This Court held in Oregon v. Kennedy that the only time a defendant
who successfully moves for a mistrial may later bar retrial is when he can
prove that the prosecution intended to goad him into moving for the mistrial.
Kennedy's test for determining prosecutorial intent is manageable. "It merely
calls for the court to make a finding of fact. Inferring the existence or
nonexistence of intent from objective facts and circumstances is a familiar
process in our criminal justice system." 456 U.S. 667, 674-75 (1982).
Subsequently, the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals created its own test
to "assist" the determination of prosecutorial intent. This test, which relies
upon what have come to be known as the "Wheeler factors," is now regularly
used in Texas whenever the courts are called upon to decide if the prosecution
intended to provoke a mistrial in violation of the Double Jeopardy Clause and
the principles set out in Kennedy .
In this case, the prosecution waited until after the jury was selected to
disclose to the defense information about its star witness. When the defense
complained to the trial court about this untimely disclosure, the prosecutor
was the first to suggest a mistrial, told the court he would pick a better jury
and be more prepared for trial, and then agreed with the defense when it
moved for the mistrial. Using the Wheeler factors, the Texas Court of Appeals
held that the Double Jeopardy Clause did not prevent the retrial of Miguel
Martinez.
The question presented is:
Whether, contrary to Oregon v. Kennedy , Texas courts have replaced the
manageable and effective "objective facts and circumstances" test recognized
in that case, with the so-called Wheeler factors, which prevent the accurate
determination of the prosecutor's intent to goad the defense into moving for a
mistrial.
Whether Texas courts have replaced the manageable and effective 'objective facts and circumstances' test recognized in Oregon v. Kennedy with the so-called Wheeler factors, which prevent the accurate determination of the prosecutor's intent to goad the defense into moving for a mistrial