Cite as: 509 U. S. 688 (1993)
Opinion of Souter, J.
II
In addressing multiple punishments, "the role of the constitutional guarantee is limited to assuring that the court does not exceed its legislative authorization by imposing multiple punishments for the same offense." Brown v. Ohio, 432 U. S. 161, 165 (1977). Courts enforcing the federal guarantee against multiple punishment therefore must examine the various offenses for which a person is being punished to determine whether, as defined by the legislature, any two or more of them are the same offense. Over 60 years ago, this Court stated the test still used today to determine "whether two offenses are sufficiently distinguishable to permit the imposition of cumulative punishment," id., at 166:
"[W]here the same act or transaction constitutes a violation of two distinct statutory provisions, the test to be applied to determine whether there are two offenses or only one, is whether each provision requires proof of a fact which the other does not." Blockburger v. United States, 284 U. S. 299, 304 (1932).
The Blockburger test "emphasizes the elements of the two crimes." Brown, supra, at 166. Indeed, the determination whether two statutes describe the "same offence" for multiple punishment purposes has been held to involve only a question of statutory construction. We ask what the elements of each offense are as a matter of statutory interpretation, to determine whether the legislature intended "to impose separate sanctions for multiple offenses arising in the course of a single act or transaction." Iannelli v. United States, 420 U. S. 770, 785, n. 17 (1975). See, e. g., Brown, supra, at 167-168 (noting, in applying Blockburger, that state courts " 'have the final authority to interpret . . . [a] State's legislation' " (quoting Garner v. Louisiana, 368 U. S. 157, 169 (1961))). The Court has even gone so far as to say that the Blockburger test will not prevent multiple punishment where legislative intent to the contrary is clear, at least in
745
Page: Index Previous 51 52 53 54 55 56 57 58 59 60 61 62 63 64 65 NextLast modified: October 4, 2007