State v. Zawodniak

I agree with the majority that the trial court erroneously construed the simultaneous-possession statute, Ark. Code Ann. § 5-74-106(a), to require proof of gang or other organized criminal activity, a nonexistent element of the offense. However, I depart from the majority’s analysis that simply because the judge committed “trial error,” the Double Jeopardy Clause does not bar a remand of the present case. Instead, Justices Newbern and Thornton frame the correct inquiry — whether the trial court’s ruling acquitted Zawodniak on the simultaneous-possession charge. If in fact Zawodniak was…