Possession Does Not Merge With Eluding While Carrying Marijuana
A unanimous Iowa Supreme Court ruled on October 16, 2020 that certain marijuana possession-related convictions do not merge for purposes of double jeopardy protections against cumulative punishments. In State v. Johnson, the defendant argued his possession of marijuana conviction, a serious misdemeanor, should merge with his felony conviction for eluding while possessing marijuana. The State did not dispute that a driver cannot violate the particular eluding subsection without also violating the prohibition against possessing marijuana. Under the legal-elements test that compares two offenses to determine whether it is possible to commit the greater offense without committing the lesser, the crimes […]
