If you punched someone in the face 12 times, the law considers that 1 assault.
If you steal 12 items from someone’s house, the law considers that 1 burglary.
What about a drive-by shooting where 12 shots were fired at a house? Is that 1 crime or 12?
In my client’s case, the State argued it was 12 separate crimes. Why? Because then they’re able to throw the book at someone and show that they’re tough on crime.
But in Utah, that’s not how it works. Where there is “one intention, one general impulse, and one plan, even though there is a series of transactions, there is but one offense.” (State v. Irvin, 2007 UT App 319, ¶ 18, 169 P.3d 798.) That’s the law. It’s called merger.
Today, we argued this doctrine before the court. Some people would call this a “technicality,” I call it the law. Fortunately, so did the judge. The court reduced my client’s maximum potential sentence by 55 years. I call that a win.
