The Supreme Court reaffirmed a longstanding double jeopardy rule Monday that allows people to be tried by both state and federal prosecutors for the same crime. The case had been closely watched as an indicator of whether former Trump campaign chief Paul Manafort might be able to escape state prosecution if Donald Trump were to pardon his federal convictions. NBC News writes:
The 7-2 ruling was a defeat for an Alabama man, Terance Gamble, convicted of robbery in 2008 and pulled over seven years later for a traffic violation. When police found a handgun in his car, he was prosecuted under Alabama's law barring felons from possessing firearms. The local U.S. attorney then charged Gamble with violating a similar federal law. Because of the added federal conviction, his prison sentence was extended by nearly three years.
Even though the Fifth Amendment guarantees that no person will be "twice put in jeopardy of life or limb" for the same crime, an alliance of liberal and conservative judges found that facing state and federal charges for a similar offense doesn't violate the Constitution.