United States v. Goodwin

Goodwin (defendant) was initially charged with misdemeanor and petty offenses for striking a federal park officer with his car and fleeing a traffic stop. After plea negotiations with one prosecutor stalled and Goodwin demanded a jury trial, a different assistant U.S. attorney took over and added a felony charge for assaulting a federal officer. A jury convicted Goodwin of the felony and one misdemeanor count. Goodwin moved to set aside the verdict for prosecutorial vindictiveness; the district court found no actual retaliatory intent, but the court of appeals held a presumption of vindictiveness applied absent evidence the felony could not have been brought earlier, and the Supreme Court granted certiorari.