Background

• Kelly was charged with reckless driving in 2009 after an incident at a ZipTrip Store.
• He was convicted of reckless driving in justice court and paid a $114 fine.
• A Humphreys County grand jury later indicted Kelly on two counts: aggravated assault (Count I) and felony malicious mischief (Count II; Count II not at issue).
• Kelly moved to dismiss the indictment on double-jeopardy grounds; the trial court denied the motion.
• The case was elevated via an interlocutory petition to review double-jeopardy claims; the Mississippi Supreme Court affirmed the denial and addressed the merits.
• The court applied Blockburger’s same-elements test and concluded that reckless driving and aggravated assault contain different elements; therefore, prosecuting both does not violate double jeopardy and the indictment dismissal was properly denied.

Issues

Key Cases Cited

• Beckwith v. State, 615 So.2d 1134 (Miss. 1992) (interlocutory appeal of colorable double-jeopardy claim is final and reviewable)
• Abney v. United States, 431 U.S. 651 (U.S. 1977) (pretrial orders denying former jeopardy are final decisions)
• Graves v. State, 969 So.2d 845 (Miss. 2007) (same-elements test governs double-jeopardy analysis)
• Grady v. Corbin, 495 U.S. 508 (U.S. 1990) (overruled by Dixon; Grady’s same-conduct approach rejected)
• Dixon v. United States, 509 U.S. 688 (U.S. 1993) (reinstates same-elements test for double jeopardy)
• Brown v. Ohio, 432 U.S. 161 (U.S. 1977) (lesser-included offenses context not controlling post-Dixon)
• Illinois v. Vitale, 447 U.S. 410 (U.S. 1980) (lesser and greater included offenses context)
• Brooks v. State, 18 So.3d 833 (Miss. 2009) (reckless driving not a lesser-included offense of aggravated assault for double jeopardy)
• Moore v. State, 799 So.2d 89 (Miss. 2001) (relevance to lesser-included concepts)
• Rowland v. State, 531 So.2d 627 (Miss. 1988) (elements-based analysis referenced)