Nichols v. State

Under the law of the case doctrine, "a decision [that is] rendered in a [prior] appeal ... is binding in a later appeal." Law of the Case , Black's Law Dictionary (10th ed. 2014). In other words, once an appellate court

has ruled upon a question [that is] properly presented [in] an appeal[-]or, if the ruling [is] contrary to a question that could have been raised and argued in that appeal on the then[-existing]

state of the record[-]such a ruling becomes the law of the case[,] and is binding on the [parties, the appellate court,] and [lower] courts alike, unless changed ..., and neither the…