Monday, June 03, 2019

What’s left for SCOTUS before their summer break?

Teachers and Supreme Court Justices get the summer off. The Justices have a few more opinions to get out before they hit the beach. CNN covers what’s left, including the census case.  But I’m waiting for this one:
Double Jeopardy (Gamble v. United States)
The Double Jeopardy clause to the Fifth Amendment prohibits more than one prosecution for the same offense. There is an exception, however, that is called the "separate sovereigns exception."
Under the exception, prosecutions are allowed to bring charges for the same offense if the charges are brought by state and federal government. The Supreme Court is being asked to get rid separate sovereigns exception.
Critics contend that in the modern day it leads to harassment of defendants -- especially the poor -- who can't afford to fight on two fronts.
The case could impact President Donald Trump's pardon power as it applies to the Robert Mueller probe. The thinking goes that if he pardoned someone like Paul Manafort, then state officials could not bring the same charge against him. Others say that it would have no impact because state prosecutors would be savvy enough to bring charges for a different offense.The Trump administration argued that the exception should remain on the books.
Why it matters:
On one hand, the federal government and others say this exception is meant to protect the independent power of state and federal governments. It has been a part of the court's fabric for more than 150 years.
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5 comments:

  1. Robert Kuntz11:19 AM

    While I'm entirely sensible to the concern that the doctrine allows for the potential harassment of poor defendants, there are also abundant examples of the doctrine working in the service of justice. (Consider various Klan trials over the years, and some not all that long ago.)

    But, more fundamentally, although it is a notion that seems to have lost its currency with some folks, its is axiomatic to the organization of this nation that "The United States of America" and the several states ARE, indeed, separate sovereigns. While the balance of power has shifted as between them over time, and with respect to various issues, that core truth was a bedrock principle in our founding. It matters still.

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  2. Anonymous12:37 PM

    The states stopped being sovereign just over 150 years ago. The notion that the states are more than provinces in name is an anachronism. This is, in effect, what the civil war was about. And slavery is where that proverbial rubber hit the road.

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  3. Anonymous4:38 PM

    I am still hoping Texas will secede. Maybe they can take Alabama with them.

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  4. Anonymous6:45 AM

    As a practical matter, is irrelevant. The feds can always find a crime where the elements differ. No if Blockburger goes that's a different story.

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  5. Anonymous2:27 PM

    Blockburger? Wow! Burger King's new menu item has already made its way in SC jurisprudence.

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