Moody v. State

Since defendant could have received a double punishment both for shooting the victims and for possessing a firearm during the commission of a felony, his acquittal on the weapons charge did not bar his retrial after the jury deadlocked on the murder charges.

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Charles Moody, Jr. was charged in a multi-count indictment with two counts of malice murder in the shooting deaths of Georgia Bell Anthony and Joann Anthony; aggravated assault by pointing a firearm at Jessica Anthony; burglary; possession of a firearm during commission of a felony murder; and simple battery on Jessica Anthony. The case was tried to a jury which returned a partial verdict, convicting Moody of aggravated assault, simple battery, and possession of a firearm during the commission of a felony. The trial court declared a mistrial as to the two murder counts and the burglary offense due to the jury’s inability to reach a unanimous verdict. Following the entry of the verdict, the court granted Moody’s motion for directed verdict of acquittal on the conviction for weapon possession.1

Upon learning that the State was seeking retrial on the two murder counts, Moody filed a special plea of former jeopardy in which he argued that the directed verdict on the weapon possession count prevented retrial on the murder charges. The state filed an extraordinary motion for new trial, asserting that the court had no authority to direct a verdict following conviction; therefore, Moody’s double jeopardy argument was rendered moot. After a hearing, the trial court granted the State’s motion and denied Moody’s motion. We affirm the denial of Moody’s plea of former jeopardy. But because there is no authority for the State to seek a new trial in a criminal case and the trial court was without jurisdiction to entertain the State’s motion, we reverse the grant of the State’s extraordinary motion for new trial.

Moody v. State

Since defendant could have received a double punishment both for shooting the victims and for possessing a firearm during the commission of a felony, his acquittal on the weapons charge did not bar his retrial after the jury deadlocked on the murder charges.

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