The Supreme Court on Monday refused to overturn a longstanding rule that allows for individuals to be charged by states and the federal government for the same offense.
In a 7-2 ruling, the justices affirmed the so-called “dual sovereignty” exception to the Constitution’s double jeopardy clause.
Justices Ruth Bader Ginsburg and Neil Gorsuch, in separate dissents, took issue with the majority’s formula.
The Supreme Court on Monday refused to overturn a longstanding rule that allows individuals to be charged by states and the federal government for the same offense.
In a 7-2 ruling, the justices affirmed the so-called “dual sovereignty” exception to the Constitution’s double jeopardy clause. The opinion was authored by Justice Samuel Alito, who wrote that the rule is “not an exception at all.”
The Fifth Amendment’s double jeopardy clause states that “No person shall [...] be subject for the same offense to be twice put in jeopardy of life or limb.” Alito wrote that because states and the federal government are both sovereign governments, a violation of state and federal law is not the “same offense,” but is instead separate offenses.
Justices Ruth Bader Ginsburg and Neil Gorsuch, in separate dissents, took issue with the majority’s formula.
In her dissent, Ginsburg wrote that under the Constitution, it is the governed, not the governments, who are the ultimate sovereigns.
In his dissent, Gorsuch wrote that a “free society does not allow its government to try the same individual for the same crime until it’s happy with the result.”
Had the court ruled the other way, experts said that President Donald Trump may have gotten a boost to his pardon authority. Presidents may pardon violations of federal laws, but do not have the same power over state laws.
So what’s the bottom line, does it hurt or help individual’s rights? Does it keep the Obama’s of the world from abusing the system to persecute enemies? I’m not a lawyer but it all looked pretty bad to me this morning.
However, I did just hear on the redistricting issue that the plaintiff didn’t have standing. Need to find out if rejected for that reason because it changes the news that Dems won.