State v. Stephenson

Summary

The court held that the Appellate Court improperly reversed the defendant's convictions by deciding a distinct sufficiency-of-the-evidence issue that the defendant had not raised, without giving the parties an opportunity for supplemental briefing or argument. Although an appellate court may address an unpreserved issue in appropriate circumstances, it must provide the parties a meaningful opportunity to be heard before doing so. The judgment was reversed and the case was remanded for consideration of the claims actually raised. The opinion contained no separate writings.