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| People v. Carter, No. 4-98-0478 4th District, 12 August 1999 |
| THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, Plaintiff-Appellee, v. LAWRENCE CARTER, Defendant-Appellant. | | Appeal from Circuit Court of Vermilion County No. 97TR12775 Honorable Gordon R. Stipp, Judge Presiding. | JUSTICE McCULLOUGH delivered the opinion of the court: On May 22, 1998, a jury found defendant Lawrence Carter guilty of driving with a suspended license (DWS) (625 ILCS 5/6-303 (West Supp. 1997)) and operating an uninsured vehicle (625 ILCS 5/3-707 (West 1996)). The jury acquitted defendant of illegal transportation of alcohol (625 ILCS 5/11-502 (West 1996)). On June 4, 1998, the trial court orally granted defendant an acquittal notwithstanding the verdict on the charge of DWS, with a written order to be drafted by defense counsel. On June 5, 1998, the trial court vacated the acquittal without signing the written order and ordered a new trial. The trial court found it had erred at trial in excluding evidence of defendant's suspended license. On June 8, 1998, defendant filed a motion to bar retrial as prohibited by the double jeopardy clauses of the state and federal constitutions (U.S. Const., amends. V, XIV; Ill. Const. 1970, art. I, |