United States v. DiFrancesco

United States v. DiFrancesco
Supreme Court of the United States
Argued October 6, 1980 Decided December 9, 1980
Full case name	United States v. DiFrancesco
Citations	449 U.S. 117 ( more )
Argument	Oral argument
Opinion announcement	Opinion announcement
Case history
Prior	604 F.2d 769 (CA2 1979)
Holding
The Organized Crime Control Act of 1970 does not violate the Double Jeopardy Clause of the Fifth Amendment. United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit reversed and remanded.
Court membership
Chief Justice Warren E. Burger Associate Justices William J. Brennan Jr.  · Potter Stewart Byron White  · Thurgood Marshall Harry Blackmun  · Lewis F. Powell Jr. William Rehnquist  · John P. Stevens
Case opinions
Majority	Blackmun, joined by Burger, Stewart, Powell, Rehnquist
Dissent	Brennan, joined by White, Marshall, Stevens
Dissent	Stevens

United States v. DiFrancesco, 449 U.S. 117(1980), was a United States Supreme Court case decided in 1980. In a five-to-four decision, the Court held that a provision of the Organized Crime Control Act of 1970, which allowed the federal government to appeal certain criminal sentences after they are imposed, did not violate the Double Jeopardy Clause of the Fifth Amendment to the United States Constitution. Though such an appeal could potentially lead to the defendant's sentence being lengthened, the Court concluded that because "the Double Jeopardy Clause does not require that a sentence be given a degree of finality that prevents its later increase", this practice did not violate the Double Jeopardy Clause. ^{[1] [2]}

References

1. United States v. DiFrancesco, 449 U.S. 117, 137 (1980)
2. Westen, Peter (June 1, 1980). "The Three Faces of Double Jeopardy: Reflections on Government Appeals of Criminal Sentences". Michigan Law Review. 78 (7): 1001–1065. ISSN   0026-2234.

External links

• Text of United States v. DiFrancesco is available from: Google Scholar Justia Library of Congress Oyez (oral argument audio)