Some of you are worried there’s a case going to SCOTUS that may “get rid of double jeopardy” and “allow Trump to pardon state crimes.”
Or, as Pat puts it:
It seems the case you're all worrying about is Gamble v. US.
theatlantic.com/politics/archi…
I'm going to explain why you can stop worrying.
Take out your notebooks. It’s time for Twitter Law 101.
law.cornell.edu/wex/double_jeo…
The idea is this: Once you’re tried, convicted, and punished, that’s the end of it.
That’s fair right?
SCOTUS, though, carved out an exception to DJ rule: The same crime can be tried in state court and federal court because the jurisdictions are separate.
That brings us to Gamble v. US.
theusconstitution.org/litigation/gam…
In 2015, Mr. Gamble was pulled over in Alabama for a broken tail light. The cop found a gun in his car. The state of AL prosecuted him for possessing the gun.
After he served his sentence, he was prosecuted in federal court for the same incident.
Now he’s taking his case to SCOTUS, arguing it isn’t fair: He already served his time for that crime. More here: theusconstitution.org/litigation/gam…
Now he's asking SCOTUS to abolish the dual sovereignty doctrine.
OK, so what does that have to do with the presidential pardon power?
Not much. The presidential pardon power covers only federal crimes. But . . .
Overturning the duel sovereignty means they can’t be tried in state court for the SAME CRIMES Trump pardons them for in federal court.
So the case is only an issue with TrumpRussia if this happens:
One of Trump’s pals commits one crime. He is prosecuted in federal court. Trump pardons him.
All Mueller has to do is not charge them with all the crimes, and leave out state crimes arising under different facts —
which Mueller has already been doing.
And Manafort committed more crime than we saw charged.
See: slate.com/articles/news_…
The last thing he wants is for his state crimes to be brought out.
Manafort knows that too, which us why he pleaded guilty instead of hoping for a pardon. The state crimes are still on the table.
But what if Trump pardon’s Manafort BEFORE he serves his sentence?
theatlantic.com/politics/archi…
She writes this: “If the dual sovereignty doctrine were tossed, as Hatch wants, then Trump’s pardon could theoretically protect. . .
What she didn’t add was: For the same crime arising from the same facts.
She also wrote: If the duel sovereignty is abolished “a federal pardon would essentially block a subsequent state-level prosecution.”
That’s a big “if.”
One more point: The moment Trump tries to pardon himself or his associates, he'll be challenged in court.
Why? See this thread 👇
There. Feel better?
Stop worrying about pardons.
Worry about the midterms. That’s what matters.
Look, if the Dems take back the House, they can appoint an independent prosecutor or a committee and do a real investigation, and that is out of reach of the Courts because it's a separate branch.
Ordinarily liberals wouldn't argue for a doctrine that allows a poor guy in AL to be punished twice for the same crime.
In the interests of justice and fairness, the ACLU asks the SCOTUS to close the “dual-sovereignty” loophole.
aclu.org/blog/criminal-…
Thanks @MJAntinarelli
slate.com/news-and-polit…