For 170 years U.S. courts have let federal and state governments prosecute the same criminal offense under the principle of dual sovereignty. On Thursday the Supreme Court will consider in Gamble v. U.S. whether this doctrine violates the Fifth Amendment's protection against double jeopardy. There are strong legal arguments on both sides, but the implications of jettisoning longtime precedent counsel judicial restraint.
In 2015 Terance Gamble was arrested for possessing two bags of marijuana and a loaded handgun. A federal grand jury indicted Gamble, who had a record of violent crime, for possessing a firearm as a convicted felon. Alabama separately charged him with a firearm and two drug offenses.
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