by PHL_Mob » Fri Oct 06, 2017 3:45 pm
This has actually already happened to Merlino in terms of getting charged twice for the same crime, or "double jeopardy". If you remember back in the 2001 RICO trial, Joey was charged, tried, and acquitted of the RICO predicate act of the 1996 Murder of Joe Sodano (North Jersey Philly Capo he and Natale had ordered killed for not falling in line behind the Merlino/Natale Admin). Shortly after his sentencing, Chris Christie (AG of New Jersey at that time) re-charged him under a seperate murder charge for the same murder of Joe Sodano despite Joey being acquitted in Federal Court as part of the 2001 RICO trial under the grounds that he was acquitted of the murder conspiracy, but he could still be re-tried for the actual murder. Joey and his lawyer, Christopher Warren, argued that this was in fact Double Jeopardy and therefore he should not have been re-tried. The Supreme Court ruled that Joey could in fact be tried again for the Sodano murder because of the fact that the jury verdict against the Sodano Murder RICO predicate act was not unanimous and thus could be tried again in addition to being a different charge from the single count of murder as opposed to 'murder in aid of racketeering'. So basically, the Feds were splitting hairs and taking advantage of a loophole (or taking advantage of minor discrepancies in details/differences in various laws). Personally, whether you like Merlino or not, I think that's a crock of shit that the Government can do that and it's scary that you can literally get acquitted of something like that and then be tried again for it and potentially be guilty despite another jury already clearing you. In my opinion that's a violation of constitutional rights and is pretty scary if you think about it... Talk about the deck being stacked against you in favor of the Feds (like it's not already stacked against you as it is!).
This has actually already happened to Merlino in terms of getting charged twice for the same crime, or "double jeopardy". If you remember back in the 2001 RICO trial, Joey was charged, tried, and acquitted of the RICO predicate act of the 1996 Murder of Joe Sodano (North Jersey Philly Capo he and Natale had ordered killed for not falling in line behind the Merlino/Natale Admin). Shortly after his sentencing, Chris Christie (AG of New Jersey at that time) re-charged him under a seperate murder charge for the same murder of Joe Sodano despite Joey being acquitted in Federal Court as part of the 2001 RICO trial under the grounds that he was acquitted of the murder conspiracy, but he could still be re-tried for the actual murder. Joey and his lawyer, Christopher Warren, argued that this was in fact Double Jeopardy and therefore he should not have been re-tried. The Supreme Court ruled that Joey could in fact be tried again for the Sodano murder because of the fact that the jury verdict against the Sodano Murder RICO predicate act was not unanimous and thus could be tried again in addition to being a different charge from the single count of murder as opposed to 'murder in aid of racketeering'. So basically, the Feds were splitting hairs and taking advantage of a loophole (or taking advantage of minor discrepancies in details/differences in various laws). Personally, whether you like Merlino or not, I think that's a crock of shit that the Government can do that and it's scary that you can literally get acquitted of something like that and then be tried again for it and potentially be guilty despite another jury already clearing you. In my opinion that's a violation of constitutional rights and is pretty scary if you think about it... Talk about the deck being stacked against you in favor of the Feds (like it's not already stacked against you as it is!).