Beattie v. State

OPINION

BOLGER, Judge.

Thomas M. Beattie was tried for felony driving under the influence, a charge that required the State to prove that Beattie had at least two prior convictions for driving under the influence within the preceding ten years. 1 The superior court granted Beattie's request to bifurcate his trial, so that the jury would hear no evidence of Beattie's prior convictions unless and until they found Beat-tic guilty of driving under the influence on the current occasion.

The primary issue presented in this appeal arises because, after the jury found Beattie guilty in the first stage…