Yeager v. United States

Summary

The Supreme Court held that the Double Jeopardy Clause’s issue-preclusion component bars retrial on counts where a jury hung if the jury previously acquitted on other counts that necessarily decided an issue of ultimate fact in the defendant’s favor. The Court rejected the argument that hung counts cast doubt on the acquittal’s preclusive force, reasoning that a failure to reach a verdict is a nonevent that should not be considered in issue-preclusion analysis. Justice Kennedy concurred in part but urged the Court of Appeals to reconsider the factual analysis on remand. Justices Scalia and Alito dissented, arguing the ruling extends Ashe v. Swenson beyond its proper scope.