| Ashe v. Swenson | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Argued November 13, 1969 Decided April 6, 1970 | |
| Full case name | Bob Fred Ashe, Petitioner v. Harold R. Swenson, Warden |
| Citations | 397 U.S. 436 (more) 90 S. Ct. 1189; 25 L. Ed. 2d 469; 1970 U.S. LEXIS 54 |
| Holding | |
| The Double Jeopardy Clause embodies collateral estoppel as a constitutional requirement. Where a jury bases a judgment of acquittal on a finding that the defendant did not participate in the offense charged, this issue may not be relitigated in another trial. | |
| Court membership | |
| |
| Case opinions | |
| Majority | Stewart, joined by Black, Douglas, Harlan, Brennan, White, Marshall |
| Concurrence | Black |
| Concurrence | Harlan |
| Concurrence | Brennan, joined by Douglas, Marshall |
| Dissent | Burger |
This case overturned a previous ruling or rulings | |
| Hoag v. New Jersey, 356 U.S. 464 (1958) | |
Ashe v. Swenson, 397 U.S. 436 (1970), was a decision by the United States Supreme Court, which held that "when an issue of ultimate fact has once been determined by a valid and final judgment, that issue cannot again be litigated between the same parties in any future lawsuit." The Double Jeopardy Clause prevents a state from relitigating a question already decided in favor of a defendant at a previous trial. Here, the guarantee against double jeopardy enforceable through the Fifth Amendment provided that where the defendant was acquitted of robbing one victim, the government could not prosecute the criminal defendant in a second trial for a different victim in the same robbery.