The petition of the day is:
Issue: Whether, for purposes of the collateral estoppel component of the double jeopardy clause, the ordinary requirement for collateral estoppel that the prior determination was necessary to the ultimate outcome—which is intended to ensure that a determination received careful attention, and to deny preclusive effect where the outcome deprived a party of the opportunity for appellate review it otherwise would have had—applies to a jury’s special findings in a capital case that the prosecution failed to prove certain alleged aggravating factors.
CLICK HERE FOR FULL VERSION OF THIS STORY