James F. Gentry v. Ellis C. MacDougall Superintendent of the Arizona Department of Corrections

In 1977, James Gentry, driving while intoxicated, struck a taxi, killing both the driver and the passenger. He was convicted on two counts of vehicular manslaughter, under former Ariz.Rev.Stat.Ann. § 13-456{3)(a) (current version at Ariz.Rev.Stat.Ann. § 13-1102 (1978)), and sentenced to' consecutive prison terms. Gentry filed a petition for writ of habeas corpus, asserting that the Arizona legislature did not authorize consecutive sentences for multiple deaths caused by a single act of drunk driving, and that such sentences violate the Double Jeopardy Clause of the United States Constitution. The district court denied Gentry’s petition. We affirm.

It is settled law that without legislative authorization a court may not constitutionally impose consecutive sentences. See Whalen v. United States, 445 U.S. 684, 689 , 100 S.Ct. 1432, 1436 , 63 L.Ed.2d 715 (1980). In this case, however, consecutive sentences were authorized under § 13-456. In State v. Miranda, 3 Ariz.App. 550 , 416 P.2d 444 (1966), the Arizona Court of Appeals affirmed consecutive sentences imposed under § 13-456 on three counts of manslaughter arising from one act of drunk driving. The Arizona court reasoned that, by…