Barton v. State

(dissenting) :

I find no legal basis for distinguishing the cases cited for conflict from the instant decision in the District Court.

The stipulation by the Petitioner, Alex Barton, agreeing that he had been previously convicted of possession of marijuana as charged in Information # 1954, should not be equated with a jury’s specific finding to the same effect.

In line with the cases cited for conflict, the jury was instructed by the trial judge on Information # 1954 that it

“must find that this defendant, Alex Barton, has previously been convicted of a violation of the drug laws of this state as…