Docket No. 88224-Agenda 35-May 2000.

THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, Appellee, v.
LAWRENCE CARTER, Appellant.

JUSTICE MILLER delivered the opinion of the court:

Following a jury trial in the circuit court of Vermilion County,the defendant, Lawrence Carter, was convicted of driving with asuspended license and of operating an uninsured vehicle and wasacquitted of illegal transportation of alcohol. The defendant fileda post-trial motion, seeking a judgment of acquittalnotwithstanding the verdict, or, in the alternative, a new trial, withregard to the conviction for driving with a suspended license. Ata hearing, the court orally granted the defendant's motion forjudgment notwithstanding the verdict and directed the publicdefender to prepare an appropriate order. The next day, however,the judge sua sponte vacated the judgment of acquittalnotwithstanding the verdict and ordered a new trial on the chargeof driving with a suspended license.

The defendant filed a motion to bar the new trial, arguing thatthe court's order violated the double jeopardy clauses of thefederal and state constitutions (U.S. Const., amend. V; Ill. Const.1970, art. I,