United States v. Richard Oberdorfer

MEMORANDUM

Richard Oberdorfer appeals his conviction for constructing and maintaining a structure on U.S. Forest Service property without authorization in violation of 36 C.F.R. § 261.10 . We have jurisdiction under 28 U.S.C. § 1291 and we affirm.

Oberdorfer first argues that his criminal prosecution for violating § 261.10 violates the Double Jeopardy Clause, or, alternatively, is barred by principles of claim preclusion, because the United States previously obtained a judgment in a civil trespass suit against Oberdorfer for building a communications tower on Forest Service land. Oberdorfer v. Jewkes, 583 Fed.Appx. 770, 773-74 (9th Cir.2014). Reviewing these arguments de novo, United States v. Bhatia, 545 F.3d 757 , 759 n. 1 (9th Cir.2008), we reject them. The Double Jeopardy Clause “protects only against the imposition of multiple criminal punishments for the same offense.” Hudson v. United States, 522 U.S. 93, 99 , 118 S.Ct. 488 , 139 L.Ed.2d 450 (1997). Because the United States’s trespass judgment against Oberdorfer was civil, not criminal, in nature, the Double Jeopardy Clause does not apply. Further, because the instant prosecution arises out of Oberdorfer’s renewed…