United States v. Jose Toribio-Lugo

SELYA, Circuit Judge.

Four days into a criminal trial, the district court discovered that a juror had been absent for some time and, having previously discharged the lone alternate, declared a mistrial sua sponte. Defendant-appellant José Toribio-Lugo thereafter moved to dismiss the indictment on double jeopardy grounds. The district court denied that motion. This appeal ensued. After careful review, we conclude that the lower court erred in refusing to dismiss the indictment.

I. BACKGROUND

On June 6, 2001, a federal grand jury indicted the appellant for various narcotics offenses. See, e.g., 21…