NCJ Number
134010
Journal
Washington University Law Quarterly Volume: 68 Issue: 4 Dated: (Fall 1990) Pages: 929-994
Date Published
1990
Length
66 pages
Annotation
In United States v. Halper, the US Supreme Court extended the application of double jeopardy protection to civil penalties, in effect creating a rule of law that will disrupt Federal, State, and local government attempts to enforce environmental protection, securities regulation, tax collection, and other regulatory schemes.
Abstract
The principle taken by the Supreme Court in this case is basically that once a court determines that awarding a civil penalty in a case achieves the objectives of retribution and deterrence, then the civil penalty creates the kind of punishment which triggers constitutional protections previously afforded only criminal defendants. This extension of the double jeopardy clause to civil statutes opens all civil penalty actions brought by a government to double jeopardy scrutiny. In Halper, the Court decided to separate the concepts of punishment and crime. The Halper doctrine will allow courts to ignore legislative decisions on the level of punishment required to invoke procedural safeguards normally associated with criminal prosecutions. Finally, the Court failed to recognize the proper role of deterrence in a civil penalty scheme. 239 notes