Barrett v. United States: Oral Argument

Case Summary: The case involves Dwayne Barrett, who participated in a series of armed robberies of commercial establishments in New York City during which he and his accomplices used firearms to threaten employees and steal money and property. During one of these robberies, a victim was shot and killed, and federal prosecutors charged Barrett both under 18 U.S.C. § 924(c)(1)(A)(i) for using a firearm during a crime of violence and under § 924(j) for causing a death by using that firearm in relation to the same underlying robbery, resulting in multiple firearm-related counts arising from the same criminal episode. The issue before the Supreme Court was whether the government can secure separate convictions and sentences under 18 U.S.C. § 924(c)(1)(A)(i) and § 924(j) based on the same single use of a firearm during one crime of violence, or whether doing so violates the Double Jeopardy Clause because both provisions effectively define the same offense.