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SCOTUS Again Upholds Double Prosecution and Punishment for the Same Crime (6-3 Gorsuch teams with Kagan and Sotomayor)
Townhall ^ | 6/22/22 | Jacob Sullum

Posted on 06/22/2022 12:43:06 PM PDT by Michael.SF.

The federal government prosecuted Merle Denezpi twice for the same crime. It also punished him twice: the first time with 140 days in a federal detention center, the second time with a prison sentence more than 70 times as long.

Although that may seem like an obvious violation of the Fifth Amendment's ban on double jeopardy, the Supreme Court last week ruled that it wasn't. As the six justices in the majority saw it, that puzzling conclusion was the logical result of the Court's counterintuitive precedents on this subject.

The Fifth Amendment says no person shall "be subject for the same offence to be twice put in jeopardy of life or limb." But under the Court's longstanding "dual sovereignty" doctrine, an offense is not "the same" when it is criminalized by two different governments.

That doctrine allows serial state and federal prosecutions for the same crime, opening the door to double punishment or a second trial after an acquittal. Although neither seems just, the Court says both are perfectly constitutional.

The justices reaffirmed that view in a 2019 case involving a man with a felony record who was convicted twice and punished twice for illegally possessing a gun -- first in state court, then in federal court. Although the elements of the crime were the same in both cases, the majority said, the two prosecutions did not amount to double jeopardy because they involved two different "sovereigns."

(Excerpt) Read more at townhall.com ...


TOPICS: Constitution/Conservatism; Crime/Corruption; News/Current Events
KEYWORDS: 5thamendment; alfordplea; bloggers; defundthepolice; doublejeopardy; fifthamendment; indianvsindian; lookwhohatescops; merledenezpi; navahonation
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To: Lazamataz

Plus he has to be destroyed in the “court of public opinion”, so no FaceBook, YouTube, Instagram, Twitter, LinkedIn, etc. to defend himself or get his life back together after getting out of prison... if he ever does.


61 posted on 06/22/2022 2:21:01 PM PDT by who_would_fardels_bear (This is not a tagline.)
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To: SoConPubbie

The headline provided that information.


62 posted on 06/22/2022 2:25:15 PM PDT by Vermont Lt
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To: Alberta's Child

The example crime involve crossing a state line in commission of a crime. The created a federal interest.


63 posted on 06/22/2022 2:25:20 PM PDT by GreenLanternCorps (Hi! I'm the Dread Pirate Roberts! (TM) Atsk about franchise opportunities in your area.)
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To: joma89

I’m quite surprised with Judge Scalia and Judge Thomas.


64 posted on 06/22/2022 2:28:39 PM PDT by Lazamataz (The firearms I own today, are the firearms I will die with. How I die will be up to them.)
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To: Alberta's Child

I’d have to agree.


65 posted on 06/22/2022 2:29:55 PM PDT by logi_cal869 (-cynicus the "concern troll" a/o 10/03/2018 /!i!! &@$%&*(@ -)
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To: HamiltonJay
“You violate a state law that is also a federal law, you have 2 completely different governments charging you independently”

It is good to see the Supreme Court recognize that states are sovereign and have never given up their sovereignty, except for those few, limited, enumerated grants of authority to the federal government mentioned in the Constitution.

The framers of the Constitution, however, specifically wanted to protect individuals from being retried, and retried, and retried for the “same offense” because of their experience with English authorities.

Now those protections - like other protections in the Bill of Rights - are being swept away by wise guys with enough language skills to run circles around five year olds with persuasive reasoning that a man is a woman.

66 posted on 06/22/2022 2:32:34 PM PDT by jeffersondem
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To: Michael.SF.

This was a monumentally stupid ruling, especially since it came from two different departments of the same federal government.

Even allowing it for state vs local is bad.


67 posted on 06/22/2022 2:33:03 PM PDT by hopespringseternal
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To: jeffersondem

That’s because, at the time of the constitutional creation, the federal government’s laws would be those laws binding the states with minimal laws affecting individuals because they all fell under state laws. (And even then would’ve probably only applied to those crimes committed across state lines)

It wasn’t until the federal bureaucracy took off that it was used as a Cudgel.


68 posted on 06/22/2022 2:38:55 PM PDT by Skywise
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To: Labyrinthos

Lot of stories with different information (thanks reporters). Thanks for clearing up.


69 posted on 06/22/2022 2:40:44 PM PDT by Lockbox (politicians, they all seemed like game show hosts to me.... Sting)
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To: Vermont Lt
The headline provided that information.

Yea, stupid me.
70 posted on 06/22/2022 2:41:01 PM PDT by SoConPubbie (Mitt and Obama: They're the same poison, just a different potency)
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To: Skywise
“It wasn't until the federal bureaucracy took off that it was used as a Cudgel.”

And that happened after the disaster at Appomattox.

71 posted on 06/22/2022 2:43:44 PM PDT by jeffersondem
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To: Dilbert San Diego

You’re not facing imprisonment or the death penalty in civil court, so double jeopardy isn’t relevant.


72 posted on 06/22/2022 2:45:04 PM PDT by skr (May God confound the enemy)
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To: SoConPubbie

“Would have been nice if the dumb author of this article gave us pertinent info like which justices voted yes and which voted nay.”

Duh, they did. Read the dang article before critizing.


73 posted on 06/22/2022 2:50:53 PM PDT by TexasGator (UF)
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To: TigerHawk

“I would not vouch for others, but I can not imagine CLARENCE THOMAS, or SAMUEL ALITO, ever voting AGAINST the prohibition of DOUBLE JEOPARDY!”


I suspect there is a simple answer. Both believe the courts should follow the law and the Constitution, even though they believe the law to be wrong. Otherwise you are in banana republic territory.

The real problem is that the federal government is passing laws regularly that double up on existing state laws. Every federal law that duplicates a state law should be repealed.

The present system will eventually lead to the elimination of local law enforcement and replaced by a federal police.

Think about that...Do you really want the FBI enforcing local law? And all trials in a federal court? Both immune from the will of the voting public? I don’t think that is what we want.

A late hour noise complaint to be enforced by the same tactics used in General Flynn’s arrest or the “visit” to Jame’s O’Keef’s house?


74 posted on 06/22/2022 2:51:06 PM PDT by old curmudgeon (There is no situation so bad that the federal government can not make worse.)
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To: Republican Wildcat

“The original poster put that information in the title of the thread.”

Looks like he read the article!


75 posted on 06/22/2022 2:52:31 PM PDT by TexasGator (UF)
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To: Michael.SF.

Does that mean OJ Simpson is at risk of going to prison?


76 posted on 06/22/2022 2:53:48 PM PDT by entropy12 (Trump/DeSantis & MAGA! are the only way to keep USA viable.)
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To: Michael.SF.

The constitution did not differentiate between Federal and State crime. It simply said you can not endure double jeopardy.

I do understand prosecution under Federal Law and State Law. It should be one or the either and not both.


77 posted on 06/22/2022 3:11:10 PM PDT by cpdiii (CANE CUTTER-DECKHAND-ROUGHNECK-OILFIELD CONSULTANT-GEOLOGIST-PILOT-PHARMACIST)
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To: Michael.SF.

The USA has become a giant prosecutorial nightmare that deserves to be dismantled and burned in a tribal fire . Financing the court machine and the attendant goons required to enable it will help destroy this once great nation . I can’t understand why they want to destroy America but maybe we can rebuild something better . If we the people win . I am afraid that I would have voted for the minority also. Too damn much gov interference in our lives . Gonna’ put some shiny 20 “ chrome rims on that machine with this ruling .


78 posted on 06/22/2022 3:35:57 PM PDT by David Moser
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To: entropy12
Does that mean OJ Simpson is at risk of going to prison?

He already did.

Had he not murdered his wife and the waiter, he never would have gone to prison for what occurred in Las Vegas.

79 posted on 06/22/2022 3:45:05 PM PDT by Michael.SF. (The problem today: people are more concerned about feelings than responsibility.)
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To: Labyrinthos

Sounds like the prosecutor was pissed at the light sentence and sought retribution, not justice.


80 posted on 06/22/2022 3:47:30 PM PDT by Michael.SF. (The problem today: people are more concerned about feelings than responsibility.)
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