Supreme Court Hears Case With Implications for Trump Pardon Power
- Justices seem reluctant to strengthen double-jeopardy shield
- Supreme Court weighs curbing prosecutions by U.S. and states
The U.S. Supreme Court building stands in Washington on Sept. 21, 2018.
Photographer: Al Drago/BloombergThis article is for subscribers only.
Supreme Court justices seemed reluctant to give criminal defendants a stronger shield against multiple federal and state prosecutions, hearing a case with implications for the reach of President Donald Trump’s pardon power.
In their last argument before a monthlong holiday recess, the justices debated whether to overturn the decades-old “separate sovereigns” doctrine, which lets a state and the U.S. government press separate prosecutions involving the same conduct. The doctrine is an exception to the constitutional ban on double jeopardy.