Case Law Review – 2

At the Law Office of Jacob Rigney, we pride ourselves on making complicated legal issues simple. In keeping with our philosophy, we present “one sentence case law reviews,” where we read an entire appellate decision and boil it down to one sentence. Here we go!

Harrison v. State (29 pages)

If you build a mobile meth lab in your car, run from the police after you crash the car, and leave your ID and cell phone behind in the car, you can get convicted of manufacturing methamphetamine, but not both manufacturing and possession of pre-cursors, because of the double jeopardy clause in the Constitution.

M.M. v. State (10 pages)

When the Court orders a juvenile to pay restitution, that order stays in effect until satisfied, even if it was a term of probation and that probation was terminated.

Moore v. State (22 pages)

Any previously convicted Defendant may petition the Court for a modification of sentence without prosecutorial approval, regardless of when the crime was committed.

Special note: Moore v. State opens up the potential for sentence modification to a bunch of new people that weren’t previously eligible. But, this was a 2-1 decision of the Court of Appeals, and the dissent makes some fairly compelling arguments. This is also an issue of first impression (because of legislative changes in July of 2014). As such, the case is a good candidate to get transferred to the Supreme Court. Should the Supreme Court grant transfer, the case will not stand as authority until after the Supreme Court rules.

If you need help with a legal issue, big or small, contact the Law Office of Jacob Rigney.