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To: Kerberos
Bad news, double jeopardy doesn't apply between state and federal courts. Florida has been running drug cases through the courts that way for years. They try the cause in state court and if they fail, then they let the feds have a crack at it, and you get to defend yourself all over again.

You point out exactly what any reasonable person knows that the writers of the Constitution envisioned if the Feds had been given the power to punish the same crimes as the States.

117 posted on 07/01/2002 1:31:57 PM PDT by FreeTally
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To: FreeTally
"You point out exactly what any reasonable person knows that the writers of the Constitution envisioned if the Feds had been given the power to punish the same crimes as the States. "

I first became aware of this when I was in college in Florida and was taking courses in legal research and writing as a minor. The original item that brought this to my attention was a case in Tampa in where a father and daughter had been charged by the state of Florida with drug trafficking and brought to trial. The state failed to prove their case and the pair was found not guilty. The state then turned the matter over to the feds for the pair to be charged under Federal law and again they were tried, only this time the feds were able to obtain a conviction and the pair went to prison.

I have since that time on three different occasions asked three separate judges as to why that does not constitute a violation of the double jeopardy clause. The judges gave me all kinds of legal rhetoric as to why it does not violate double jeopardy and most of it centered around the argument that the constitution views the state courts as one government and the federal courts as another government. However, the bottom line to all of their arguments was “Because that’s they way we do it.”

I have always found that somewhat concerning and it goes to supporting my believe that if the government decides that they want to target you, they have many creative ways of getting that done.

129 posted on 07/01/2002 9:01:27 PM PDT by Kerberos
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