The Defendant's Right Not to Be Placed in Double Jeopardy

Among the clauses of the Fifth Amendment is this well-known provision: "nor shall any person be subject for the same offense to be twice put in jeopardy of life or limb."  This provision, known as the double jeopardy clause, protects defendants from harassment by preventing them from being put on trial more than once for the same offense.  Double jeopardy problems are unusual, because prosecutors usually want to wrap up all their charges at one time in the same case.

Once important exception to the rule against double jeopardy is that defendants can properly be charged for the same conduct by different jurisdictions.  For example, a defendant may face charges in both federal and state court for the same conduct if some aspects of that conduct violated federal laws while other elements ran afoul of the laws of the state.

Furthermore, the double jeopardy clause forbids only more than one criminal prosecution growing out of the same conduct.  A defendant can be brought once to criminal court (by the government) and once to civil court (by members of the public) for the same crime.  For instance, after O.J. Simpson was acquitted of murdering his ex-wife and her friend, their relatives filed a civil suit against him for actual and punitive damages caused by the killings.  The civil suits raised no double jeopardy issues, even though punitive damages are a type of punishment, and Simpson was held civilly liable for the deaths.

WHEN IN DOUBT ABOUT YOUR RIGHTS, INSIST ON SPEAKING WITH AN ATTORNEY BEFORE GIVING ANY INFORMATION WHATSOEVER.

Yours truly,

Satasha Williston, Esquire