In January 2016, a group of armed activists took over a federal wildlife refuge in southeast
Oregon.
The activists were protesting increased prison sentences for Oregon ranchers Dwight and Steven
Hammond.
Both men served time for causing fires on federal land in 2001 and 2006.
Now after an appeal from the federal government, the Hammonds have been sentenced to several
more years in prison for those same offenses.
So, can you be punished twice for the same crime?
Well, according to the 5th Amendment, US citizens cannot face trial for the same offense multiple
times.
This is known as “double jeopardy” and generally protects people from facing the
same charges over and over after they’ve been acquitted or convicted of a crime.
However double jeopardy does have certain exceptions.
For instance, you can be tried for the same offense in both civil and criminal court.
In the famous OJ Simpson murder case, Simpson was found not guilty of criminal charges,
but still faced civil charges from the victim’s families.
But Double Jeopardy does not apply in case of an appeal, which is when a court decision
is revisited after a ruling is passed down.
Although defendants are usually the ones to appeal, in the Hammond case, the Department
of Justice appealed the sentence.
During their first trial in 2012, the Judge cited the 8th Amendment on cruel and unusual
punishment.
He suggested that the proposed mandatory minimum sentencing of five years was too harsh.
He sentenced Dwight to three months in prison and Steven to one year and one day.
But then, in 2014, after both men had served their time, the higher Ninth Circuit Court
of Appeals ruled that the Judge’s original sentence was unlawful.
Therefore the Hammonds were required by federal law had to serve the minimum five years.
This is not considered double jeopardy because when a higher court reviews the decision of
a lower court, it is not a retrial of the original case.
It only looks at the justification behind the ruling and usually doesn’t include new
witnesses or new evidence.
So while the Constitution does prevent being tried multiple times for the same crime, there
are certain loopholes which can lead to longer sentences, or harsher penalties.
And despite the armed takeover in Oregon, the Hammonds have distanced themselves from
the protest, which is now largely about federal land ownership.
The men returned to prison to complete their sentences on January 4th, 2016.
The armed activists in Oregon argue that the U.S. government shouldn’t own so much land
in the Western U.S.
So just how much land do they own?
Learn more
in our video.
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