Also known as: ne bis in idem · double jeopardy
Written by attorneys · grounded in primary & secondary sources — see below
A principle of criminal procedure that bars successive prosecutions or punishments for the same offense once jeopardy has attached.
Nicholas Nunez was tried and convicted for armed robbery after a store heist. The state later charged him with simple theft arising from the identical conduct. The court dismissed the theft charge because the prior prosecution for the greater offense had already placed Nunez in jeopardy for the same acts.
Nigel Nelson was acquitted in state court on murder charges. Federal prosecutors then sought to charge him for the same killing under federal civil rights statutes. The court held the state acquittal triggered the constitutional protection and barred the federal case.
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Nadia Novak was acquitted of conspiracy to distribute narcotics. The government later indicted her for the substantive distribution offenses based on the same transactions. The court dismissed the new charges because the prior acquittal had resolved the joint criminal enterprise in her favor.
Noreen Nguyen was convicted without counsel at a state trial. After the conviction was reversed for that constitutional defect, the state attempted to retry her on the identical charges. The court ruled that the flawed first proceeding never placed her in valid jeopardy, so retrial was permitted.
Naveen Nanda moved to dismiss a second prosecution on double jeopardy grounds after alleging bias in the first judge. The court denied the motion because the bias claim did not constitute an acquittal on the merits and therefore did not terminate jeopardy.
Noelle North was acquitted of possessing an unregistered firearm. The government later charged her with the same possession under a different statutory theory. The court dismissed the indictment because the prior acquittal had already placed her in jeopardy for that conduct.
No. Separate sovereigns may each prosecute the same acts under their own laws. The principle applies only within the same sovereign.
Jeopardy attaches when the jury is empaneled and sworn. After attachment, retrial is barred absent manifest necessity or the defendant's consent.
No. An appellate reversal for legally insufficient evidence is treated as an acquittal and bars retrial on the same charge.
No. Only a valid criminal prosecution before a court with jurisdiction over the offense and defendant can bar a later case.
…of acquittal could be overturned and a defendant retried would run afoul of the Sixth Amendment jury-trial guarantee and the Double Jeopardy Clause of the Fifth Amendment. In the federal system it also would be unconstitutional to prohibit a President from deciding, as an act of executive clemency, to reprieve one sentenced to…