Lisa S. Blatt, a Washington lawyer representing Juan Bravo-Fernandez and Hector Martinez-Maldonado, said her clients cannot constitutionally be further prosecuted. But the men say the acquittals by the first jury mean that the Double Jeopardy Clause of the Fifth Amendment forbids further prosecution. Although the appeals court threw out the conviction, the panel also cited a Supreme Court precedent and said the government was free to try again. Blatt said that was wrong, pointing out a different Supreme Court case. “It’s part of the factual picture.”But if the jury convicted under the wrong standard, Blatt said, the information is useless.

Source: Washington Post October 04, 2016 22:18 UTC