The Double Jeopardy Clause of the Fifth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution provides that a person may not be tried again for the twice for the same crime once they are acquitted. This is known as "Double Jeopardy." Double jeopardy attaches to a charge after a jury is empaneled, a judge in a "bench trial" begins to hear evidence, a jury has made a decision, or if a person pleads guilty to the crime. The purpose of double jeopardy is to prevent the government from potentially abusing its power to repeatedly charge a person with the same crime, from the same set of facts, until they get the result they want. In practice, strict application of this principle in a criminal context may produce injustices. In England, several murderers went free because the needed evidence wasn't discovered until after their acquittal. The British Parliament responded by enumerating circumstances under which a retrial could be ordered (U.K. Criminal Justice Act 2003). Since the U.S. has a federal syste...

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by Patrick O'MahenRelevant Policy Background: The Sequester, Tax Cuts and Medicare CutsThe large tax-cut bills moving through both houses of Congress have all sorts of hidden little evil things in them, like for example jacking up taxes on PhD students by several thousand dollars.[1] But perhaps one of the biggest evil unforeseen consequences is that the bills would automatically trigger $25 billion in cuts to Medicare.Here's how: In 2011, to end a showdown over the national debt limit, Congress negotiated a law with then-President Obama that instituted automatic budget cuts (a sequester) in response to any new law a future Congress passed that raised the debt further.[2] The Republican tax cut bills do this, raising the projected deficit by $1.5 trillion over the next 10 years to cuts taxes on large business and rich heirs. If the bill pass, the Sequester would automatically take effect and cut $136 billion from non-defense mandatory programs. Medicaid, Social Security and many oth...

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On November 16, 2017, Republicans in the House of Representatives passed H.R. 1 (the "Tax Cuts and Jobs Act") along a party-line vote. The bill includes massive tax cuts for the wealthy, while substantially increasing the deficit and, and increasing the tax burden for many middle-income earners. In an attempt to reduce the deficits created by these tax cuts, the tax bill also makes tuition payments by colleges and universities taxable as federal income. This would dramatically increase students' tax bills, by up to $10,000, potentially quadrupling tax bills for students at private universities. Scientific and higher education associations have opposed the measure, noting that it would discourage student enrollment, devastate the teaching and research missions of universities, massively increase the cost of college attendance, and weaken the STEM workforce in the U.S. The analysis below details how the tax bill passed by House Republicans would affect graduate students, usi...

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What you can doWe recently held a webinar for our Op-Ed Project (Building a Better Society Through Science). See details and view the recording here.Senate Republicans are aiming to eliminate the Affordable Care Act's individual mandate as part of their tax bill. Learn more and take action here.GOP tax bill advances; would impose large tax burden on graduate studentsThe Republicans' Tax Cuts and Jobs Act has advanced from the House Ways and Means Committee, and it is scheduled to be considered by the full House of Representatives this Thursday, November 16. The bill includes massive tax cuts for the wealthy, while substantially increasing the deficit and, and increasing the tax burden for many middle-income earners. In an attempt to reduce the deficits created by the tax cuts proposed by House Republicans, the tax bill also makes tuition payments by colleges and universities taxable as federal income. As tuition at research institutions is generally higher than typical graduate stud...

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Part of a series of background guides, talking points, and phone scripts for a coordinated defense of the Affordable Care Actby Patrick O'MahenRelevant Policy Background: The Individual Mandate The individual mandate of the Affordable Care Act is an important linchpin that keeps premium prices under control. How? Think of the ACA as a three-legged stool. First, it offers anyone not covered by an employer plan or other public insurance the ability to buy a plan on an insurance exchange (guaranteed issue) at the same price as anyone else (community rating). This is great, but healthy people will tend not to buy insurance, which leaves the pool sicker, which causes prices to increase. Then more healthy people leave the pool, causing the pools to keep getting sicker, which causes prices to go up more. This eventually causes a death spiral.[1] The individual mandate plays a critical role in keeping healthy people in insurance pools by charging them a fee if they do not enroll...

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Right now, Trump and the Republicans are trying to increase the deficit by $1.5 trillion dollars to cut taxes for the rich. Republicans in the House and Senate are working overtime to push a huge tax bill through Congress by the end of the year, at Trump's direction. They've approved a budget resolution that will allow them to increase the deficit by $1.5 trillion over 10 years in order to reduce taxes. The House is hoping to pass their bill this Thursday (November 16) Almost all of the benefits of the tax cut will go to the very wealthy; only 50% of households making less than $100,000 will get a tax cut at all, and their average annual tax cut will be roughly $350. Households making more than $100,000 will get an average tax cut of $3,821, not including the benefits of the lower business tax rate and the estate tax repeal (which will almost all go to high-income households).[1] A tax cut for the rich will do very little to help the economy right now....

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GOP Tax Plan Puts Wind Power at Risk. The House Republican tax plan released last week endangers wind power projects by retroactively rewriting Internal Revenue Service (IRS) guidance on the meaning of "construction." Wind projects often rely on the production tax credit (PTC), which provides a tax credit based on electricity production from the facility. Projects that qualified for the PTC by beginning construction in 2016 are currently slated to receive the full amount of the PTC ($24/MWh), which is being phased out in the next several years. The bill would make it more difficult for projects that qualified for the PTC in 2016 to maintain their qualified status. As a result, many wind projects currently in development would likely lose an important tax credit and may be scrapped. The bill also threatens to reduce the incentive amount for wind projects qualifying for the PTC from $24/MWh to $15/MWh. Leaked DOI strategic plan favors oil and gas companies, ignores climate science. A...

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What you can do We will be holding a webinar for our Op-Ed Project (Building a Better Society Through Science) this Thursday, November 9, at 1 pm EST/10 am PST. See details here.If you have an advanced degree in earth, environmental, or health science, click here to sign an open letter from the Union of Concerned Scientists opposing Scott Pruitt's removal of scientists from EPA advisory roles (see article below). Pruitt removes scientists from EPA advisory boards On October 31, Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) head Scott Pruitt announced that scientists currently receiving grant money from the EPA would be immediately barred from its advisory boards. Many of the scientists were removed without warning, some learning of their ouster via text messages or news reports. Pruitt also named new heads of the EPA's three advisory panels: industry consultant Tony Cox replaced University of Iowa professor Deborah Swackhamer; waste-disposal executive Paul Gilman replaced Drexel Universit...

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What you can do We will be holding a webinar for our Op-Ed Project (Building a Better Society Through Science) on November 9 at 1 pm EST/10 am PST. See details here. EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt is preparing to prevent scientists who have received EPA funding from serving on EPA scientific advisory committees, and replace them with industry representatives--a dangerous and unprecedented move. If you have an advanced degree in earth, environmental, or health science, click here to sign an open letter from the Union of Concerned Scientists opposing this move and urging Congress to hold oversight hearings into science at the EPA. The deadline to submit a public comment to the FCC on the proposed takeover of Tribune Media by the controversial Sinclair Broadcast Group is this Thursday, November 2. Comments can be submitted here (see more instructions here). Tech companies face hearings on Russian election interference Representatives of Facebook, Google, and Twitter ...

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In July 2017, RISE Stronger, 500 Women Scientists, the Union of Concerned Scientists (UCS), and the Engaging Scientists and Engineers in Policy (ESEP) Coalition joined together to launch our Op-Ed Project: Building a Better Society Through Science. We called on individuals to speak up for science by writing an op-ed in support of government funding for science, technology, and the programs that help build our society, support our local communities, and make the world a better place. You can view the original announcement here and view the original op-ed prompt here. Many concerned citizens answered the call, and they helped get the word out about the importance of non-defense discretionary spending for their local communities. To date, 15 op-eds from this project have been published in local papers across the U.S. (updated February 15, 2018). Published Op-Eds Below is a list of all op-eds published to date. Click on the title of each op-ed to read it in ful...

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