State of New Jersey, Plaintiff-Respondent v. Richard L. Rechtschaffer, Defendant-Appellant

Summary

The Court held that the trial court’s partial mistrial was improvidently granted and that the subsequent conviction for possession with intent to distribute violated the double‑jeopardy prohibition because the earlier conviction for simple possession was a lesser‑included offense. Accordingly, the conviction for possession with intent to distribute was set aside and an acquittal entered, while the original simple‑possession conviction was reinstated. The decision rests on the doctrine of manifest necessity and the merger of the two offenses. Justice Pashman dissented and Justice Conford concurred in the result but disagreed with the majority’s reasoning on the partial mistrial.