United States v. Venable

OPINION

DITTER, District Judge.

Defendant, Edward G. Venable, was convicted by a jury of two counts of making false statements to a grand jury and acquitted on three counts of extortion. However, I granted defendant’s motion for a new trial because the prosecutor had improperly commented upon Venable’s failure to testify, thus violating his Fifth Amendment privilege against self-incrimination.1 Defendant then moved to bar retrial on both false statement counts on the ground of double jeopardy and, as to one of the counts, on the basis of collateral estoppel. Following oral argument, both…