United States v. Smith was a United States Supreme Court case that dealt with the issue of whether a defendant could be convicted of a crime if the indictment failed to allege the essential elements of the offense. The defendant, Smith, was indicted for the crime of receiving stolen goods, but the indictment failed to allege that the goods were stolen. The Supreme Court held that the indictment was insufficient and that Smith could not be convicted of the crime. The Court reasoned that the indictment must allege all of the essential elements of the offense in order to be valid. The Court noted that the indictment must be specific enough to inform the defendant of the charges against him and to protect him from being tried twice for the same offense. The Court concluded that the indictment in this case was insufficient because it failed to allege that the goods were stolen, which was an essential element of the offense. Therefore, the Court held that Smith could not be convicted of the crime.

In United States v. Smith, the Supreme Court was asked to decide whether a defendant who had been convicted of an offense against the United States could be tried again for the same offense after being pardoned by the President. The majority opinion held that such double jeopardy was not prohibited and that a pardon did not bar subsequent prosecution for another crime arising out of the same facts as those underlying his conviction. Justice Field dissented from this ruling, arguing that it violated fundamental principles of justice and due process enshrined in both common law and constitutional law. He argued that allowing successive prosecutions would lead to oppressive practices which were contrary to established legal precedent, noting "the settled doctrine is...that no man can twice be put in jeopardy for one and the same offence." Furthermore, he noted that if multiple prosecutions were allowed then individuals might become subject to repeated harassment or even malicious prosecution based on their political beliefs or affiliations with unpopular causes.