Petite v. United States
Headline: Court vacates second federal conviction and remands to dismiss a duplicate prosecution arising from the same deportation-hearing conduct, resolving the case without deciding whether the Constitution bars the second trial.
Holding: The Court granted the Government's motion to vacate the lower-court judgment and remand with directions to dismiss the later Maryland indictment as a duplicative prosecution, while declining to decide the double jeopardy constitutional question.
- Ends the later Maryland federal conviction by ordering dismissal of that indictment.
- Leaves the constitutional double jeopardy question undecided and unresolved here.
- Shows DOJ policy can prompt dismissal of duplicative federal prosecutions.
Summary
Background
The defendant was first indicted in Pennsylvania for conspiring to make false statements at deportation hearings in Philadelphia and Baltimore and separately accused of suborning perjury at the Philadelphia hearings. He changed his plea to nolo contendere on the conspiracy charge, was fined $500, and served two months in jail. Later he was indicted in Maryland for suborning the perjury of two witnesses whose testimony had been alleged as overt acts in the Pennsylvania indictment. A motion to dismiss the Maryland case on double jeopardy grounds was denied, and the conviction was affirmed by the Court of Appeals.
Reasoning
The Government asked the Supreme Court to vacate the lower-court judgment and remand with directions to dismiss the Maryland indictment, citing a Department of Justice policy that related offenses arising from a single transaction should be tried together. The defendant consented to that motion. The Court, invoking 28 U.S.C. § 2106, granted the Government's request and remanded to vacate and dismiss. The Court expressly declined to rule on the constitutional double jeopardy question presented by the case.
Real world impact
As disposed, the second federal conviction is wiped out and the Maryland indictment is to be dismissed. The decision was based on the Government's motion and policy and therefore is not a final ruling on whether the Double Jeopardy Clause would forbid such a second prosecution in all circumstances.
Dissents or concurrances
Chief Justice Warren wrote separately agreeing with the disposition and explaining why §2106 permits it. Justice Brennan (joined by Justices Black and Douglas) agreed the judgment should not stand but said he would reverse on the merits, believing double jeopardy barred the second prosecution.
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