Rice v. State

ISHEE, J„

for the Court:

¶ 1. This is a criminal case regarding whether an indictment may be amended on the first day of trial to charge the defendant as a habitual offender. Timothy Rice was indicted for the sale of cocaine. Five days before the trial, the State filed a motion to amend the indictment to include Rice’s habitual-offender status. On the first day of trial, the Jones County Circuit Court entered an order amending the indictment. After the jury returned a guilty verdict, Rice filed a motion for a new trial or, in the alternative, a judgment notwithstanding the verdict (JNOV). His…