--- title: "Burks v. United States" citation: "Burks v. United States, 437 U.S. 1 (1978)" authority_id: "AUTH-SCOTUS-BURKS-437-US-1" authority_type: "case" jurisdiction: "federal_nationwide" precedential_status: "binding" official_url: "https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/USREPORTS-437/pdf/USREPORTS-437-1.pdf" url: "https://jason93.com/legal/federal-process/authorities/AUTH-SCOTUS-BURKS-437-US-1/" legal_review: "2026-08-25" links_checked: "2026-10-15" links_available: 1 links_checked_count: 1 license: "CC BY 4.0" --- # Burks v. United States ## Holding used An appellate determination of evidentiary insufficiency requires acquittal and bars retrial, while ordinary trial-error reversal permits retrial. ## Material limitation The challenged ruling must be correctly classified; not every reversal, dismissal, or new-trial order is an insufficiency acquittal. ## Official source and pinpoints 437 U.S. 1, 14–18 (1978): ## Used in - [Rule 29, Mistrial, Verdict, and Juror Misconduct](https://jason93.com/legal/federal-process/modules/30-plea-and-trial/rule-29-mistrial-verdict-and-juror-misconduct.md)