Tibbs v. Florida

We granted certiorari to decide whether the Double Jeopardy Clause1 bars retrial after a state appellate court sets aside a conviction on the ground that the verdict was against “the weight of the evidence.” After examining the policies supporting the Double Jeopardy Clause, we hold that a reversal based on the weight, rather than the sufficiency, of the evidence permits the State to initiate a new prosecution.

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In 1974, Florida indicted petitioner Delbert Tibbs for the first-degree murder of Terry Milroy, the felony murder of Milroy, and the rape of Cynthia Nadeau. Nadeau, the State’s chief…