Laws against double jeopardy in the United States are used to protect the integrity of the legal system as well as to protect citizens’ rights when it comes to crime. It is illegal in the U.S. to prosecute an individual twice for the same crime, no matter the circumstances. The only way in which a defendant will experience two trials for the same offense is if the first prosecution attempt ended in a mistrial.
The reason why double jeopardy is so important is because the Fifth Amendment of the constitution protects U.S. citizens from jeopardy of “life and limb”. If the double jeopardy law did not exist, then citizens could be tried over and over, even after they have been acquitted. Further, it would allow the government to punish a criminal more than once for the same crime.
That said, not only does the law against double jeopardy protect people from being prosecuted after they’ve been acquitted, but it also prevents the prosecution from convicting a citizen more than once. Once a sentence has been handed down by a judge, there can be no more punishments unless a second offense takes place.
If double jeopardy is called into question for a criminal prosecution, double jeopardy expert attorneys will apply the “same elements” legal test, which compares the specifics of one prosecution case against the specifics of the second. If the two cases are found to be the same, the charges for the current case will be dropped immediately.
Double jeopardy, however, does not prevent a citizen from being charged for two separate crimes. Sometimes the state or federal courts will hold one trial for several offenses, and sometimes the trials will be conducted separately. Regardless, double jeopardy only applies for two cases that are identical to one another.
As mentioned above, mistrials do not count as double jeopardy because no decision is determined by judge or jury. However, if for any reason the prosecution is unable to meet the burden of proof during a criminal trial, the judge will dismiss the case without prejudice, which means that the double jeopardy law does apply.
Also, cases that are tried in both federal and state courts do not fall under double jeopardy. In some cases, a person’s crimes will be a matter of both federal and state interest. In that case, the federal courts can try the case separately, while the state prosecutes the same case with different evidence and with a different agenda. This is controversial among legal professionals who believe that this statute does constitute double jeopardy.
The largest implication that double jeopardy carries is in the event of undiscovered evidence. Often, after a defendant has been acquitted, law enforcement will find additional evidence that proves the guilt of the accused. However, if the trial is already over and the defendant has been acquitted (or convicted), the prosecution does not have the right to re-try the case. For this reason, the prosecution makes every effort to collect all available evidence before arraigning a defendant on charges.
