Green v. United States

Background

A man in Washington, D.C., was charged with arson and with causing a death that could be treated as first-degree murder. At the first trial the jury was told it could find him guilty of either first-degree murder or the lesser crime of second-degree murder. The jury returned guilty verdicts for arson and second-degree murder, was silent on first-degree murder, and was then dismissed. The second-degree conviction was later reversed on appeal, and the government retried him for first-degree murder, resulting in a death sentence.

Reasoning

The Court asked whether the second trial on first-degree murder violated the Constitution’s protection against being tried twice for the same offense. The majority reasoned that the defendant had been placed in jeopardy on the first-degree charge at the first trial, that the jury’s choice of the lesser verdict amounted to an implicit end to jeopardy on the more serious charge, and that dismissing the jury without the defendant’s consent ended that jeopardy. For those reasons the Court concluded a second trial on the first-degree charge was barred and reversed the later conviction.

Real world impact

The ruling prevents prosecutors from retrying a defendant on a more serious charge after a jury has effectively declined to convict on that charge and the jury has been dismissed. It means defendants cannot be forced to give up their double-jeopardy protection as a condition of appealing a lesser conviction. The opinion recognizes some longstanding precedents that had allowed retrials in different circumstances, but it draws a clear line where a jury has had a full opportunity to decide a greater charge and was discharged without the defendant’s consent.

Dissents or concurrances

Four Justices dissented, arguing long-standing precedent and concerns about allowing retrials after successful appeals support permitting the second trial; they warned against overruling earlier cases and emphasized society’s interest in correcting trial errors.