double jeopardy
Học thuậtThân thiện
Definition
- Noun:
- The prosecution of a defendant for a criminal offense for which they have already been tried: A legal principle that prohibits a person from being tried or punished twice for the same offense. This protection is a fundamental right in many legal systems, notably enshrined in the Fifth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution.
Usage
- Noun:
- The defense attorney argued that a new trial would constitute double jeopardy.
- The principle of double jeopardy is a cornerstone of the American justice system, preventing the state from using its vast resources to wear down an acquitted defendant.
Advanced Usage
- "To be in/placed in double jeopardy": To be subjected to a second prosecution for the same offense.
- After his acquittal, he cannot be placed in double jeopardy for that crime.
- "A double jeopardy clause/rule/protection": Referring to the specific legal provision that enforces this principle.
- The case was dismissed based on the double jeopardy clause.
Variants and Related Words
- Jeopardy (noun): Danger of loss, harm, or failure. In a legal context, it specifically refers to the risk of conviction and punishment.
- The defendant's life was in jeopardy during the trial.
- Jeopardize (verb): To put something or someone into a situation of risk or danger.
- Revealing the source would jeopardize the entire investigation.
Synonyms
- Successive prosecution: A formal term for a subsequent trial for the same offense.
- Retrial for the same offense: A descriptive phrase for the act prohibited by double jeopardy.
Related Legal Concepts
- Acquittal (noun): A judgment that a defendant is not guilty of the crime they were charged with, which typically triggers double jeopardy protections.
- His acquittal meant he was protected from double jeopardy.
- Autrefois acquit / Autrefois convict (noun): Legal doctrines (from French, meaning "formerly acquitted" and "formerly convicted") that are the common law precursors to the modern double jeopardy rule, barring trial for a crime of which one has already been acquitted or convicted.
Noun
- the prosecution of a defendant for a criminal offense for which he has already been tried; prohibited in the fifth amendment to the United States Constitution