Browne v. State

PER CURIAM. Cecil Rhodes Browne, Jr. was found guilty by a jury in the Circuit Court for Prince George’s County of involuntary manslaughter and of the use of a handgun in the commission of that crime. Judgments were entered on the convictions. 1 The Court of Special Appeals affirmed the judg ⁵⁸⁵ merits. Browne v. State, No. 951, September Term, 1989, filed 15 February 1990, unreported.

We granted Browne’s petition for a writ of certiorari. The question presented is: Can a conviction for involuntary manslaughter support a conviction under Article 27, § 36B(d) for use of a handgun “in the commission of any felony or any crime of violence as defined in § 441 of this article?” The answer is “yes.” Md.Code (1957, 1987 Repl.Vol., 1990 Cum.Supp.) Art. 27, § 36B(d) declares: Any person who shall use a handgun or an antique firearm capable of being concealed on the person in the commission of any felony or any crime of violence as defined in § 441 of this article, shall be guilty of a separate misdemeanor and on conviction thereof shall, in addition to any other sentence imposed by virtue of commission of said felony or misdemeanor[.] Art. 27, § 441(e), defining the term “crime of violence” expressly excludes involuntary manslaughter. Browne concedes that involuntary manslaughter is a felony but argues that the Legislature, by incorporating the specific statutory language of § 441 into § 36B(d), intended to exclude “involuntary manslaughter” as a predicate “crime” under § 36B(d). State v. Vincent, 321 Md. 313 , 582 A.2d 1220 (1990) is dispositive.

We found: The language of [§ 36B(d)] and the legislative intent reflected therein, are