State v. Moore

Summary

The Ohio Third District Court of Appeals affirmed Gerry L. Moore’s conviction and 11-year prison sentence for conspiracy to commit aggravated murder. The court held that the law-of-the-case doctrine barred reconsideration of Moore’s double-jeopardy argument because the issue had been decided in his prior interlocutory appeal. The court concluded that improper venue in the prior Erie County proceedings did not trigger double jeopardy and affirmed the Marion County judgment.

Holdings

1. The law-of-the-case doctrine barred reconsideration of Moore's double-jeopardy challenge because the issue had been fully briefed, argued, and decided in the prior interlocutory appeal, and no extraordinary circumstances or injustice warranted departure from that decision.
2. A judicial determination that venue is improper does not trigger double jeopardy and therefore does not bar retrial of the charges in the proper venue.

Questions Presented

1. Whether the law-of-the-case doctrine barred Moore from relitigating his double-jeopardy challenge after the Third District had rejected the same challenge in his prior interlocutory appeal.
2. Whether the prior prosecution's termination for improper venue barred the Marion County prosecution under the Double Jeopardy Clause.

Disposition

affirmed