whether] the matter set out in the second indictment [was] admissible as evidence under the first indictment, and could a conviction have been properly maintained upon such evidence? If the answer is yes, then the plea is sufficient; otherwise, it is not.” 1 Wharton, Criminal Law (11th ed.), § 393.

(Italics ours.) State v. Dye, 81 Wash. 388, 390, 142 P. 873 (1914).

It is well established that the Washington larceny statute is a consolidation of offenses for procedural purposes only and that each subsection thereof constitutes a separate and distinct offense. State v. Thompson, 68 Wn.2d 536, 538, 413 P.2d 951 (1966). However, respondent, relying upon State v. Carden, 50 Wn.2d 15, 308 P.2d 675 (1957) and State v. Holman, 58 Wn.2d 754, 364 P.2d 921 (1961), claims that evidence of taking was admissible in the first trial on the charges of receiving, withholding or concealing the bee boards and consequently a subsequent trial on -charges - of taking the same boards is barred by the prohibition against double jeopardy. Such reasoning, although inventive and containing an element of plausibility, is not infallible. It is the holding of a majority of jurisdictions that one cannot be both the principal thief and the receiver of stolen goods. Milanovich v. United States, 365 U.S. 551, 5 L. Ed. 2d 773, 81 S. Ct. 728 (1961); State v. Palkimas, 153 Conn. 555, 219 A.2d 220 (1966); Grimes v. State, 4 Md. App. 607, 244 A.2d 456 (1968); Anderson, 2 Wharton’s Criminal Law & Procedure § 576 (1957); Perkins, Criminal Law § 6, at 275 (1957); *13 136 A.L.R. 1087 (1942). This distinction was not abrograted by Carden or Holman regardless of Justice Donworth’s observation in his dissent to the former or the gratuitous dicta contained in Carden that a prosecutor may charge a thief under RCW 9.54.010(5) for receiving, withholding or concealing if the facts of the case warrant it. Given the facts of Carden and Holman, their holdings go only to the use of evidence of taking to show respondent’s knowledge that the goods were stolen. Evidence of the respondent’s act of actual stealing would not in itself be sufficient to sustain a conviction for receiving, concealing, or withholding stolen property since receiving, concealing or withholding are not inherent in evidence of taking. To allow the state to charge an individual under RCW 9.54.010

Free access — add to your briefcase to read the full text and ask questions with AI

Related

Michael Weaver v. City Of Everett
421 P.3d 1013 (Court of Appeals of Washington, 2018)
State v. Melick
129 P.3d 816 (Court of Appeals of Washington, 2006)
State v. Moses
15 P.3d 1058 (Court of Appeals of Washington, 2001)
State v. Dallas
892 P.2d 1082 (Washington Supreme Court, 1995)
State v. Hancock
721 P.2d 1006 (Court of Appeals of Washington, 1986)
State v. Heaps
677 P.2d 1141 (Court of Appeals of Washington, 1984)
State v. Funkhouser
637 P.2d 974 (Court of Appeals of Washington, 1981)
State v. Richards
621 P.2d 165 (Court of Appeals of Washington, 1980)
People v. Morillo
282 N.W.2d 434 (Michigan Court of Appeals, 1979)
State v. Hilliard
570 P.2d 160 (Court of Appeals of Washington, 1978)
State v. Rogers
566 P.2d 1142 (New Mexico Supreme Court, 1977)
State v. DeSchepper
231 N.W.2d 294 (Supreme Court of Minnesota, 1975)
State v. Ladely
509 P.2d 658 (Washington Supreme Court, 1973)
State v. McMains
497 P.2d 962 (Court of Appeals of Washington, 1972)
Turner v. State
473 S.W.2d 904 (Supreme Court of Arkansas, 1971)
State v. Flint
483 P.2d 170 (Court of Appeals of Washington, 1971)
State v. Skinner
475 P.2d 129 (Court of Appeals of Washington, 1970)

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
472 P.2d 600, 3 Wash. App. 9, 1970 Wash. App. LEXIS 881, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/state-v-hite-washctapp-1970.