Opinion ID: 363667
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 4

Heading: Petite Policy

Text: 14 Snell argues that a Department of Justice policy known as the Petite policy bars the second prosecution. In United States v. Petite, 361 U.S. 529, 80 S.Ct. 450, 4 L.Ed.2d 490 (1960), the Supreme Court, at the request of the Solicitor General, remanded a case to the lower courts with instruction to dismiss the indictment against the defendant. The Solicitor General asked for the dismissal because he felt that the prosecution violated 15 the general policy of the Federal Government that several offenses arising out of a single transaction should be alleged and tried together and should not be made the basis of multiple prosecutions, a policy dictated by considerations both of fairness to defendants and of efficient and orderly law enforcement. 16 Id. at 530, 80 S.Ct. at 451. The Department of Justice has also applied the same philosophy to successive state-federal prosecutions: 17 No Federal case should be tried when there has been a state prosecution for substantially the same act or acts without a recommendation having been made to the Assistant Attorney General demonstrating compelling Federal interests for such prosecution. 18 United States Attorney's Manual § 9.2.142; See Rinaldi v. United States, 434 U.S. 22, 24 n. 5, 98 S.Ct. 81, 54 L.Ed.2d 207 (1977); Petite, 361 U.S. at 531, 80 S.Ct. 450; United States v. Mikka, 586 F.2d 152, 153 (9th Cir. 1978) U. S. appeal pending, --- U.S. ----, 99 S.Ct. 1247, 59 L.Ed.2d 474 (1979). Snell argues that the second prosecution violated the Petite policy as it applies to successive federal prosecutions and that such a violation requires dismissal of the indictment. 19 Assuming Arguendo that the second prosecution violates the Petite policy, we conclude that such a violation of the internal housekeeping rules of the Department of Justice does not entitle Snell to dismissal of the indictment. 5 First, the Supreme Court has remanded cases because of the Petite policy only at the request of the Department of Justice. See Rinaldi,434 U.S. at 25-26 n. 8, 98 S.Ct. 81; Mikka, at 154 n. 2. As the Tenth Circuit recently wrote: We have searched the cases in an effort to find one in which the Petite policy has been applied in favor of a defendant over the objections of the government and we have found no such cases. United States v. Thompson, 579 F.2d 1184, 1188 (10th Cir. 1978). Second, the Supreme Court has stated that the Petite policy is not constitutionally required. Rinaldi,434 U.S. at 29, 98 S.Ct. 81. Third, Snell's argument ignores the critical distinction between a formally promulgated regulation of the Justice Department, and a letter, press release, or similar statement of the internal policies of the Department. See United States v. Hutul, 416 F.2d 607, 626 (7th Cir. 1969), Cert. denied, 396 U.S. 1007, 90 S.Ct. 562, 24 L.Ed. 499 And 396 U.S. 1012, 90 S.Ct. 573, 24 L.Ed.2d 504 And 396 U.S. 1024, 90 S.Ct. 599, 24 L.Ed.2d 517 (1970). Fourth, according the internal policy such binding effect would discourage the Department from adopting other such laudable policies. Finally, all the Courts of Appeals that have considered this question have agreed that a criminal defendant cannot invoke the Petite policy as a bar to federal prosecution. E. g., United States v. Howard, 590 F.2d 564, 567-68 (4th Cir. 1979); United States v. Fritz, 580 F.2d 370, 375 (10th Cir. 1978); United States v. Wallace, 578 F.2d 735, 740 n. 4 (8th Cir. 1978); United States v. Martin, 574 F.2d 1359, 1361 (5th Cir. 1978), U. S. appeal pending, --- U.S. ----, 99 S.Ct. 456, 58 L.Ed.2d 425 (1979); Hutul, 416 F.2d at 626-27. As the Fifth Circuit concluded: 20 (I)t is apparent that the Petite policy is intended to be no more than self-regulation on the part of the Department of Justice. . . . The Supreme Court has never compelled the dismissal of a prosecution pursuant to the Petite policy over the objections of a recalcitrant Department of Justice. This court has recognized that Petite is an internal policy of self-restraint that should not be enforced against the government. 21 United States v. Nelligan, 573 F.2d 251, 255 (5th Cir. 1978). 22 REVERSED AND REMANDED.