Double jeopardy is an important part of the American justice system. It prevents a person from being charged numerous times for the same offense by making it unlawful to charge someone twice for the same crime. Essentially, if a person is charged with a crime and found not guilty, they cannot be arrested for that crime again.
That said, there are exceptions. Today we are going to discuss five of them. If you have questions about criminal defense options, contact Law Office of Michael L. Fell at (949) 585-9055 for a free legal consultation.
- You Can Be Charged for the Crime in Both Civil and Criminal Courts
- Criminal Pre-Trial Proceedings
- Disciplinary Proceedings in Prison
- When a New Trial is Issued
- When a Case is Dismissed Out of Legal Necessity
While you are not allowed to be charged for the same crime in most cases in the criminal court, this does not affect whether or not you can be sued in a civil court. It may be true that both cases arise from the same event, but a charge in criminal court does not prevent a charge in civil court.
Likewise, if you are found not guilty in criminal court this does not mean that you will be found not guilty in civil court for one simple reason: The burden of proof is much less. Criminal courts require that you be proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt, while civil courts only require that there is a preponderance of evidence that you are guilty. Essentially, if the court or jury finds that it is more likely than not that you are guilty, then you can be found guilty in civil court.
Double jeopardy protections do not begin until a defendant is put on trial. Any criminal proceedings that happen before trial are not covered. This means that a person can technically be charged an infinite number of times for the same crime, as long as it does not get to the trial stage – and as long as a judge is willing to continue issuing arrest warrants despite the ability of the prosecutor to bring a valid case forth.
If a prison inmate commits a crime, they can face disciplinary actions in prison and also face criminal charges. These are not related, according to the state of California.
When a person is convicted of a crime, files a motion for a new trial, and is given one – or if their conviction is reversed on appeal – then it is essentially as if there was never any previous trial. This means that the person in question can legally say they have not been convicted of the crime, but it also means they could be charged with it again.
In the event that a case must be dismissed out of “legal necessity,” double jeopardy will likely not prevent future prosecution. Legal necessity could include a juror becoming ill or otherwise unable to serve, a hung jury, or the defendant, their counsel, or the judge becoming incapacitated.