Kramm v. State


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Docket Number: 2005-KA-01901-SCT
Supreme Court: Opinion Link
Opinion Date: 02-08-2007
Opinion Author: Easley, J.
Holding: AFFIRMED IN PART; REVERSED AND VACATED IN PART
Additional Case Information: Topic: DUI causing death & Leaving scene of accident - Double sentence - Section 63-11-30(1)(a) & (c) - Weight of evidence
Judge(s) Concurring: Smith, C.J., Waller and Cobb, P.JJ., Diaz, Carlson, Dickinson and Randolph, JJ.
Concurs in Result Only: Graves, J.
Procedural History: Jury Trial
Nature of the Case: CRIMINAL - FELONY
Trial Court: Date of Trial Judgment: 02-12-2004
Appealed from: Harrison County Circuit Court
Judge: Kosta Vlahos
Disposition: Appellant was convicted of driving a motor vehicle while under the influence and causing death, driving a motor vehicle with a blood alcohol level of .08% or more and causing death, leaving the scene of an accident.
District Attorney: Cono A. Caranna, II
Case Number: B2402-2003-0448
  Party Name: Attorney Name:  
Appellant: Michael Joseph Kramm




 ROGER WAYNE WOODALL



  
Appellee: State of Mississippi OFFICE OF THE ATTORNEY GENERAL  
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Topic: DUI causing death & Leaving scene of accident - Double sentence - Section 63-11-30(1)(a) & (c) - Weight of evidence
Summary of the Facts: Michael Kramm was convicted of driving a motor vehicle while under the influence and causing death, driving a motor vehicle with a blood alcohol level of .08% or more and causing death, and leaving the scene of an accident which resulted in the death of another person. He was sentenced to twenty years on Count I and twenty years on Count II to be served concurrently. He was also sentenced to five years on Count III to be served consecutively, for a total of twenty-five years. Kramm appeals.
Summary of Opinion Analysis: Issue 1: Double sentence Count I of the indictment is pursuant section 63-11-30(1)(a), and Count II of the indictment is pursuant to section 63-11-30(1)(c). Kramm argues that the two subsections described the same crime. Section 63-11-30 merely sets forth numerous methods of committing the same crime. Kramm is correct that his conviction and sentence under Count I and Count II amounted to being convicted and sentenced twice for the same crime. Having imposed a conviction and sentence under Count I, the trial court erred by accepting the conviction under Count II and imposing a separate twenty-year sentence under Count II. Therefore, the judgment of the trial court as to Count II is reversed and judgment rendered to vacate the conviction and sentence imposed under Count II. However, Kramm’s twenty-year sentence under Count I and five-year sentence under Count III, to run consecutively with the sentence under Count I is affirmed. Issue 2: Weight of evidence Kramm argues that the State failed to prove that he was the driver of the SUV at the time of the accident. The State is not required to provide eyewitness evidence that Kramm was the driver of the SUV at the time of the accident as long as it provides sufficient proof supporting a reasonable inference that the defendant was driving the vehicle. A witness testified that she witnessed the accident, and she and her friend followed the vehicle which left the scene of the accident. They say it pull in at a retirement home, wrote down the tag number, and returned to the scene of the accident and informed the police. At the retirement home, the guard testified that he observed the vehicle pull into the parking lot with its lights turned off. He told Kramm that he could not park there. Kramm smelled of alcohol, could hardly stand up, and was bleeding, and the vehicle was damaged. On the record, the weight of the evidence presented by the State supported the jury’s verdict.


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