Retrial OK After Conviction in Wrong Court, Justices Rule (1)

Federal prosecutors can retry someone after failing to bring charges in the correct venue, the US Supreme Court ruled Thursday.

In a unanimous opinion, the justices rejected Timothy Smith’s argument that the government shouldn’t get another shot at trying him for allegedly stealing trade secrets from a Florida company.

His conviction by a Florida jury was vacated by the US Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit, which said the case should’ve been brought in Alabama, where Smith lives and where the alleged crime was committed.

The appellate court held that the venue was improper on the trade secrets charge, ...