State v. Rabe

1980

Court: Wisconsin trial court

Facts: Rabe went driving drunk, and four people got killed. Two of his passengers, and two in the vehicle he hit.

Posture: There have been lots of motions, including one to consolidate the four counts of "homicide by intoxicated use of a vehicle" into one.

Issue: Multiple counts are not forseeable, and multiple punishment has no utility, so is this a bad rule?

Holding: It is the rule no matter what Rabe wishes. Denied.

Rule: Legislative intent governs whether multiple counts make sense.

Reasoning: Clearly the law was written to allow multiple convictions in such a case.

Dicta: Discretion (prosecutorial and judicial) will prevent undue punishment.