A directed verdict of acquittal based on failure to prove an “element” which the trial court erroneously thought was part of the charge was an acquittal for Fifth Amendment double jeopardy purposes.
SCOTUS
Williams v. Illinois, No. 10-8505, __ U.S. __ (June 18, 2012).
Plurality opinion on whether Confrontation Clause permits the prosecution to introduce an analyst’s forensic report through an expert witness; plurality holds in this case Clause did not preclude an expert’s testimony that defendant’s DNA profile matched a vaginal swab semen DNA profile produced by a Cellmark analyst who did not testify.
Southern Union Co. v. United States, No. 11–94, __U.S.__ (June 21, 2012).
Apprendi v. New Jersey requires a jury resolution of facts on which imposition of a criminal fine rests.
Blueford v. Arkansas, No. 10–1320, 566 U.S. ____ (May 24, 2012).
The jury foreperson’s report that the jury was unanimous regarding the charges of capital murder and first-degree murder in his favor was not a final resolution when the trial ended in a mistrial, and so the Double Jeopardy Clause does not bar retrying defendant on those charges.
Missouri v. Fry, No. 10–444, 566 U.S. __ (Mar. 21, 2012).
The Sixth Amendment right to the effective assistance of counsel imposes on defense counsel “the duty to communicate formal offers from the prosecution to accept a plea on terms and conditions that may be favorable to the accused.”