Sunday, May 27, 2012

Double Jeopardy Redefined, not in Jeopardy

Formal verdicts are crucial to creating the double jeopardy protection. Blueford v. Arkansas has confirmed this precedent.

If a man is tried for murder, which can also be ruled manslaughter or even negligent homicide, the same individual can be indicted on both charges, even if a previous jury decided not guilty on the more serious charge followed by deadlock on the lesser charge.

The Roberts Court has sided with the role of prosecution and the jury in this case, and rightly they did. The final arbitration of a citizen tribunal should not be compromised because in the first case a formal verdict was not reached.

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