"Double Jeopardy"

Persons accused of crimes are also protected from what is called “double jeopardy.” In the words of the Fifth Amendment, no person shall “be subject for the same offence to be twice put in jeopardy of life or limb.” If the result of a jury trial is an acquittal (the jury finds the defendant “not guilty”), there can be no further legal action taken against the defendant for that crime. One exception to this rule occurs when a defendant challenges his or her guilty conviction and is granted a new trial (typically because of some procedural error in the original trial). In this case, the “jeopardy” posed by the first trial is eliminated and a new trial can be convened, putting the defendant in jeopardy as if for the first time for the alleged crime.

Another exception to the double jeopardy provision is really not an exception. It is possible for an individual, such as O. J. Simpson, to be tried in criminal court for a crime and then be sued in civil court for damages caused by the same criminal act. The laws and rules that apply to the two different legal systems are sufficiently different that, for the purposes of the Fifth Amendment, they are considered distinct. Additionally, an individual may also be tried for different crimes committed in the course of one action or set of actions. For example, when Timothy McVeigh was tried in federal court for bombing the Murrah Federal Building in Oklahoma City, he had been charged with murdering federal government employees and with destroying federal government property. The possibility remains that McVeigh could still be tried in Oklahoma state court for the murders of the other people killed in the bombing. Because they are separate crimes (as defined in the law), another trial would not bring about “double jeopardy.”