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REPORTED IN THE COURT OF SPECIAL APPEALS OF MARYLAND No. 1396 September Term, 2010

DANIEL JOSEPH PAIR

v.

STATE OF MARYLAND

Eyler, James R., Watts, Moylan, Charles E., Jr. (Retired, Specially Assigned), JJ.

Opinion by Moylan, J.

Filed: December 22, 2011

The compelled merger of convictions to avoid multiple punishments for the same offense, or perhaps for the same criminal behavior, is by no means as simple a subject as it might at first appear to be. The hydra has no less than three heads: 1) constitutional double jeopardy; 2) the rule of lenity as an aid to statutory construction; and 3) the essentially tetherless notion of fundamental fairness. These are no mere variations on a common theme. They are the subjects for widely differing inquiries. Fundamental fairness, especially, remains very much an enigma. All three are now before us. The appellant, Daniel Joseph Pair, filed in the Circuit Court for Baltimore County on July 2, 2010, a Motion to Correct an Illegal Sentence pursuant to Maryland Rule of Procedure 4-345(a). The posited illegality was that three sentences had not been merged. On July 14, 2010, Judge Dana M. Levitz denied the motion. This appeal followed. The Original Trial The appellant was originally convicted by a Baltimore County jury, presided over by Judge Levitz, of 1) first-degree assault, 2) robbery, 3) false imprisonment, and 4) the unlawful taking of a motor vehicle. The victim of all of the crimes was the appellant's former fianc

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Maryland Law