United States v. Dixon, 509 U.S. 688, 29 (1993)

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716

UNITED STATES v. DIXON

Opinion of Rehnquist, C. J.

purposes of double jeopardy if "each provision requires proof of a fact which the other does not." 284 U. S., at 304 (emphasis added). Applying this test to the offenses at bar, it is clear that the elements of the governing contempt provision are entirely different from the elements of the substantive crimes. Contempt of court comprises two elements: (i) a court order made known to the defendant, followed by (ii) willful violation of that order. In re Gorfkle, 444 A. 2d 934, 939 (D. C. 1982); In re Thompson, 454 A. 2d 1324, 1326 (D. C. 1982). Neither of those elements is necessarily satisfied by proof that a defendant has committed the substantive offenses of assault or drug distribution. Likewise, no element of either of those substantive offenses is necessarily satisfied by proof that a defendant has been found guilty of contempt of court.

Justice Scalia grounds his departure from Blockburger's customary focus on the statutory elements of the crimes charged on Harris v. Oklahoma, supra, an improbable font of authority. See ante, at 698. A summary reversal, like Harris, "does not enjoy the full precedential value of a case argued on the merits." Connecticut v. Doehr, 501 U. S. 1, 12, n. 4 (1991); accord, Edelman v. Jordan, 415 U. S. 651, 671 (1974). Today's decision shows the pitfalls inherent in reading too much into a "terse per curiam." Ante, at 698. Justice Scalia's discussion of Harris is nearly as long as Harris itself and consists largely of a quote, not from Harris, but from a subsequent opinion analyzing Harris. Justice Scalia then concludes that Harris somehow requires us to look to the facts that must be proved under the particular court orders in question (rather than under the general law of criminal contempt) in determining whether contempt and the related substantive offenses are the same for double jeopardy purposes. This interpretation of Harris is both unprecedented and mistaken.

Our double jeopardy cases applying Blockburger have focused on the statutory elements of the offenses charged, not

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