State v. Johnson
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The Supreme Court held that conviction on multiple counts under Fla. Stat. 316.062(2) stemming from a single crash involving multiple victims does not expose a defendant to multiple punishments for one offense in violation of constitutional double jeopardy protections.
Under section 316.027, when a car crash results in the injury or death of "a person," the driver of a vehicle involved in the crash must stop and remain at the scene until fulfilling the requirements of Fla. Stat. 316.062, which requires the driver to provide identifying information to any injured person and the police and to render reasonable assistance to any injured person. Defendant was convicted of four violations of section 316.027(2), one violation for each victim of one crash. The court of appeal vacated two of Defendant's three convictions as violating double jeopardy principles. The Supreme Court quashed the decision below, holding (1) section 316.027(2) contemplates a per-crash-victim unit of prosecution rather than on a per-crash basis; and (2) therefore, Defendant's separate convictions for each crash victim were not multiple punishments for the same offense.
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