State v. Hurst

674 N.E.2d 622, 1996 Ind. App. LEXIS 1740, 1996 WL 741761
CourtIndiana Court of Appeals
DecidedDecember 31, 1996
DocketNo. 43A03-9606-CR-221
StatusPublished
Cited by2 cases

This text of 674 N.E.2d 622 (State v. Hurst) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Indiana Court of Appeals primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
State v. Hurst, 674 N.E.2d 622, 1996 Ind. App. LEXIS 1740, 1996 WL 741761 (Ind. Ct. App. 1996).

Opinion

OPINION

HOFFMAN, Judge.

Appellant-plaintiff the State of Indiana appeals the trial court’s grant of appellee-de-fendant Stephen R. Hurst’s motion to dismiss. The facts relevant to the appeal are as follows.

On October 5,1994, Stephen R. Hurst was traveling northbound on County Road 300 West and, upon approaching the intersection of County Road 600 North, had a stop sign. John R. Willard was traveling westbound on County Road 600 North and, upon approaching the intersection of County Road 300 West, had no stop sign or yield sign. As Hurst approached the intersection of County Road 600 North, he failed to yield the right-of-way to Willard, entered the intersection, and struck the left side of Willard’s Pontiac Sunbird with the front of his Ford pickup truck. As a result of the accident, Willard died.

On October, 21, 1994, Hurst was ticketed for failure to yield the right-of-way,1 a Class C infraction. The trial court ordered Hurst to pay a $7.00 fine plus court costs. On December 20, 1994, Hurst was charged by [624]*624information with reckless homicide,2 a Class C felony.

On March 22, 1995, Hurst filed his motion to dismiss alleging that the State was barred by double jeopardy principles from prosecuting him for reckless homicide, because he was previously prosecuted and fined for failure to yield the right-of-way. The trial court held a hearing on Hurst’s motion to dismiss and on March 20, 1996, granted the motion.

On appeal, the sole issue raised by the State is whether convictions for both failure to yield the right-of-way and reckless homicide constitute double jeopardy.

The gravamen of the State’s argument is that the trial court erred in granting Hurst’s motion to dismiss. The State specifically argues that Hurst can be convicted of both failure to yield the right-of-way and reckless homicide, because the offenses are not the same for purposes of double jeopardy, and the fine imposed upon Hurst for failure to yield the right-of-way was remedial, as opposed to punitive, in nature. Hurst counters the State’s argument by asserting that convictions for both offenses violate double jeopardy principles, because failure to yield the right-of-way is a lesser-included offense of reckless homicide.3

A defendant’s right not to be put twice in jeopardy for the same offense arises from the Constitution of the United States and the Indiana Constitution.4 The concept of double jeopardy embraces prohibitions against successive prosecution and multiple punishment for the same offense. Mehidal v. State, 623 N.E.2d 428, 434 (Ind.Ct.App.1993). In other words, double jeopardy prohibits reproseeution for the same offense after an acquittal, reprosecution for the same offense after a conviction, and multiple punishment for the same offense. Dawson v. State, 612 N.E.2d 580, 583-84 (Ind.Ct.App.1993).

The State also violates double jeopardy protection when it punishes a defendant for a greater offense and a lesser included offense. Collins v. State, 659 N.E.2d 509 (Ind.1995). That is, if the lesser-included offense requires no proof beyond that required for the greater offense, the two are the same offense for purposes of the Double Jeopardy Clause. Id.

Generally, double jeopardy is applicable only to criminal matters and is not applied in civil proceedings. Bryant v. State, 660 N.E.2d 290, 295 (Ind.1995). Departing from this historical rule, however, the United States Supreme Court has held in recent years that particular civil actions, such as fines and forfeitures, can be jeopardies. Montana Dep’t of Revenue v. Kurth Ranch, 511 U.S. 767, 777, 114 S.Ct. 1937, 1944-45, 128 L.Ed.2d 767 (1994); United States v. Halper, 490 U.S. 435, 448, 109 S.Ct. 1892, 1902, 104 L.Ed.2d 487 (1989).

In determining whether a jeopardy has occurred, the test is whether the civil sanction constitutes punishment. Kurth Ranch, 511 U.S. at 778-79, 114 S.Ct. at 1945. When the sanction serves the goal of punishment rather than a remedial purpose, it is punishment and, thus, a jeopardy within the Double Jeopardy Clause. Id.

It is well settled in Indiana that traffic infractions are civil, as opposed to criminal, proceedings in nature. Pridemore v. State, 577 N.E.2d 237, 238 (Ind.Ct.App.1991). Nevertheless, this Court has held that although civil in nature, a monetary judgment entered upon a finding of a violation of an infraction is the functional equivalent of a penal fine, the judgment serving to induce compliance with the statute. See Horne v. State, 572 N.E.2d 1333, 1336 (Ind.Ct.App.1991), trans. denied ($400.00 fine imposed against defendant for failure to yield to an emergency vehicle was a penal fine serving to induce compliance with the statute).

[625]*625Here, Hurst was found in violation of failure to yield the right-of-way, a Class C infraction. The trial court imposed a $7.00 fíne for the violation and ordered Hurst to pay court costs. The fíne imposed upon Hurst for failure to yield the right-of-way amounted to a criminal penalty. In essence, the fine qualified as a “punishment” in the plain meaning of the word and, thus, a jeopardy.

Having concluded that the fine imposed for Hurst’s failure to yield the right-of-way was a jeopardy, we must now determine whether the State’s attempt to prosecute Hurst for reckless homicide violates the double jeopardy prohibition against a second prosecution for the same offense after conviction.

In determining whether two or more offenses constitute the same offense, we apply the test first established by the United States Supreme Court in Blockburger v. United States, 284 U.S. 299, 52 S.Ct. 180, 76 L.Ed. 306 (1932): “[Wjhere 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 that the other does not.” Id. at 304, 52 S.Ct. at 182.

Failure to yield the right-of-way is defined by IND. CODE § 9-21-8-29 (1993 Ed.) as:

Except when approaching through highways and areas in which signs are posted giving other instructions, when two (2) vehicles approach or enter an intersection from different highways at approximately the same time, the person who drives the vehicle to the left shall yield the right-of-way to the vehicle on the right.

The offense of reckless homicide, as defined under IND. CODE § 35-42-1-5 (1993 Ed.), provides that: “A person who recklessly kills another human being commits reckless homicide, a Class C felony.”

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Related

State v. Hurst
688 N.E.2d 402 (Indiana Supreme Court, 1997)
Newman v. State
677 N.E.2d 590 (Indiana Court of Appeals, 1997)

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Bluebook (online)
674 N.E.2d 622, 1996 Ind. App. LEXIS 1740, 1996 WL 741761, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/state-v-hurst-indctapp-1996.