double jeopardy

noun

Law.

1. the subjecting of a person to a second trial or punishment for the same offense for which the person has already been tried or punished.

double jeopardy

noun

1. the act of prosecuting a defendant a second time for an offence for which he has already been tried

double jeopardy

1. Trying a person twice in the same jurisdiction for the same crime, a practice prohibited by the Fifth Amendment to the Constitution. (See due process of law.)

Word History and Origins

Origin of double jeopardy¹

First recorded in 1905–10

Example Sentences

Despite later boasting about killing her he appeared to have got away with murder, protected by the double jeopardy law which prevented someone being re-prosecuted for a crime they had been acquitted of.

From BBC

A murderer who was only jailed for killing a woman after a change in the double jeopardy law will not be moved to an open prison, despite a recommendation by the Parole Board.

From BBC

Rearrests of prisoners at the prison gates “are arbitrary actions… illegal detentions and cases of double jeopardy,” says Noah Bullock, the executive director of El Salvador’s leading human rights NGO, Cristosal.

From BBC

While Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton precede the vice president in this ceiling-breaking pantheon, neither experienced the double jeopardy of being Black and female.

From Los Angeles Times

The dual sovereignty doctrine allows two different agencies to file charges for the same crime without violating the 5th Amendment’s double jeopardy clause, as long as the crime affects both jurisdictions.

From Los Angeles Times