Criminal Law-Double Jeopardy
The double jeopardy clause of the Fifth Amendment provides that no person shall be tried twice for the same offense. Jeopardy is deemed to attach in jury trials once the jury is impaneled and sworn. The double jeopardy prohibition, however, is somewhat flexible. That is, if a mistrial is declared before a verdict is reached due to the inability of a jury to reach a unanimous verdict or for some other reason other than misconduct on the part of the prosecution, then a new trial would not be deemed to be a violation of the double jeopardy clause. Double jeopardy also only applies to the governmental entity who is bringing the charge.
