Turner v. Arkansas

Background

A man who had been tried and acquitted on a murder charge arising from a Christmas poker game was later indicted separately for robbing the same victim. The State said the robbery charge arose from the same facts and would use the same evidence. The defendant moved to dismiss the robbery indictment based on the earlier acquittal, but Arkansas courts refused to bar the new trial and declined to apply this Court’s recent ruling in Ashe v. Swenson.

Reasoning

The Court examined whether the acquittal on the murder charge necessarily decided the same factual issue that the robbery trial would require. Because the jury was told that anyone who was present and aided the crime would be treated as a principal, the acquittal meant the jury found the defendant was not present at the crime. That finding conflicts with the theory needed to convict him of robbery. Relying on Ashe, the Court held that the Fifth Amendment’s protection against being tried again for the same issue prevents the State from relitigating that factual question.

Real world impact

The decision blocks the pending robbery prosecution in this case and prevents prosecutors from retrying a defendant on a related charge when a prior general acquittal necessarily resolved the same factual issue. It reinforces that courts must look at jury instructions and the record to decide whether an earlier verdict bars a later prosecution. The case was reversed and sent back to state court for proceedings consistent with this opinion.

Dissents or concurrances

Justice Blackmun, joined by Justice Rehnquist, agreed with the judgment because of Ashe; the Chief Justice preferred full oral argument and plenary review.