United States v. Ray C. Broce and Broce Construction Company, Inc.

concurring in part and dissenting in part.

This case presents a difficult problem concerning the Double Jeopardy Clause of the Fifth Amendment, which declares that no person shall be “subject for the same offense to be twice put in jeopardy of life or limb....” I agree that defendants’ guilty pleas did not forfeit their right to challenge the indictments on double jeopardy grounds. I must respectfully disagree, however, with the broad conclusion that the Double Jeopardy Clause embodies not “an individual right which is subject to waiver,”1 but an “absolute inhibition” upon government. See…