Rossetti v. Curran

BOUDIN, Circuit Judge.

In 1981, Stephen Rossetti was acquitted of armed robbery in state court. In 1982, he was convicted in state court of conspiracy to commit the same robbery. Much of the evidence used in the two trials was the same. In a habeas corpus proceeding, the district court ruled that the second prosecution violated double jeopardy principles and ordered Rossetti released without possibility of retrial. The Commonwealth now appeals. For the reasons that follow, we modify the district court’s judgment.

I

The charges against Rossetti arose out of the armed robbery of a Brink’s armored…