Double jeopardy prohibited in the US

The case of Amanda Knox and the possibility to be tried again in Italy brings into attention again the principle of double jeopardy that applies in the American court system, but not in many other countries.

According to CNN, American Amanda Knox and her team of criminal defense attorneys have decided fight to prove her innocence after Italian Supreme Court judges ruled Tuesday she must again stand trial for the murder of her previous roomie in Italy.

Knox spent four years in jail before an appellate court reversed her murder conviction, telling the lack of evidence against her on the death of Meredith Kercher, a British student in Perugia 2007.

As CNN notes, U.S. officials might reject such an extradition request from Italy because it violates the U.S. legal principle that a criminal defendant cannot be tried twice on the same allegation, according to the principle of double jeopardy.

However, Italy does not have this legal principle present in U.S. law that prevents authorities from retrying a criminal defendant who has been acquitted of a charge.

What is double jeopardy and when does it apply?

In U.S. law, the double jeopardy is prohibited by the 5th Amendment to the Constitution, which states that no individual can “be subject for the same offense to be twice put in jeopardy of life and limb.” This clause prohibits second prosecutions after acquittal or conviction and prohibits multiple convictions for the same offense.

In this context, for example, a person cannot be guilty of both murder and manslaughter for the same homicide, or cannot be retried for the same crime after the case has been resolved. A person can be convicted of both robbery and murder if the murder comes from the robbery.

What are the exceptions to the protection of double jeopardy?

However, the principle of double jeopardy is not violated when an individual is charged for behavior stemming from an offense for which he has been charged in a different jurisdiction or in a different court, for example, a civil court as opposed to a criminal court.

The best Criminal Defense you can get

Given the example of Amanda Knox and the issues arising from legal differences in the international law, it is important for any person accused of criminal conduct, and especially in an international environment, to ask for high-quality legal criminal defense and representation in order to benefit from the best criminal defense possible.