The “Dual Sovereign Doctrine” allows for a state court AND a federal court to punish you for the exact same thing. That’s what happened to Terance Gamble, who was convicted of being a felon in possession of a firearm in Alabama state court where he was sentenced to one year of incarceration. Then, because the federal government does not have enough to do, he was charged for the same thing in federal court where he received a 46 month sentence.
We discuss the U.S. Supreme Court’s 7-2 opinion that upheld Gamble’s second conviction.
The case itself:
The legally incorrect but entertaining movie Double Jeopardy starring Ashley Judd and Tommy Lee Jones.
Also, here is a link to the actual text of the 2nd Circuit opinion briefly mentioned this week, Palin v. New York Times.
