Middleton v. State

ELDRIDGE, Judge.

In this criminal case, a jury found the defendant guilty both of first degree rape and of the concededly lesser included offense of second degree rape. Prior to imposing sentence, the trial judge vacated the guilty verdict on the count charging first degree rape. The trial judge then sentenced the defendant to fifteen years imprisonment for second degree rape. Thereafter, while the case was pending on appeal, the trial judge reconsidered his order vacating the guilty verdict for first degree rape, reinstated the guilty verdict on the first degree charge, and imposed a fifteen…