# Hate Crimes Laws: assumptions

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hate-crimes-laws-assumptions/113633>\
**Category:** Great Debates\
**Created:** [June 12, 2002, 12:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hate-crimes-laws-assumptions/113633 "2002-06-12T12:27:57Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 1\
**Page:** 2

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**Author:** ![SuaSponte](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/67e7ee/32.png) [@SuaSponte](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SuaSponte)\
**Post date:** [June 13, 2002, 2:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hate-crimes-laws-assumptions/113633/21 "2002-06-13T14:22:02Z")

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> [@](#):
>
> \*Originally posted by Nightime \*  
> Do federal prosecutors have the power to retry a case if they don’t like the verdict? Is this only restricted to hate crimes?

They can do this is certain other circumstances. I don’t know the extent, or the rationale (and I’m too grumpy to look it up - any lawyers know the rationale or have a citation?). One example, that comes up relatively often, is retrial of police officers alleged to have violated the civil rights of a suspect, but who were found not guilty of the assault on the victim itself in state court. The Rodney King case is such an example.

Sua

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