Double Jeopardy

Paper Summary:

This paper explores situations based on several authorities in which a person may or may not be tried again for the same crime as determined under the double jeopardy clause of the Constitution. The bases its discussion on three Supreme Court cases regarding double jeopardy. The paper concludes that, although the double jeopardy clause was created to offer protection from three specific types of legal abuse; nevertheless, at various times, the federal government will retry an acquitted defendant simply because there is a strong level of dissatisfaction with the first verdict.

Table of Contents:
In Other Words
Words and More Words
Supreme Court Decisions
Jeffers v. United States
Garrett v. United States Garrett v. United States
United States v. Ursery

From the Paper:

"At times, Blockburger's rule makes sense. Sometimes, however Blockburger's rule makes far less sense. For example, Amar posits, if a defendant is charged with attempted murder, receives a fair trial and is convicted, afterwards the victim dies from injuries proximately caused by the initial attack, Blockburger's rule would bar a murder trial here. The Supreme Court held in the Diaz case as early as 1912, however that a Blockburger-like test was not be taken seriously in this particular scenario; indicating a second trial should not be barred."

Sample of Sources Used:

• Alogna, Forrest G.. "Double jeopardy, acquittal appeals, and the law-fact distinction." Cornell Law Review, July 1, 2001.
• Amar, A. R. (1997). Double Jeopardy Law Made Simple. Yale Law Journal, 106(6), 1807-1848.
• Cone, T. (2004). Double Jeopardy, Post-Blakely. American Criminal Law Review, 41(4), 1373+.
• Kappeler, A. J. (1997). Changing the Tide of Double Jeopardy in the Context of the Continuing Criminal Enterprise. Journal of Criminal Law and Criminology, 87(3), 967-989.
• Retrying Case Becomes Issue; Supreme Court to Clarify 'Double Jeopardy' Guidelines. (2002, March 19). The Washington Times, p. A08.

More papers on Double Jeopardy:

• Essay # 23406 : "Double Jeopardy and Legislative Limitations"
• Term Paper # 103056 : "The Double Jeopardy Clause"
• Essay # 53555 : "Double Jeopardy"
• Essay # 49508 : "Double Jeopardy"

APA Citation:

MLA Citation: