Horace Gray, United States v. Sanges — Opinion of the Court
“ The supreme court of Tennessee, in 1817, in dismissing an appeal by the state after an acquittal of perjury, said: 'A writ of error, or appeal in the nature of a writ of error, will not lie for the state in such a case. It is a rule of the common law that no one shall be brought twice into jeopardy for one and the same offense. ”
Horace Gray, United States v. Sanges — Opinion of the Court
“ In none of the provisions of this act, defining the appellate jurisdiction, either of this court or of the circuit court of appeals, is there any indication of an intention to confer upon the United States the right to bring up a criminal case of any grade after judgment below in favor of the defendant. It is impossible to presume an intention on the part of congress to make so serious and far-reaching an innovation in the criminal jurisprudence of the United States. ”
Horace Gray, United States v. Sanges — Opinion of the Court
“ But the courts of many states, including some of great authority, have denied, upon broader grounds, the right of the state to bring a writ of error in any criminal case whatever, even when the discharge of the defendant was upon the decision of an issue of law by the court, as on demurrer to the indictment, motion to quash, special verdict, or motion in arrest of judgment. ”
