Sims v. State

Robert H. Dudley, Justice.

The issue in this case is whether the State is attempting to twice punish Emmett Sims, Jr., for the same offense in violation of the Double Jeopardy Clause of the United States Constitution. The trial court held that Sims was not twice punished for the same conduct. We affirm the judgment.

On April 16, 1994, after a car chase, a state trooper forced Sims’s car off the road in order to arrest him. The trooper searched Sims and found he was in possession of a .38 caliber pistol and $8,603.96. During the chase, the trooper had seen Sims pitch a crumpled piece of paper…