Hudson v. Louisiana

The question in this case is whether Louisiana violated the Double Jeopardy Clause, as we expounded it in Burks v. United States, 437 U. S. (1978), by prosecuting petitioner a second time after the trial judge at the first trial granted peti tioner’s motion for new trial on the ground that the evidence was insufficient to support the jury’s verdict of guilty.

I

Petitioner Tracy Lee Hudson was tried in Louisiana state court for first-degree murder, and the jury found him guilty. Petitioner then moved for a new trial, which under Louisiana law was petitioner’s only means of challenging the…