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People v. Boand9/30/2005
cide before her death. By comparison, the committee note to IPI Criminal 3d No. 7.15 states that the pattern instruction should be given whenever causation is at issue. IPI Criminal 3d No. 7.15, Committee Note, at 174. "The cases that are cited by the committee [also] suggest that the instruction was created to be given where an intervening and alternative explanation for the cause of death is argued by the defense." Pinkney, 322 Ill. App. 3d at 718. At trial, defendant presented suicide as an intervening and alternative explanation for Levin's death. The trial court did not need to use the term "suicide" when instructing the jury because IPI Criminal 3d No. 7.15 encompasses suicide as an intervening and alternative cause of death. In fact, the pattern instruction is more accurate than defendant's proposed instruction because it allows liability for an act that may be a proximate cause though not necessarily the only proximate cause. Under these circumstances, we conclude that the trial court did not abuse its discretion in using IPI Criminal 3d No. 7.15.
G. Multiple Homicide Convictions for Single Death
Although the parties have not addressed the propriety of multiple convictions of drug-induced homicide and involuntary manslaughter, we address the issue because it will likely arise on remand. We further note that our analysis discloses a deficiency in the charging instrument. The jury found defendant guilty of drug-induced homicide and involuntary manslaughter. The trial court entered convictions and imposed sentences for both charges even though they were directed toward the same victim. Pursuant to the "one-act, one-crime" rule, multiple convictions are improper if based upon the same physical act. People v. Latto, 304 Ill. App. 3d 791, 806 (1999). Whether multiple convictions violate the rule is a question of law, which we review de novo. Village of Sugar Grove v. Rich, 347 Ill. App. 3d 689, 698 (2004).
In People v. King, 66 Ill. 2d 551, 566 (1977), our supreme court held that a criminal defendant may not be convicted of multiple offenses when those offenses are all based on precisely the same physical act. There are two steps to a King analysis. People v. Rodriguez, 169 Ill. 2d 183, 186 (1996). First, the court ascertains whether the defendant's conduct consisted of a single physical act or separate acts. Rodriguez, 169 Ill. 2d at 186. An "act" is any overt or outward manifestation that will support a separate offense. King, 66 Ill. 2d at 566. "Multiple convictions are improper if they are based on precisely the same physical act." Rodriguez, 169 Ill. 2d at 186.
Second, if the defendant committed multiple acts, the court determines whether any of the offenses is a lesser-included offense. Rodriguez, 169 Ill. 2d at 186. If any of the offenses is a lesser-included offense, then, under King, multiple convictions are improper. Rodriguez, 169 Ill. 2d at 186. If none of the offenses is a lesser-included offense, then multiple convictions may be entered. Rodriguez, 169 Ill. 2d at 186.
In People v. Barcik, 357 Ill. App. 3d 1043 (2005), we held that the defendant's convictions of two counts of driving under the influence (DUI) and two counts of driving while his license was revoked (DWLR) violated the one-act, one-crime rule because the defendant received multiple convictions for one act of drunken driving and multiple convictions for one act of driving while his license was revoked. Similarly, in People v. Palmer, 346 Ill. App. 3d 942, 952 (2004), we held that the defendant could not be convicted of two counts of aggravated criminal sexual assault where there was only one act of sexual penetration.
In this case, the drug-induced-homicide charge
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