Adjunct professor Joel Cohen wrote an op-ed for Law & Crime that explores the legality of the charges against Jeffrey Epstein by the U.S. Attorney’s Office in New York given the overlap with the previous federal case settled against him by the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Miami.
Here, though, is the problem for the administration of justice that a highly publicized case such as Epstein’s might raise. Let’s assume another Epstein-type (whether pedophile or not) is being asked to plead guilty to some offenses in one federal district (District 1) but can be prosecuted for the same or similar conduct in another federal district (District 2) as well. Will he be willing to enter a guilty plea agreement in District 1 when the government might potentially prosecute him for similar conduct in District 2 and successfully argue that his agreement was only binding in District 1? Shouldn’t the Justice Department want to encourage guilty defendants to plead guilty, without worry that the government will pick up the ball and try a do over? It’s probably something the Department needs to think about when investigating, and resolving, criminal episodes with overlapping jurisdictions.
