Under consideration is the case of federal prisoner Terance Gamble, who was prosecuted for having a gun after an earlier conviction for robbery.
WASHINGTON — The Supreme Court seemed likely Thursday to preserve a constitutional rule that allows state and federal governments to prosecute someone for the same crime.
Several justices expressed concern about upsetting the long-standing rule that provides an exception to the Constitution’s ban on trying someone twice for the same offense, even as Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg described it as a “double whammy” for criminal defendants.
The court is considering the case of federal prison inmate Terance Gamble. He was prosecuted by Alabama and the federal government for having a gun after an earlier conviction for robbery.
A ruling for Gamble could have a spillover effect on the investigation into Russian meddling in the 2016 election. But that issue did not come up at all in Thursday’s arguments.
Instead, justices focused on the practical effects that might result from siding with Gamble.
“Look at the door we’re opening up,” Justice Stephen Breyer said, mentioning federal prosecutions for crimes of racial violence and domestic violence against Native American women that could be imperiled with a ruling for Gamble.
To that list, Justice Department lawyer Eric Feigin added the massacres in a Charleston church in 2015 and a Pittsburgh synagogue in October as examples in which federal murder charges might have to be dropped if Gamble were to prevail. Thirty-six states that include Republican-led Texas and Democratic-led New York also are on the Trump administration’s side.
The session provided an opportunity for new Justice Brett Kavanaugh to talk about the importance of the court adhering to earlier rulings, an issue he addressed repeatedly during his confirmation hearings as Democratic senators worried Kavanaugh would vote to overturn the Roe v.
