Carroll v. State

• Decision Date: 27 September 2012
• Docket Number: No. 126,Sept. Term, 2011.,126
• Citation: 428 Md. 679,53 A.3d 1159
• Parties: George J. CARROLL v. STATE of Maryland.
• Court: Maryland Court of Appeals

428 Md. 679

53 A.3d 1159

George J. CARROLL

v.STATE of Maryland.

No. 126, Sept. Term, 2011.

Court of Appeals of Maryland.

Sept. 27, 2012.

Brian C. Rabbitt, Assigned Public Defender (Williams & Connolly LLP, Washington, D.C.; Paul B. DeWolfe, Public Defender, Office of Public Defender, Baltimore, MD), on brief, for Petitioner.

Sarah Page Pritzlaff, Asst. Atty. Gen. (Douglas F. Gansler, Atty. Gen. of Maryland, Baltimore, MD), on brief, for Respondent.

Argued before BELL, C.J., HARRELL, BATTAGLIA, GREENE, ADKINS, BARBERA, and McDONALD, JJ.

BARBERA, J.

Petitioner, George Carroll, was tried before a jury in the Circuit Court for Frederick County and convicted of four counts of attempted armed robbery, four counts of conspiracy to commit those offenses, and related crimes. In his appeal to the Court of Special Appeals, Petitioner argued, among other claims of error, that the reasonable doubt instructions were constitutionally deficient and in violation of Maryland Rule 4–325(c), because the instructions did not include the advisement that, in order to convict Petitioner of any of the charged crimes, the jury must be convinced beyond a reasonable doubt that the State proved every element of the crime. Petitioner also contended that the law does not permit separate convictions and sentences for what is but a single conspiracy, and that principles of fundamental fairness dictate that the conspiracy conviction should merge with the convictions of attempted armed robbery.

The Court of Special Appeals agreed with Petitioner that the four conspiracy convictions should merge, leaving but one such conviction. Carroll v. State, 202 Md.App. 487, 518–19, 32 A.3d 1090, 1107–08 (2011). The Court rejected Petitioner's remaining contentions, holding that the instructions satisfied the constitutional requirement that the jury be advised of the State's burden to prove beyond a reasonable doubt each element of the charged crimes, and that fundamental fairness does not require merger of conspiracy to commit armed robbery and attempted armed robbery. Id. at 503–04, 518, 32 A.3d at 1098–99, 1107. Petitioner sought, and we granted, review of the latter two holdings of the Court of Special Appeals. Carroll v. State, 425 Md. 227, 40 A.3d 39 (2012). For reasons we shall explain, we affirm the judgment of the Court of Special Appeals.

I.

On the night of April 24, 2010, four teenagers, Andrew Caroglanian, Joshua Phillips, Jessica Goldzwig, and Lauren Jacobsen, went camping in Frederick County, Maryland. As Andrew and Joshua were setting up their tent, they were approached by Petitioner and two other men, Nicholas Cann and Zachary Lee. Petitioner and Cann each carried a machete, and Lee carried a baseball bat. The encounter was not hostile, although Andrew testified that he “thought there would be trouble” because the men were carrying weapons. After a brief conversation, Petitioner, Cann, and Lee invited the teenagers to visit the men's campsite, which was situated nearby. Andrew and Joshua responded that they would consider the offer and perhaps visit later.

Fifteen to twenty minutes later, the four teens were inside their tent when they saw people adding wood to the campfire. They also heard and saw shadows of something striking the outside of the tent. Petitioner, Cann, and Lee told the teens to “get the fuck out of the tent and give us everything you have.” Lauren was able to call 911 from a cell phone to alert the police of the situation before she was forced from the tent. Petitioner, Cann, and Lee wielded machetes and a baseball bat while repeatedly demanding money and valuables from the teenagers. Andrew gave them $100 from his wallet and Lauren gave them another $100 from Andrew's vehicle. Petitioner also instructed the teenagers to put all of their cell phones into a pile. Lee told them to hand over any personal identification cards, warning that he would kill them if they ever notified the police. Petitioner and the other two men began shouting at each other while demanding more money from the teenagers. Wanting to get out of the woods and into a more populated area, Andrew offered to drive to the ATM to retrieve more money. Petitioner and his confederates eventually agreed to that offer.

After some argument about who would go in the vehicle to the ATM, it was decided that Cann would ride in the front passenger's seat while Andrew drove. Joshua, Jessica, and Lauren were allowed to sit in the backseat. Cann told those inside the vehicle that he had a gun, and he gripped his waistband area. In an attempt to alert oncoming cars to their situation, Andrew flashed his vehicle's high beams while driving. When a police officer approached their vehicle, Andrew mouthed the word “help” and then got out of the vehicle. He told the police that Cann had a gun. Police arrested Cann at the vehicle and later apprehended Petitioner and Lee near the campsite.

In an interview with police, Petitioner initially denied going to the campsite but later admitted he was present. Petitioner attempted to minimize his involvement in the incident by telling the police that he was not part of any plan and did not threaten anyone.

The State secured a 27–count indictment against Petitioner charging him with one count of armed robbery; one count of kidnapping; one count of theft less than $1000; and four counts each of conspiracy to commit armed robbery, attempted armed robbery, assault in the second-degree, reckless endangerment, false imprisonment, and carrying a deadly weapon with intent to injure.

At trial, Petitioner asked the court to modify Maryland Criminal Pattern Jury Instruction (MPJI–Cr) 2:02, which addresses the presumption of innocence and reasonable doubt. That instruction states in relevant part: ¹

The defendant is presumed to be innocent of the charges. This presumption remains throughout every stage of the trial and is not overcome unless you are convinced beyond a reasonable doubt that the defendant is guilty.

The State has the burden of proving the guilt of the defendant beyond a reasonable doubt. This burden remains on the State throughout the trial. The defendant is not required to prove [his][her] innocence.

Petitioner asked the court to add to the above language of the pattern instruction that “[t]he State has the burden to prove each element of a charge beyond a reasonable doubt.” After some discussion among the court, defense counsel, and the prosecutor (who objected to Petitioner's request), the court gave MPJI–Cr 2:02 with the words “of each charge” tacked onto the second sentence quoted above, so that it read: “This presumption remains on Mr. Carroll throughout every stage of the trial and is not overcome unless you are convinced beyond a reasonable doubt that the Defendant is guilty of each charge.”

Petitioner also requested that the MPJI–Cr instruction for each of the charged offenses be amended to add, after the list of the elements for each crime, the following words: “In order for the person to be convicted, the State must prove beyond a reasonable doubt each of these ... elements.” The court declined that request and, for all but the conspiracy charge, instructed the jury in accordance with the pertinent pattern instruction for each crime charged. On the conspiracy charge, the court gave, instead of the MPJI–Cr instruction, the following instruction based generally on the conspiracy instruction found in David E. Aaronson, Maryland Criminal Jury Instructions and Commentary, vol. 1 § 4.21 (3d ed. 2009):

[A] conspiracy is an agreement between two or more persons to commit a crime. And a conspiracy is in itself a separate crime. It exists when two or more persons enter into an agreement to accomplish a criminal or unlawful purpose. In order for a person to be guilty of this offense the State must prove beyond a reasonable doubt that the Defendant or one or more other persons entered into an agreement, that the object of the agreement was criminal or unlawful, and that there was a joint intent to enter this agreement.

The jury found Petitioner guilty of four counts each of attempted armed robbery, conspiracy to commit armed robbery, second-degree assault, reckless endangerment, and false imprisonment. At sentencing, the court merged the false imprisonment, reckless endangerment, and second-degree assault convictions, and sentenced Petitioner to serve a total of 18 years' incarceration, with a consecutive 20 years suspended, followed by five years of probation.

Petitioner filed a timely appeal to the Court of Special Appeals, which, as mentioned, issued a reported opinion affirming in part and vacating in part the judgments of conviction. Carroll, 202 Md.App. at 519–20, 32 A.3d at 1108. We issued a writ of certiorari to answer the following questions presented by Petitioner:

1. Is a defendant entitled, upon request, to an instruction expressly informing the jury that the State has the burden of proving each element of every charged offense beyond a reasonable doubt?

2. Should convictions for the inchoate crime of conspiracy to commit armed robbery be merged with convictions for the inchoate crime of attempted armed robbery as a matter of fundamental fairness?

II.The Reasonable Doubt Instructions

Petitioner contends that the jury instructions, other than the instruction on the charge of conspiracy, do not satisfy the requirements of the Due Process Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment and its counterpart provision in Maryland, Article 24 of the Maryland Declaration of Rights.² Petitioner argues that, because the jury was not expressly advised that the reasonable doubt standard must be applied to each element of each offense, there was a “reasonable likelihood” that the jury convicted him based on less than what is mandated by In re Winship, 397 U.S. 358, 90 S.Ct. 1068, 25 L.Ed.2d 368 (1970). Winship holds that “the Due Process Clause protects the accused against conviction except upon proof beyond a reasonable doubt of...