Whitaker

This appeal arises after the two-jury trial of Gene Whitaker, Jr., his son, Gene Whitaker, III, and Dewayne Presley.

Presley and Whitaker III beat and tried to shoot Melvin Weathers at the behest of Whitaker, in retaliation for a prior incident in which Weathers had broken Whitaker’s jaw. Presley and Whitaker III, and a broken rifle, were found near the scene. Whitaker’s sister, Beverly Robinson, reported that Whitaker had “hyped” up the other defendants into attacking Weathers. Each defendant was a member of the East Side Pirn gang. Each defendant was convicted of attempted premeditated murder and other charges, and each received a life sentence.

After the first jury was selected, the trial court delayed swearing in the jury, pending resolution of prosecution witness problems. When those problems were resolved adversely to the People, they moved to dismiss the case for lack of evidence. The trial court granted the motion, and the People later refiled the charges. Defendants then moved to dismiss the refiled charges, contending that allowing the People to refile the charges improperly thwarted *1003 double jeopardy protections, and violated due process principles. The…