Legal Question in Constitutional Law in California

Re: double jeopardy

You should re-post this question in the criminal attorney section. The person should immediately hire a criminal attorney if he/she is being charged with murder. It's not something that one should handle oneself, especially with these kinds of constitutional issues.

Re: double jeopardy

I agree with Mr. Cohen that the question belongs in the criminal law category. Because he answered the question instead of rejecting it, though, it is now on the system. You might as well get a substantive answer.

Double jeopardy would bar such a second prosecution only if (1) the act which it claims caused the death is the same act which led to the earlier prosecution; AND (2) the same government that prosecuted the first case prosecutes the second.

Suppose the defendant is accused of poisoning the victim on June 1 and of shooting her on July 1. If the first prosecution focused only on the shooting, a second prosecution based on the poisoning (let's assume the poison worked very slowly) would not be double jeopardy.

Further, if the same act violates both state and federal laws, both the state and federal governments can prosecute the defendant for it -- even if the first trial ended in an acquittal.