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McElrath v. Georgia

601 U.S. 87, 144 S.Ct. 651, 217 L.Ed.2d 419 (2024)

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McElrath v. Georgia

United States Supreme Court
601 U.S. 87, 144 S.Ct. 651, 217 L.Ed.2d 419 (2024)

SC

Facts

Damien McElrath (defendant) killed his mother, Diane. The jury found McElrath not guilty of malice murder due to insanity. The jury found McElrath “guilty but mentally ill” of felony murder and aggravated assault. McElrath appealed, arguing that the guilty felony-murder verdict was repugnant to the not-guilty malice-murder verdict and should be set aside. The Georgia Supreme Court agreed but vacated both verdicts. McElrath then argued to the trial court that he could not be retried for the malice-murder charge under the double-jeopardy doctrine. The trial court disagreed, and the Georgia Supreme Court affirmed, holding that, for double-jeopardy purposes, the vacated not-guilty verdict was the same as a mistrial. The United States Supreme Court granted certiorari.

Rule of Law

Issue

Holding and Reasoning (Jackson, J.)

Concurrence (Alito, J.)

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