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Double Jeopardy No Bar to Arson, Mail Fraud, and Use of Fire Convictions

By Jonathan Byrne

US v. Martin: Martin was the owner of an unsuccessful convenience store in Virginia. She was deep in debt, both the creditors and the commonwealth, and failed when she tried to sell the business. Unfortunately, at that point, she told others that she would "torch" the store "if she had the guts" and that "it's not going to be long and I'm not going to have to worry about any of it anyway." Ultimately, the store burned down. After collecting insurance proceeds for the fire, Martin was charged with staging the whole thing for her benefit. Specifically, she was charged with arson, using fire to commit another felony, mail fraud, and making false statements. She was convicted by a jury on all charges.On appeal, Martin raised two arguments...continue to full post

Full post as published by Fourth Circuit Blog on April 16, 2008 (boomark / email).