Jean Denis Paul v. United States
FifthAmendment
Whether when applying plain-error review based upon an intervening United States Supreme Court decision, a circuit court of appeals may review matters outside the trial record to determine whether the error affected a defendant's substantial rights or impacted the fairness, integrity or public reputation of the trial?
question presented is: Whether when applying plan-error review based upon an intervening United States Supreme Court decision, a circuit court of appeals may review matters outside the trial record to determine whether the error affected a defendant’s substantial rights or impacted the fairness, integrity or pubic reputation of the trial? i Question Two: The Double Jeopardy Clause of the United States Constitution provides that no person shall “be subject for the same offence to be twice put in jeopardy of life or limb.” U.S. Const., amend. V. While serving a term of supervised release, Mr. Paul possessed a firearm and ammunition on May 28, 2019. At a revocation hearing, the district court held that Mr. Paul violated federal law because it found that Mr. Paul was a convicted felon and that on May 28, 2019, Mr. Paul possessed a firearm and ammunition and that the firearm and ammunition traveled in interstate commerce. As a result, the district court revoked the term of supervised released and sentenced Mr. Paul to a two-year term of imprisonment in federal prison. Subsequently, a federal grand jury charged Mr. Paul with being a felon in possession of a firearm and ammunition on May 28, 2019. This was the same possession of a firearm and ammunition that resulted in his imprisonment following the revocation hearing. Mr. Paul proceeded to trial where he was convicted of the charge when the jury found that the government had proven that Mr. Paul was a convicted felon and that on May 28, 2019, Mr. Paul possessed a firearm and ammunition and that the firearm and ammunition traveled in interstate commerce. The district court sentenced Mr. Paul to an additional and separate ten-year term of imprisonment, the statutory maximum sentence. The question presented is: Whether the double jeopardy clause of the United States Constitution prohibits the trial and imprisonment of a federal defendant for the exact same offense and underlying facts that were previously the basis for imprisonment of that individual following a revocation hearing in federal court? ii INTERESTED PARTIES There are no