Legal Definitions - separate-sovereigns rule

The separate-sovereigns rule is a legal principle that allows a person to be prosecuted for the same criminal act by different governmental entities, even though the Fifth Amendment'sDouble Jeopardy Clause generally prevents being tried twice for the same offense. This exception applies because each "sovereign" — such as the federal government, a state government, or even two different state governments — possesses its own independent authority to define and enforce its own laws. Therefore, an act that violates the laws of more than one sovereign can lead to separate prosecutions by each without violating the Double Jeopardy Clause.

Here are some examples illustrating how the separate-sovereigns rule applies:

• Federal and State Prosecution: Imagine a scenario where an individual commits bank fraud by creating a sophisticated scheme to defraud customers of a bank that is federally insured. This act violates both federal laws against bank fraud and state laws against financial crimes in the state where the fraud occurred.

  Under the separate-sovereigns rule, the federal government could prosecute the individual for violating federal banking statutes. Separately, the state government could also prosecute the individual for violating its state-specific financial crime statutes. Both prosecutions are permissible because the federal government and the state government are distinct sovereign entities, each with the independent power to enforce their own unique set of laws, even though the underlying criminal conduct is the same.

• Prosecution by Two Different States: Consider a situation where a person steals a car in Texas and then drives it across state lines into Oklahoma, where they are apprehended. The act of stealing the car is a crime in Texas, and possessing or receiving stolen property is a crime in Oklahoma.

  The State of Texas could prosecute the individual for the initial car theft that occurred within its borders. Subsequently, the State of Oklahoma could also prosecute the individual for possessing the stolen vehicle within its jurisdiction. Since Texas and Oklahoma are separate sovereign states, each with the authority to enforce its own criminal laws, both prosecutions would be allowed under the separate-sovereigns rule, despite stemming from the same overall criminal incident involving the stolen car.