Opinion ID: 700681
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: jurisdiction

Text: 7 The Government contends that we lack jurisdiction over this interlocutory appeal because Chick has not been subjected to multiple criminal prosecutions, and because he has yet to be subjected to multiple punishments. In essence, the Government argues that exposure to multiple punishments cannot be interlocutorily appealed because the multiple punishments prong of the Double Jeopardy Clause is not violated until the subsequent punishment is actually imposed. We disagree. 8 An appeal from a pretrial order denying a motion to dismiss an indictment is typically considered interlocutory, and, therefore, not appealable as a final decision under 28 U.S.C. Sec. 1291. However, where judgment has been entered in a civil forfeiture proceeding, and a defendant moves to dismiss a subsequent criminal prosecution on double jeopardy grounds, we find the pretrial order denying the motion to dismiss appealable under the collateral order exception to the final judgment rule and Abney v. United States, 431 U.S. 651, 97 S.Ct. 2034, 52 L.Ed.2d 651 (1977). 1 9 In Abney, the Supreme Court specifically held that courts of appeals may exercise jurisdiction over an appeal from a pretrial order denying a motion to dismiss an indictment on double jeopardy grounds. Id. at 662, 97 S.Ct. at 2042 (emphasis added). Unlike this case, where Chick seeks to avoid an impending criminal prosecution, Abney involved a defendant's challenge to a second criminal prosecution. Nevertheless, the basis for permitting an interlocutory appeal on double jeopardy grounds in this case is no less compelling than it was in Abney. As the Court acknowledged: 10 Although it is true that a pretrial order denying a motion to dismiss an indictment on double jeopardy grounds lacks the finality traditionally considered indispensable to appellate review, we conclude that such orders fall within the small class of cases that Cohen has placed beyond the confines of the final-judgment rule. In the first place there can be no doubt that such orders constitute a complete, formal and, in the trial court, a final rejection of a criminal defendant's double jeopardy claim. There are simply no further steps that can be taken in the District Court to avoid the trial the defendant maintains is barred by the Fifth Amendment's guarantee. Hence, Cohen's threshold requirement of a fully consummated decision is satisfied. 11 Moreover, the very nature of a double jeopardy claim is such that it is collateral to, and separable from, the principal issue at the accused's impending criminal trial, i.e., whether or not the accused is guilty of the offense charged. In arguing that the Double Jeopardy Clause of the Fifth Amendment bars his prosecution, the defendant makes no challenge whatsoever to the merits of the charge against him. Nor does he seek suppression of evidence which the Government plans to use in obtaining a conviction. Rather, he is contesting the very authority of the Government to hale him into court to face trial on the charge against him. 12 Id. at 659, 97 S.Ct. at 2040 (footnote omitted) (citations omitted) (emphasis added). 13 The constitutional right directly involved in Abney was the right to avoid a second trial. Here, Chick's claimed right is the right to avoid a second punishment. That punishment can only be imposed after a trial. The Government is arguing that it is constitutionally permissible to subject a defendant to a trial even though the district court could not constitutionally impose any sentence if the jury returned a guilty verdict. Whatever may be the merits of the Government's constitutional argument, it has no merit in a Cohen and Abney context, where the issue is one of appealability. 14 For purposes of our Cohen analysis, it is established that the double jeopardy issue is collateral to the question of guilt, and it was finally decided by the district court when it denied Chick's motion. The third Cohen question, whether the right would be irretrievably lost, calls for a facially different analysis than in an Abney situation. There, the commencement of the trial was itself a violation of the right not to be tried twice. Here, the trial itself would not violate the constitution. However, if the defendant is convicted, and punishment imposed, then the constitutional right not to be doubly punished is lost, even if vindicated on appeal. The only way to avoid that result is to allow an appeal before trial. Permitting an interlocutory appeal prevents the loss of a constitutional right and is thus supported by the analysis in Abney. 15 In light of the foregoing reasoning and the judgment previously entered in the civil forfeiture proceeding involving Chick's property, we hold that an appeal of the pretrial order rejecting Chick's claim of double jeopardy falls within the small class of cases that have been placed beyond the confines of the final-judgment rule. Id. at 659, 97 S.Ct. at 2040. Chick should not be forced to endure the personal strain, public embarrassment, and expense of a criminal trial if there is a colorable claim that the Double Jeopardy Clause has been violated. Id. at 661, 97 S.Ct. at 2041. On the contrary, if a criminal defendant such as Chick is to avoid exposure to double jeopardy and thereby enjoy the full protection of the Clause, his double jeopardy challenge to the indictment must be reviewable before that subsequent exposure occurs. Id. at 662, 97 S.Ct. at 2041. 16 Accordingly, under 28 U.S.C. Sec. 1291 and Abney, we have jurisdiction to hear Chick's interlocutory appeal of the pretrial order denying his motion to dismiss the indictment on double jeopardy grounds.