Hudson v. United States

Hudson v. United States
Decided December 10, 1997
Full case nameHudson v. United States
Citations522 U.S. 93 (more)
Holding
The government may levy a remedial civil penalty after a criminal punishment without violating the Double Jeopardy Clause's prohibition on multiple punishments.
Court membership
Chief Justice
William Rehnquist
Associate Justices
John P. Stevens · Sandra Day O'Connor
Antonin Scalia · Anthony Kennedy
David Souter · Clarence Thomas
Ruth Bader Ginsburg · Stephen Breyer
Case opinions
MajorityRehnquist
ConcurrenceScalia
ConcurrenceStevens (in judgment)
ConcurrenceSouter (in judgment)
ConcurrenceBreyer (in judgment), joined by Ginsburg
Laws applied
Double Jeopardy Clause

Hudson v. United States, 522 U.S. 93 (1997), was a United States Supreme Court case in which the court held that the government may levy a remedial civil penalty after a criminal punishment without violating the Double Jeopardy Clause's prohibition on multiple punishments. Penalty, here, is distinct from punishment. The Double Jeopardy Clause prevents multiple punishments; i.e., the clause would be activated if the penalty was actually punishment. A penalty might actually be punishment if it was intended to be punishment or if it was punishment in effect, based on the text of the statute rather than what occurred in a particular case.