Williams & Connolly Partner Tapped to Argue Double Jeopardy Case

The US Supreme Court appointed Williams & Connolly partner Charles McCloud to argue in a case in which the federal government agrees with the defendant’s double jeopardy argument.

In a one-sentence order on Wednesday, the justices “invited” McCloud to argue in support of a federal appellate court ruling finding that Dwayne Barrett could be sentenced for two different crimes involving the same robbery.

Barrett faces sentences for aiding the use of a gun during a 2011 robbery and aiding the use of that gun to kill a man during that robbery.

The government agrees with Barrett that “cumulative punishment” for the use of the same firearm violated double jeopardy, which generally prohibits a defendant from being tried more than once for the same crime.

The Supreme Court often appoints former clerks to argue in support of the lower court’s ruling when the parties agree that its ruling was wrong. McCloud clerked for both Justice Sonia Sotomayor and then-Judge Brett Kavanaugh on the US Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit.

However, the justices typically appoint first-timers to make their Supreme Court debut. McCloud has argued three cases already, including one this year.

The 2011 Harvard Law School graduate returned to Williams & Connolly after a stint in the Justice Department as assistant to the solicitor general.

Williams & Connolly partner and Supreme Court veteran Lisa Blatt described McCloud as “smooth as butter,” when he was selected for Bloomberg Law’s “40 Under 40" in 2022. He uses his “signature clear and calm demeanor to handle even the toughest questions,” Blatt said.

At the time, McCloud said he was “still coming down” from his win in his first Supreme Court argument, Concepcion v. United States.

McCloud’s practice focuses on complex civil matters, particularly patent litigation, though all of his Supreme Court cases have centered on immigration and criminal matters.