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Thompson v. Oklahoma
Citations: 429 U.S. 1053; 97 S. Ct. 768Docket: No. 76-5283
Court: Supreme Court of the United States; January 10, 1977; Federal Supreme Court; Federal Appellate Court
Mr. Justice Brennan, joined by Mr. Justice Marshall, dissents regarding a case in which the petitioner was initially convicted of first-degree manslaughter in Oklahoma state court. Following this conviction, the petitioner faced additional charges for burglary in the first degree and carrying firearms, to which he pleaded guilty, resulting in concurrent 10-year sentences for each offense. The petitioner later sought post-conviction relief, arguing that these additional convictions violated principles of collateral estoppel and double jeopardy. Both the District Court and the Oklahoma Court of Criminal Appeals denied this application. Brennan argues for the granting of certiorari and the reversal of the Court of Criminal Appeals' judgment. He asserts that the Double Jeopardy Clause of the Fifth Amendment, applicable to the states via the Fourteenth Amendment, mandates that all charges stemming from a single criminal act should be prosecuted in a single proceeding, except in narrowly defined circumstances not applicable in this case. Brennan references precedents such as Ashe v. Swenson to support his position. He also cites various cases where he has previously expressed dissenting views on similar double jeopardy issues, emphasizing a consistent judicial philosophy regarding the prosecution of charges arising from the same episode.