Double Jeopardy Case in US Supreme Court

Posted on March 21, 2009 by Dan Jaffe
The US Supreme Court is set to hear oral argument in the case of F. Scott Yeager after a jury hung on some counts and acquitted on others. At present, the Supreme Court case history is vague on the issue. Many state, including Arizona, California and Washington prevent the retrial on lesser included offenses based on State Constitutional grounds if a person is convicted of the greater offense. But the question is an open one under the federal constitution if the person is acquitted of a greater offense or if the offense or offenses acquitted of are not included offenses because they contain non-identical elements. Here is an excerpt from an article that describes the current case at the Supreme Court:

The Associated Press: Double jeopardy in before US Supreme Court: "HOUSTON (AP) — A former Enron Corp. executive is hoping a little known component of the Fifth Amendment's double jeopardy clause will help him avoid a retrial on charges related to financial fraud at the once mighty energy giant. Attorneys for F. Scott Yeager are set to present oral arguments before the U.S. Supreme Court on Monday on the issue of whether double jeopardy prevents prosecutors from retrying individuals after a jury votes not guilty on some charges, but fails to reach a verdict on others that share an element with the acquitted charges. Prosecutors contend retrying Yeager on counts the jury couldn't decide doesn't raise double jeopardy issues. Yeager was one of five former executives from Enron's failed broadband venture who were tried in 2005. They were accused of lying to shareholders and the market about the broadband division's value and hoping to get rich by selling the inflated shares."

This will be an interesting test for SCOTUS. With the current climate so politically charged against greedy corporate executives, will the court send a message that will make it harder for future white collar prosecutions, or harder on white collar criminal defendants?
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