Cite as: 509 U. S. 688 (1993)
Opinion of White, J.
and dignity' of two sovereigns by breaking the laws of each, he has committed two distinct 'offences.' " Heath v. Alabama, 474 U. S. 82, 88 (1985) (quoting United States v. Lanza, 260 U. S. 377, 382 (1922)). See also United States v. Wheeler, 435 U. S. 313, 317 (1978); Moore v. Illinois, 14 How. 13, 19 (1852).
But the dual sovereignty doctrine is limited, by its own terms, to cases where "the two entities that seek successively to prosecute a defendant for the same course of conduct can be termed separate sovereigns." Heath, 474 U. S., at 88. "This determination," we explained, "turns on whether the two entities draw their authority to punish the offender from distinct sources of power," ibid., not on whether they are pursuing separate interests. Indeed, the Court has rejected the United States' precise argument in the past, perhaps nowhere more resolutely than in Grafton v. United States, 206 U. S. 333 (1907). In that case, the defendant, a private in the United States Army stationed in the Philippines, was tried before a general court-martial for homicide. Subsequent to Grafton's acquittal, the United States filed a criminal complaint in civil court based on the same acts. Seeking to discredit the view that the Double Jeopardy Clause would be violated by this subsequent prosecution, the Government asserted that "Grafton committed two distinct offenses—one against military law and discipline, the other against the civil law which may prescribe the punishment for crimes against organized society by whomso-ever those crimes are committed." Id., at 351. To which the Court responded:
"Congress, by express constitutional provision, has the power to prescribe rules for the government and regulation of the Army, but those rules must be interpreted in connection with the prohibition against a man's being put twice in jeopardy for the same offense. . . . If, therefore, a person be tried for an offense in a tribunal deriv-
725
Page: Index Previous 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 NextLast modified: October 4, 2007