Renico v. Lett

130 S.Ct. 1855 (2010)

Purchase the Printed Copy at bsmsphd.com

Nature of the Case

To access this section all you need to do is click here and register.

Facts

After an argument started in a liquor store, Lett (D) left the liquor store, retrieved a handgun from another friend outside in the parking lot, and returned to the store. He shot Latona twice, once in the head and once in the chest. Latona died from his wounds shortly thereafter. D was charged with first-degree murder and possession of a firearm during the commission of a felony. From jury selection to jury instructions the trial took less than nine hours, spread over six different days. During deliberation, the jury sent the trial court a note-one of seven it sent out in its two days of deliberations-stating that the jurors had '`a concern about our voice levels disturbing any other proceedings that might be going on.'' Later, the jury sent out another note, asking '`What if we can't agree? Mistrial? Retrial? What?'' The judge called the jury back into the courtroom, along with the prosecutor and defense counsel. The judge eventually determined that the jury could not reach a unanimous verdict based on about 20 seconds worth of questions. The judge then declared a mistrial, dismissed the jury, and scheduled a new trial for later that year. Neither the prosecutor nor D made any objection. On the second trial, the jury was able to reach a unanimous verdict-D was guilty of second-degree murder-after deliberating for only 3 hours and 15 minutes. D appealed his conviction arguing that the judge in his first trial had announced a mistrial without any manifest necessity for doing so. Because the mistrial was an error, D maintained, P was barred by the Double Jeopardy Clause of the U.S. Constitution from trying him a second time. The Michigan Court of Appeals agreed with D and reversed his conviction. The Michigan Supreme Court reversed the Court of Appeals. D petitioned for a federal writ of habeas corpus. The District Court agreed and granted the writ. A divided panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit affirmed.