Posted on 01/30/2023 3:07:50 PM PST by Magnatron
I just changed my mind here after reading
UNITED STATES v. MARTIN LINEN SUPPLY CO. ET AL 430 U.S. 564 (1977). You are right. Double jeopardy applies.
He’s on Bannon right now. When his wife asked the storm troopers if they had a warrant, she was told he would be taken in with or without a warrant.
Yes it was. And totally unnecessary. I am ashamed of the government.
They’re thugs with unlimited power, and they will destroy you.
They’re thugs with unlimited power, and they will destroy you.
The State/U.S. can only appeal certain enumerated errors. I didn't do a lot of federal practice, but the system is weighted in favor of letting an acquittal stand unless there was a *gross* miscarriage of justice.
Even when a defendant appeals a conviction (a whole different situation), the trial court has very broad discretion in deciding whether to excuse a juror for refusal to deliberate (which is, by the way, a violation of her oath - and I bet you it's a woman.) With testimony on the record from other jurors that she was refusing to discuss the case, that's a slam dunk exercise of discretion.
The AG had a very flimsy case to start with, would never have been brought to trial anywhere but a liberal jurisdiction and at the urging of the Justice Dept. The AG is probably embarrassed by the whole thing as wasting the court's time on stuff like this is frowned upon by everyone. Probably the United States will not appeal (that would further annoy the judge, and they have to practice in front of him going forward). Unless the Biden Justice Department forces them to appeal.
The usual posture is when the State/U.S. realizes that it is losing and essentially "takes a dive" by deliberately creating error -- in order to avoid an acquittal. They then re-indict, and the defendant moves for acquittal on double jeopardy grounds on the basis that the mistrial was pretextual.
I’m strictly a civil guy. I have been through the juror misconduct thing more than once in civil trials. It seems UNITED STATES v. MARTIN LINEN SUPPLY CO. ET AL 430 U.S. 564 (1977) deals with this clearly enough. It appears that so long as the jury arrives at an acquittal, error in dealing with juror misconduct is not appealable by the state.
Martin was a hung jury and DV of acquittal, not the substitution of an alternate and a jury verdict. But same difference -- the Supremes decided that you can't appeal any acquittal, if retrial would offend the Double Jeopardy Clause. So, that's that!
Except for the occasional civil trial, I haven't been to see the feds very much. Georgia still has strict statutory limitations on the rulings that the State can appeal - can't believe that Congress jettisoned all those limitations!
It’s true Martin was a DV, but an adjudication on the merits allowed under Fed.Rule Crim.Proc. 29(c). The critical point is that appellate jurisdiction is granted under 18 U.S.C. § 3731, which allows an appeal by the United States in a criminal case ‘to a court of appeals from a . . . judgment . . . of a district court dismissing an indictment . . ., except that no appeal shall lie where the double jeopardy clause of the United States Constitution prohibits further prosecution.” Brennan’s reasoning leaves no room to believe and appeal can be taken from a judgment of acquittal from a jury verdict. I’m sure a case is out there that is closer on the facts - but I will not find it :)
I’ve done PI and insurance coverage diversity federal work, IDEA work, a Plaintiff’s prisoner’s rights class action and admiralty work in the NJ feds. I went to Emory undergrad (’83) but never practiced in GA.
I'm Emory Law '80. Practiced in GA til I retired this year.
So you were there my freshman year! Was 3rd man on the golf team for 3 years. Played at East Lake. What a deal that was!
My grandfather tried to get us interested in golf - he was a big golfer and helped Bobby Jones assemble the land for Augusta National. Unfortunately it didn't take with any of us!
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