In the United States v. Wittek case of 1948, the Supreme Court ruled on a matter concerning double jeopardy and sentencing. The defendant, Wittek, was initially convicted for desertion from the U.S. Army during World War II and sentenced to five years in prison by a court-martial. While serving his sentence, he escaped from custody but was later recaptured and subsequently charged with escape from federal custody under civilian law - an offense that carried its own separate punishment. Wittek argued that this second charge constituted double jeopardy as it essentially punished him twice for one act of misconduct (desertion). However, the Supreme Court disagreed with this argument stating that each crime had distinct elements: deserting military service versus escaping federal confinement after being legally detained. The court held that these were two separate offenses punishable independently without violating constitutional protections against double jeopardy because they required different evidence for conviction and involved different harms to society's interests.

In the United States v. Wittek case, there was no recorded dissenting opinion. The decision of the court was unanimous and therefore did not require a dissenting view from any justice.