Post-Trial Considerations Flashcards
The Fifth Amendment Double Jeopardy Clause provides which protections?
i) Protection against a second prosecution for the same offense (after either acquittal or conviction);
ii) Protection against multiple punishments for the same offense.
If a defendant’s conduct may be prosecuted as two or more crimes, what test is applied to determine whether the crimes constitute the same offense for double jeopardy purposes?
The Blockburger test: Each crime must require the proof of an element that the other does not in order for each to be considered as a separate offense.
As a consequence of Blockburger, the Double Jeopardy Clause generally bars successive prosecutions for greater and lesser included offenses. A lesser included offense is one that does not require proof of an element beyond those required by the greater offense.
When jeopardy attaches with respect to a lesser included offense, and then an event necessary to establish the greater offense occurs, may the defendant be subsequently tried for the greater offense?
Yes. Example: A defendant physically harms a victim. He is tried for battery and convicted. The victim subsequently dies as a consequence of the defendant’s conduct. The defendant may be tried for murder without running afoul of the Double Jeopardy Clause.
At a single trial, a defendant may be convicted of two offenses, one of which is a lesser included offense of the other, if ___.
both offenses are statutory and the legislature has specifically authorized cumulative punishment
Are an offense and the conspiracy to commit that offense the same offense for double-jeopardy purposes?
No, because each requires proof of different elements.
What triggers the protection against double jeopardy?
The protection against double jeopardy is not triggered until jeopardy attaches. In a jury trial, jeopardy attaches when the jury is empaneled and sworn in. In a bench trial, jeopardy attaches when the first witness is sworn in.
What is the dual-sovereignty doctrine for double jeopardy purposes?
Under the dual-sovereignty doctrine, the protection against double jeopardy does not preclude prosecution of a crime by both federal and state governments. Consequently, a defendant may be charged and convicted for the same type of crime in a federal court and a state court. Similarly, a defendant may be prosecuted by two different states for the same conduct. However, a state and state-created entity, such as a municipality, cannot both prosecute a defendant for the same conduct.
Does the Double Jeopardy Clause preclude a criminal punishment and civil penalty for the same conduct?
No. Therefore, even if a defendant has been found guilty in a criminal action, the state may still bring a civil action against the defendant that arises out of the same conduct. The protection does not apply to administrative proceedings such as a disciplinary hearing stemming from criminal conduct, nor does it apply to a parole, probation, or bond-revocation hearing related to a criminal charge or punishment.
Does the Double Jeopardy Clause prohibit a retrial following a mistrial?
Not if “taking all the circumstances into consideration, there is a manifest necessity for [declaring a mistrial].”
- -if the prosecution asks for a mistrial because of its inability to locate a witness, then double jeopardy prevents a retrial.
- -If the defendant asks for or consents to a mistrial, then she generally can be retried, unless the request is based on bad-faith conduct by the prosecutor or judge directed toward goading the defendant into seeking a mistrial.
Does the Double Jeopardy Clause apply to grand jury proceedings?
Because jeopardy does not attach until a trial begins, the Double Jeopardy Clause does not apply to grand jury proceedings. The refusal of a grand jury to indict a defendant with respect to a specific crime does not prevent the indictment of the defendant for the same crime by another grand jury.
When is a retrial after reversal of a conviction permissible under the Double Jeopardy Clause?
Generally permitted, even when a conviction is overturned due to the weight of the evidence.
However, a retrial after reversal of a conviction due to insufficiency of the evidence is barred by the Double Jeopardy Clause. A conviction is based upon insufficient evidence if the evidence presented, when viewed in the light most favorable to the prosecution, is such that no rational fact-finder could have found the defendant guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.
Under the plain-error doctrine, a defendant who has failed to preserve a claim of error in district court is still entitled to appellate relief when…
(i) the district court committed error under the law in effect at the time the appeal is heard,
(ii) the error is obvious under that law, and
(iii) the error affected the defendant’s substantial rights.
What standard applies to a habeas corpus petition?
A writ of habeas corpus proceeding is civil in nature. Therefore, the “beyond a reasonable doubt” standard is not applicable. The petitioner must demonstrate only the unlawfulness of the detention by a preponderance of the evidence.
