Cite as: 517 U. S. 416 (1996)
Stevens, J., dissenting
"Exercise of judicial power by entry of orders not expressly sanctioned by rule or statute in order to correct the legal process or avert its misfunction has been approved in varied circumstances." Arizona v. Many-penny, 672 F. 2d 761, 765, cert. denied, 459 U. S. 850 (1982). When a federal court declines to enter a judgment of conviction against a defendant whom it should have directed the jury to acquit, it clearly corrects the legal process and averts its misfunctioning. Given the various sua sponte powers that district courts unquestionably may exercise in order to ensure that legally innocent defendants are not convicted, it is clear that they also possess the inherent authority sua sponte to enter postverdict acquittals when the Government has failed to prove that a defendant is guilty.
District courts have long exercised their inherent power to direct an acquittal sua sponte when the prosecution fails to prove its case at the close of evidence. See Wiborg v. United States, 163 U. S. 632, 659 (1896); Cady v. United States, 293 F. 829 (CADC 1923); Nosowitz v. United States, 282 F. 575, 578 (CA2 1922).3 They have also long exercised
3 Indeed, Cady referred to "the well-established and oft-repeated principle that, unless there is substantial evidence of facts which exclude every other hypothesis but that of guilt, it is the duty of the trial court to instruct the jury to return a verdict for the accused . . . ." 293 F., at 830 (emphasis added). Moreover, in both of the cases cited by the majority as supporting the existence of the power exercised here, United States v. McCracken, 26 F. Cas. 1069 (No. 15,664) (ED Va. 1878), and United States v. Hayden, 26 F. Cas. 236, 238 (No. 15,333) (NDNY 1877), see ante, at 426-427, the district judges directed the jury to return a verdict of not guilty. In the Hayden case, the court went on to describe what I assume was the settled practice among all federal judges at the time: "I have made it a rule to direct a verdict of not guilty where, in my opinion the evidence will not authorize the jury to find a verdict of guilty, or, if so found, I would set aside the verdict as contrary to evidence. I think this is a case of that class, and I therefore direct the jury to find a verdict of not guilty." 26 F. Cas., at 238.
439
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