Marvin Moyers v. State of Indiana

Summary

The Indiana Supreme Court holds that elevated forms of criminal confinement sharing a common base offense constitute a single statutory offense, making the Powell multiplicity test applicable rather than the Wadle test. Applying Powell, the Court concludes that the defendant’s conduct involved one continuous period of confinement, so his two criminal confinement convictions constituted multiple punishments for the same offense. The Court reverses and remands with instructions to vacate the lesser conviction and enter an amended sentencing order.

Holdings

1. When a statute defines a common base offense that may be elevated to higher penalty levels through attendant circumstances or results, the base offense and its elevated forms constitute a single statutory offense for purposes of choosing between the Powell and Wadle frameworks. Indiana's criminal-confinement statute defines Level 3 and Level 4 confinement as elevated forms of Level 6 criminal confinement.
2. The Powell test applies to Moyers's multiple convictions for Level 3 and Level 4 criminal confinement because both convictions arise from a single statutory offense with a common base offense.
3. Moyers committed one continuous period of criminal confinement. Because the criminal-confinement statute is conduct-based and permits only one conviction for a single continuous confinement, the two convictions constituted multiple punishments for the same offense.
4. The proper remedy is to vacate the conviction carrying the lesser penalty. The trial court must vacate Moyers's Level 4 criminal-confinement conviction and enter an amended sentencing order.

Questions Presented

1. Whether multiple convictions under Indiana's criminal-confinement statute for elevated forms of a common base offense are governed by the Powell multiplicity test or the Wadle test.
2. Whether Moyers's conduct constituted one continuous period of criminal confinement or two discrete confinements supporting separate convictions.
3. What remedy is required when a defendant has been twice convicted and punished for the same criminal-confinement offense.

Disposition

reversed_and_remanded