Sotomayor, Gorsuch Question 2nd Prosecution of Mexican Immigrant as Court Rejects Appeal
Updated
Updated · Fox News · Oct 15
Sotomayor, Gorsuch Question 2nd Prosecution of Mexican Immigrant as Court Rejects Appeal
2 articles · Updated · Fox News · Oct 15
Summary
A joint statement from Justices Sonia Sotomayor and Neil Gorsuch said the government may have violated double-jeopardy protections by prosecuting Jesus Herrera-Salazar twice for being unlawfully found in the United States.
Herrera-Salazar, a Mexican national, served time after a 2020 conviction, then was barred by supervised-release terms from leaving Oklahoma before police found him there again and triggered a second federal charge.
Sotomayor called that setup a “constitutional absurdity,” arguing the government punished him for remaining in the country while also preventing him from leaving; Gorsuch joined her warning that one continuous offense cannot be split into multiple prosecutions.
The Supreme Court still declined to hear the case after the 10th Circuit upheld the second conviction, with Sotomayor noting Herrera-Salazar has already been removed and urging lower courts to avoid similar outcomes.