Rainey v. State
Rainey v. State
Opinion
Fader, J.
*370 In 1987, a jury convicted the appellant, J. Reuben Rainey, of murdering two women. Now, based on a mistaken docket entry that has since been corrected, he claims that the sentences for his first-degree murder convictions are illegal. The Circuit Court for Baltimore City denied his motion to correct an illegal sentence. We affirm for two independent reasons: (1) the basis of the illegality claimed by Mr. Rainey is not cognizable under Rule 4-345(a), the rule under which Mr. Rainey is proceeding; and (2) we perceive no error in the *186 circuit court's factual finding that the original docket entry was erroneous. *371 BACKGROUND
Mr. Rainey's claim centers on a docket entry created during the first of his three 1987 jury trials in the Circuit Court for Baltimore City. The charges then pending against Mr. Rainey included two counts of first-degree murder; two counts of second-degree murder; two counts of manslaughter; two counts of use of a handgun in the commission of a crime of violence; and two counts of wearing, carrying, or transporting a handgun. The docket entry at issue, dated April 20, 1987, states in full:
4/20/87-Motion for judgement of acquittal heard as to both charges and denied as to both charges. Davis J. Motion for judgement of acquittal granted as to 2nd degree and manslaughter as to both charges. Davis J.
Mr. Rainey's trial proceeded on the first-degree murder and handgun offenses, but ultimately ended in a mistrial two days later, as the jurors were unable to come to a unanimous verdict. A second trial on the remaining charges also ended in a mistrial. In his third trial, a jury convicted Mr. Rainey of both counts of first-degree murder and both sets of handgun offenses. The court sentenced Mr. Rainey to life imprisonment for each murder count, 20 years' imprisonment for each use of a handgun count, and three years' imprisonment for the unlawful wearing, carrying, or transporting a handgun counts, all consecutive. 1
In 2011, Mr. Rainey filed a pro se motion to correct an illegal sentence in the Circuit Court for Baltimore City. 2 On the strength of the April 20, 1987 docket entry, Mr. Rainey claimed that he was acquitted of the lesser-included offenses *372 of second-degree murder and manslaughter, thus rendering his subsequent trials and convictions for first-degree murder a violation of the Double Jeopardy Clause of the Fifth Amendment to the United States Constitution. The circuit court denied Mr. Rainey's motion, and Mr. Rainey timely appealed. After Mr. Rainey, still proceeding pro se, filed his opening brief, the State moved to remand, without affirmance or reversal, to allow the circuit court to conduct fact-finding regarding the docket entry at issue. We granted that motion. Due to the absence of a transcript, we instructed the circuit court, on remand, to hold a hearing, receive evidence, and make factual findings concerning whether the circuit court had in fact granted Mr. Rainey's motion for judgment of acquittal on the charges of second-degree murder and manslaughter. We stayed the present case until the completion of that fact-finding.
On remand, the circuit court, Judge Yvette M. Bryant, held an evidentiary hearing at which both of the original prosecutors and Mr. Rainey all testified. 3 The lead prosecutor, Sam Brave, testified regarding *187 the events that surrounded Mr. Rainey's motion for acquittal during the first trial. Mr. Brave testified that he recalled that Mr. Rainey's counsel moved for acquittal on all charges and that the trial court, Judge Arrie Davis, denied that motion as to all charges. Following that denial, Mr. Brave testified, he informed Judge Davis that the State wanted to submit only the first-degree murder charges to the jury, not the second-degree murder and manslaughter charges. He did so to avoid providing the jury with the option of reaching a compromise verdict.
Mr. Rainey testified that he recalled being told by his defense counsel during the first trial that he had been acquitted.
*373 In the course of explaining his recollection, however, Mr. Rainey also testified, inaccurately, that the second-degree murder and manslaughter charges were included on the verdict sheet and submitted to the jury, and that he recalled being told of his alleged acquittal only after that occurred.
After the hearing, Judge Bryant made a finding of fact that Mr. Rainey "was not acquitted of second degree murder and manslaughter and that the clerk's entry of April 20, 1987 regarding the judgments of acquittal [was] erroneous." That finding was based both on the testimony of the witnesses and on the behavior of all parties and the court throughout the remainder of the first trial, the two subsequent trials, and the direct appeal. As Judge Bryant pointed out, it would have been highly unlikely that an experienced trial judge, experienced defense counsel, two experienced prosecutors, and appellate counsel on both sides would all have failed to recognize the significance of a judgment of acquittal on lesser-included offenses through three trials and an appeal.
On April 28, 2017, the circuit court's docket was corrected with an entry reflecting the court's finding that Mr. "RAINEY WAS NOT ACQUITTED OF SECOND DEGREE MURDER AND MANSLAUGHTER ON 4/20/1987." This Court then lifted its stay and directed the circuit court to transmit updated docket entries.
In its response brief, filed after this Court lifted its stay, the State relies on the circuit court's finding that the motion for acquittal was not granted as dispositive. In reply, Mr. Rainey, now represented by counsel, argues that the circuit court lacked a sufficient factual basis for its finding on remand.
DISCUSSION
Mr. Rainey moved to correct an illegal sentence under Rule 4-345(a), which permits a court to "correct an illegal sentence at any time." 4 As an initial matter, we must determine whether *374 Mr. Rainey's claim that his sentence is illegal is even cognizable under Rule 4-345(a). We conclude that it is not, and that even if it were, Mr. Rainey's claim is without merit in light of the circuit court's findings on remand.
This Court reviews denials of motions to correct an illegal sentence de novo.
Blickenstaff v. State
,
I. MR. RAINEY'S CLAIM IS NOT COGNIZABLE UNDER RULE 4-345(A).
Rule 4-345(a) provides that "[t]he court may correct an illegal sentence at any time." This rule "creates a limited exception to the general rule of finality, and sanctions a method of opening a judgment otherwise final and beyond the reach of the court."
State v. Griffiths
,
Determining whether an illegality "inheres in the sentence itself" is not always straightforward. We previously addressed whether a challenge premised on the alleged illegality of an underlying conviction could fall within the scope of Rule 4-345(a) in
Ingram v. State
,
Although we recognized the "facial appeal" of the argument that a sentence based on an illegal conviction must itself be illegal, we rejected reading Rule 4-345(a) broadly enough to cover such an alleged illegality.
Here, Mr. Rainey's challenge, like the challenge in Ingram , is to his conviction. Under Mr. Rainey's theory, his acquittal of the lesser-included offenses should have precluded him from even being tried for first-degree murder, much less convicted of it. His challenge to his sentence is thus derivative of his complaint about his conviction. In this respect, our holding in Ingram is directly on point and, if it remains valid, controlling.
At oral argument, however, counsel for Mr. Rainey argued that
Ingram
is inconsistent with three decisions of the Court of Appeals:
Ridgeway v. State
,
*377
In
Ridgeway
, the defendant had been convicted of two counts of first-degree assault and three counts of reckless endangerment.
In
Moosavi
, the defendant was convicted of violating a statute that "punishe[d] the transmittal of false statements or rumors about the location or detonation of a bomb or explosive."
*190
In
Johnson
, the Court of Appeals held squarely that, at least in the circumstances of that case, a sentence can be illegal for purposes of Rule 4-345(a) where the illegality stems from the underlying conviction. There, a grand jury indicted Mr. Johnson for a number of offenses, but not for assault with intent to murder.
In considering whether it could entertain Mr. Johnson's claim under Rule 4-345(a), the Court of Appeals observed that "[t]here is no simple formula to determine which sentences are 'inherently illegal' within the meaning of" the Rule.
Here we face the question of whether our holding in
Ingram
survives
Johnson
. It seems clear enough that the broadest statement of our holding in
Ingram
, "that an argument that challenges the merits of a conviction is not properly raised by way of a motion to correct an illegal sentence,"
Critical to our analysis is our conclusion that the Court of Appeals in
Johnson
did not intend to expand significantly the scope of challenges allowed under Rule 4-345(a). Indeed, the Court repeated statements from its prior cases that the scope
*192
*381
of Rule 4-345(a) is "narrow," and that an illegality must "inhere in the sentence itself."
To the contrary, we read the holding of the Court of Appeals in
Johnson
as limited to situations in which the illegality of the conviction exists because the trial court lacked the "power or authority" to convict.
So interpreted, Mr. Rainey's claim does not allege an illegality that "inheres in the sentence" for purposes of Rule 4-345(a). Unlike the conviction in
Johnson
, which the court had no power or authority to impose because the offense had not been charged in the indictment, the questions raised by Mr. Rainey allege a constitutional violation, but not one that
*382
deprived the court of the power or authority to convict. Indeed, it is the defendant's burden to raise a double jeopardy claim based on a successive prosecution at the time the violation occurs; if the defendant waives his double jeopardy rights by failing to raise them, the court not only has the power to convict, but the conviction will not be reversed even on direct appeal.
See
Taylor v. State
,
In sum, although the broadest statement of the holding in Ingram does not survive Johnson , we confirm its specific holding: A claim that a sentence is illegal because the underlying conviction violated double jeopardy protection from successive prosecution is not cognizable under Rule 4-345(a). We therefore affirm the trial court's denial of Mr. Rainey's motion.
*193 II. THE CIRCUIT COURT'S FINDINGS ARE NOT CLEARLY ERRONEOUS .
Even if Mr. Rainey's allegations were cognizable under Rule 4-345(a), his claim is without merit. On remand, the circuit court found that the docket entry on which Mr. Rainey relies was erroneous, and that Mr. Rainey was not acquitted at his first trial. The circuit court's docket now reflects, in an entry dated April 28, 2017: "THIS COURT FINDS DEFENDANT RAINEY WAS NOT ACQUITTED OF SECOND DEGREE MURDER AND MANSLAUGHTER ON 4/20/1987." Mr. Rainey asserts that there was insufficient evidence to support the circuit court's factual finding that he *383 was not acquitted, but he is incorrect. The testimony of the lead prosecutor supports that finding, as does the course of proceedings that followed the original, erroneous docket entry. As the circuit court noted, for the original docket entry to have been correct, that would mean that an experienced trial judge, two experienced prosecutors, experienced defense counsel, and appellate counsel all overlooked a flagrant double jeopardy violation during three trials and on direct appeal. 8
Moreover, although docket entries are entitled to a presumption of regularity, and "must be taken as true until corrected,"
Coleman v. State
,
JUDGMENT OF THE CIRCUIT COURT FOR BALTIMORE CITY AFFIRMED. COSTS TO BE PAID BY APPELLANT.
On direct appeal, in an unreported decision, this Court vacated the convictions for wearing, carrying, or transporting a handgun, finding that they merged into the convictions for use of a handgun in the commission of a crime of violence. Rainey v. State , No. 1678, Sept. Term 1987 (July 19, 1988) (per curiam).
This is Mr. Rainey's second motion to correct an illegal sentence. In his first such motion, filed in 2008, he argued that: (1) his sentence was ambiguous; (2) a 2006 clarification of Mr. Rainey's commitment record constituted a modification of sentence that required a hearing; (3) his sentences should be concurrent, not consecutive; and (4) the jury was not properly polled and hearkened. The circuit court denied the motion on all grounds. In an unreported opinion, we affirmed. Rainey v. State , No. 1130, Sept. Term 2009 (Apr. 18, 2011).
Mr. Rainey's trial counsel is now deceased.
Mr. Rainey identifies his sole question presented in this appeal as "Did the lower court err by failing to correct double jeopardy violative illegal sentence?"
In
Ingram
, we distinguished between two types of double jeopardy claims for purposes of Rule 4-345(a). Where there is a claimed violation of double jeopardy by the imposition of multiple sentences for the same crime, the alleged illegality occurs at the imposition of the sentence, and therefore inheres in the sentence and is cognizable under Rule 4-345(a).
Neither the discussion of the Court of Appeals in
Moosavi
nor its discussion in
Campbell
explain the reasoning behind the Court's conclusion that a sentence based on a conviction under an inapplicable statute is an illegal sentence
for purposes of Rule 4-345(a)
. Like
Moosavi
,
Campbell
also came to the Court on direct appeal, not on a Rule 4-345(a) motion. In
Campbell
, the defendant had been convicted of violating former Article 27, § 287(d), concerning possession of drug paraphernalia.
Although the petitioner does not raise the issue, it is quite obvious that § 287(d) does not apply and, so, as to the count of which he was convicted, the petitioner received an illegal sentence. Illegal sentences may be challenged at any time, even on appeal. Rule 4-345(a); Matthews v. State ,304 Md. 281 , 288,498 A.2d 655 (1985), citing to Walczak v. State ,302 Md. 422 , 427,488 A.2d 949 (1985).
Although the Court of Appeals found Mr. Johnson's claim that the trial court lacked "power to render
a verdict
" to be in the "same mold" as the cases it discussed,
Johnson
,
That Mr. Rainey's direct appeal focused on a different double jeopardy issue-the merger of his handgun convictions, see discussion above in footnote 1-renders it that much more unlikely that his appellate counsel simply missed a more glaring and consequential double jeopardy claim.
Reference
- Full Case Name
- J. Reuben RAINEY v. STATE of Maryland
- Cited By
- 7 cases
- Status
- Published