Opinion · Supreme Court of the United States

Hudson v. United States

522 U.S. 93

Type
Opinion
Court
Supreme Court of the United States
Jurisdiction
Federal
Date
1997-12-10
Topic
general

How later courts describe this case

  • holding that courts must examine a statute "`on its face' " and may not consider the "`actual sanctions imposed' "
  • holding that a person may be subjected to civil and criminal penalties for the same conduct without violating the Double Jeopardy Clause
  • holding that "only the clearest proof will suffice to override legislative intent and transform what has been denominated a civil remedy into a criminal penalty"
  • holding that sanctions and professional disbarment of bank officers did not create a double jeopardy obstacle for criminal indictments
  • holding that the double jeopardy clause “protects only against the imposition of multiple criminal punishments for the same offense.”
  • holding that civil monetary penalties and occupational debarment imposed on defendant bank officers did not bar subsequent criminal prosecution of those officers
  • holding that the conferral of authority to issue debarment orders upon an administrative agency was prima facie evidence that the legislature intended to establish a civil penalty
  • recognizing that the Double Jeopardy Clause does not prohibit the imposition of all additional sanctions that could in common parlance be described as punishment

Citator

Hudson v. United States has been questioned or limited by later authorities: relies on overruled authority: 104 L. Ed. 2d 487 (overruled by Hudson v. United States). Read them before relying on it. 1,403 later decisions cite it.

Authority status
caution
Cited by
1403 opinions

Headnotes

  1. Constitutional Law — Double Jeopardy The Double Jeopardy Clause protects only against the imposition of multiple criminal punishments for the same offense, and then only when such punishments occur in successive proceedings. 522 U.S. 93, 98-99
  2. Constitutional Law — Double Jeopardy — Civil vs. Criminal Sanctions Whether a particular punishment is criminal or civil is initially a matter of statutory construction; a court must first ask whether the legislature, in establishing the penalizing mechanism, indicated either expressly or impliedly a preference for one label or the other. 522 U.S. 93, 99
  3. Constitutional Law — Double Jeopardy — Civil Sanctions Even where the legislature has indicated an intention to establish a civil penalty, a court must inquire further whether the statutory scheme was so punitive either in purpose or effect as to transform what was clearly intended as a civil remedy into a criminal penalty. 522 U.S. 93, 99
  4. Constitutional Law — Double Jeopardy — Kennedy Factors In determining whether a civil sanction is so punitive in purpose or effect as to constitute a criminal penalty, useful guideposts include: whether the sanction involves an affirmative disability or restraint; whether it has historically been regarded as punishment; whether it comes into play only on a finding of scienter; whether its operation will promote the traditional aims of punishment—retribution and deterrence; whether the behavior to which it applies is already a crime; whether an alternative purpose to which it may rationally be connected is assignable for it; and whether it appears excessive in relation to the alternative purpose assigned. These factors must be considered in relation to the statute on its face, and only the clearest proof will suffice to override legislative intent and transform what has been denominated a civil remedy into a criminal penalty. 522 U.S. 93, 99-100
  5. Constitutional Law — Double Jeopardy — Overruling Halper The method of analysis in United States v. Halper—which bypassed the threshold question of whether a successive punishment is criminal and elevated a single Kennedy factor to dispositive status—is disavowed as ill considered and unworkable; the traditional rule exemplified in United States v. Ward is reaffirmed. 522 U.S. 93, 100-103
  6. Constitutional Law — Double Jeopardy — Statutory Intent Express designation of a monetary penalty as "civil" by the authorizing statute, and the conferral of debarment authority upon administrative agencies, establish that Congress intended the sanctions to be civil in nature. 522 U.S. 93, 103-104
  7. Constitutional Law — Double Jeopardy — Punitive Effect In determining whether a civil sanction is so punitive in form and effect as to render it criminal despite Congress' contrary intent, relevant considerations include whether the sanction has historically been viewed as punishment (revocation of a privilege and payment of monetary sums generally have not), whether it involves an affirmative disability or restraint (debarment is not the infamous punishment of imprisonment), and whether it comes into play only on a finding of scienter (penalties assessable without regard to willfulness do not). 522 U.S. 93, 104
  8. Constitutional Law — Double Jeopardy — Deterrence The mere presence of a deterrent purpose is insufficient to render a sanction criminal, since deterrence may serve civil as well as criminal goals, and to hold otherwise would severely undermine the Government's ability to engage in effective regulation of institutions such as banks. 522 U.S. 93, 105
  9. Constitutional Law — Double Jeopardy — Successive Prosecution That the conduct for which administrative sanctions are imposed may also be criminal is insufficient to render those sanctions criminally punitive, particularly where the subsequent proceeding is a criminal prosecution rather than a successive punishment. 522 U.S. 93, 104-105