U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government, Department of Justice.

NCJRS Virtual Library

The Virtual Library houses over 235,000 criminal justice resources, including all known OJP works.
Click here to search the NCJRS Virtual Library

Double Jeopardy in Successive Prosecutions: The Impact of Grady v. Corbin

NCJ Number
140771
Journal
Criminal Justice Journal Volume: 14 Issue: 2 Dated: (Fall 1992) Pages: 181- 194
Author(s)
W J Brudzinski; A Farashahi
Date Published
1992
Length
14 pages
Annotation
The United States Supreme Court's decision in Grady v. Corbin focused on the double jeopardy clause of the Constitution and applies it in a narrow way, although it appears to be broad.
Abstract
The Grady decision held that the double jeopardy clause bars a subsequent prosecution if, to establish an essential element of an offense charged in the prosecution, the government will prove conduct that constitutes an offense for which the defendant has already been prosecuted. This "same conduct" test has been the subject of various interpretations by the courts regarding its scope and applicability. The test has two components. The first is the test established in Blockburger v. United States, which prevents a second prosecution if the two offenses have identical statutory elements or if one is a lesser included offense of the other. If a comparison of the two offenses meets the Blockburger test, the next step is to determine whether the prosecution intends to prove the entire conduct for which the defendant for which the defendant has already been prosecuted. If the government intends to prove the entirety of the conduct, it must then be determined whether the proof of the conduct will be used to establish an essential element of the current offense. If so, the prosecution is barred under the double jeopardy clause. Footnotes