A decision by the U.S. Supreme Court could affect the federal trial of the illegal immigrant shooter in the Kate Steinle murder case.
The high court is set to decide on the Constitution's "dual sovereignty doctrine" that allows the federal and state governments to charge a person with the same crime.
Although Jose Garcia Zarate was found not guilty in the death of Steinle, the U.S. Attorney's Office charged him with gun crimes after jurors in state court last November found him guilty of being a felon in possession of a firearm.
If the Supreme Court says the doctrine violates the Fifth Amendment against "double jeopardy," the federal trial against Zarate could be dismissed.
The judge has already delayed the trial's start date while the Supreme Court decides on constitutional question.
Zarate was acquitted on all murder and manslaughter charges by a jury in San Francisco in 2017. Steinle died from a gunshot wound fired by Zarate while walking with her father along Pier 14 in San Francisco. President Trump has frequently used Steinle's death to promote his immigration agenda.