(CN) - Michigan will have to prove that the double-jeopardy clause does not bar it from retrying a man on arson charges after errors of law that led to an order of acquittal the first time around, the Supreme Court said Monday.
Lamar Evans was charged with burning a vacant house and other property in violation of Section 750.73 of Michigan law. But the trial court said that law required prosecutors to show that the burned house was not a dwelling. When the Court of Appeals pointed out that this holding was incorrect, the trial court grant Evans' motion for a directed verdict and entered an order of acquittal, dismissing the case.
In March, the state Supreme Court said that Evans could still be retried without implicating double jeopardy.
Officers testified that they apprehended Evans running away, carrying a can of gasoline, from a house that they saw erupt into flames in September 2008.
As is its custom, the Supreme Court did not comment on its decision to review the case.
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