What Is Double Jeopardy?
What does Double Jeopardy mean? In a previous post, What Is The 5th Amendment, we briefly touched on the clause that talked about Double Jeopardy. This week we’ll go a little bit more in-depth about it.
So What Is Double Jeopardy
Double Jeopardy refers to the ability to be tried for a crime twice. The text from the 5th amendment specifically says:
“nor shall any person be subject for the same offence to be twice put in jeopardy of life or limb”
This prevents the court from retrying someone on the same crime once they have legally be acquitted or convicted of that crime. The right to not be put on Double Jeopardy is a constitutional right in the United States, however, other countries have similar statutes that prevent their citizens from Double Jeopardy.
Why Do We Need Double Jeopardy?
Double Jeopardy is included as a protection to the citizens so that they can’t be tried multiple times for the same crime. There are several reasons for the Double Jeopardy protection (FindLaw):
- To prevent the Government from using its superior resources to wear down and erroneously convict innocent persons
- To protect individuals from the financial, emotional, and social consequences of successive prosecutions
- To preserve the finality and integrity of criminal proceedings, which would be comprised if the government were allowed to ignore verdicts it did not like
- To restrict prosecutorial discretion over the charging process
- To eliminate judicial discretion to impose cumulative punishments otherwise not clearly prohibited by law
Bradley Corbett
Bradley Corbett is a criminal defense attorney in San Diego. He graduated from Brigham Young University in Provo Utah in 2004. Later he enrolled at Thomas Jefferson School of Law in San Diego where he participated in a prestigious internship program with the Los Angeles County Public Defender. Since then he has handled over 2,000 cases.