## Facts

- Defendants were indicted in the District of Montana for illegal game hunting in Yellowstone National Park.
- The case proceeded to a jury trial; the jury was empaneled and sworn.
- The jury reported it could not reach a unanimous verdict.
- The district court declared a mistrial on its own motion based on the hung jury.
- Months later, while the government prepared to retry the case, defendants moved to dismiss the indictment.
- The district court dismissed the indictment, reasoning the government had consented to the conduct underlying the charges.
- The government sought to appeal the dismissal under 18 U.S.C. § 3731.
- The Ninth Circuit dismissed the appeal, concluding double jeopardy barred retrial and therefore barred the appeal.

## Issues

1. Whether the Double Jeopardy Clause bars retrial after a mistrial declared because the jury was deadlocked.
2. Whether, if retrial is not barred, 18 U.S.C. § 3731 permits the government to appeal a post-mistrial dismissal of the indictment entered on defendants’ motion.

## Decision

- The Supreme Court reversed the Ninth Circuit and remanded.
- Jeopardy attached when the jury was empaneled and sworn, but the first proceeding ended in a mistrial, not in a termination in defendants’ favor.
- A mistrial due to a hung jury permits retrial under settled double-jeopardy doctrine.
- Because retrial was constitutionally permissible, the government could appeal the district court’s subsequent dismissal under 18 U.S.C. § 3731.

## Legal Principles

- Jeopardy attaches when the jury is empaneled and sworn, but attachment alone does not bar a second trial.
- A mistrial declared because the jury cannot agree does not terminate the case in the defendant’s favor and does not trigger double-jeopardy protection against retrial.
- Under 18 U.S.C. § 3731, the government may appeal a dismissal of an indictment unless further prosecution is constitutionally prohibited; where a hung-jury mistrial permits retrial, a dismissal entered before that retrial is appealable.

## Conclusion

The Court held that a hung-jury mistrial leaves the prosecution free to retry the defendants, so double jeopardy does not block either the retrial or the government’s statutory appeal from a post-mistrial dismissal of the indictment.


United States v. Sanford, 429 U.S. 14 (1976)