Frana v. State, CR

• Court: Arkansas Supreme Court
• Writing for the Court: DUDLEY
• Citation: Frana v. State, 912 S.W.2d 930, 323 Ark. 1 (Ark. 1996)
• Decision Date: 08 January 1996
• Docket Number: No. CR,CR
• Parties: Richard Alan FRANA, Appellant, v. STATE of Arkansas, Appellee. 95-605.

Page 930

912 S.W.2d 930

323 Ark. 1

Richard Alan FRANA, Appellant, v. STATE of Arkansas, Appellee.

No. CR 95-605.

Supreme Court of Arkansas.

Jan. 8, 1996.

Doug Norwood, Rogers, for Appellant.

David R. Raupp, Asst. Attorney General, Little Rock, for Appellee.

DUDLEY, Justice.

Appellant was arrested and issued citations for driving while intoxicated, improper lane change, and violation of the implied-consent law. The citations were filed as three separate cases in the Municipal Court of Bentonville. Appellant pleaded not guilty to all three charges, but subsequently appeared, and a judgment of conviction was entered on the court's docket by use of a rubber stamp and with the blanks filled in, which reflects that appellant entered a plea of guilty to the DWI charge. The municipal court docket sheet does not show that he entered guilty pleas on either of the other charges, or that he was tried for either of them. It reflects that they were "merged." Appellant filed a notice of appeal to the circuit court, which appealed only the DWI case.

Over appellant's objection, the circuit court ruled that appellant would be tried de novo on all three charges. A jury found appellant not guilty of improper lane change and guilty of violation of the implied-consent law, but was unable to reach a verdict on the DWI charge. Appellant appeals from the conviction in circuit court of violation of the implied-consent law. We affirm.

Appellant raises four points of appeal, but, in oral argument before this court, acknowledged that Jones v. State, 321 Ark. 649, 907 S.W.2d 672 (1995), recently decided three of the points. As a result, we do not discuss those three points.

In his remaining point of appeal, appellant contends that the procedure in circuit court, which forced him to stand trial for violation of the implied-consent law, violated the Double Jeopardy Clause. We affirm on this point because the record neither shows that appellant was threatened with multiple punishments for violation of the implied-consent law nor shows that there was a threat of successive prosecutions on the charge. See State v. Schaub, 310 Ark. 76, 832 S.W.2d 843 (1992). The record does not show that appellant was either convicted or acquitted of this charge in municipal court. It only shows that he pleaded not guilty and the charge was "merged."

The record does not show how the term "merged" was used in municipal court, and we will not speculate about its use. The term is ordinarily used when lesser-included offenses are merged into greater offenses. See Ark.Code Ann. § 5-1-110 (Repl.1993); and see, e.g., Withers v. State, 308 Ark. 507, 825 S.W.2d 819 ...