Ex Parte T.D.M. (In Re: T.D.M. v. State of Alabama).

Summary

The court held that T.D.M.'s double-jeopardy rights were violated when the jury returned and the court accepted a not-guilty verdict, discharged the jury, and then recalled it to change that verdict to guilty. Because the jury had left the court's presence and supervision and had an opportunity to communicate with an outside influence, it no longer had authority to alter its verdict. The conviction for first-degree sodomy was therefore reversed and the cause remanded.