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In jurisprudence, double jeopardy is a procedural defence that prevents an accused person from being tried again on the same charges following an acquittal or conviction and in rare cases prosecutorial and/or judge misconduct in the same jurisdiction. Double jeopardy is a common concept in criminal law - in civil law, a similar concept is that of res judicata. The double jeopardy protection in criminal prosecutions only bars an identical prosecution for the same offence, however, a different offence may be charged on identical evidence at a second trial. Res judicata protection is stronger - it precludes any causes of action or claims that arise from a previously litigated subject matter.
A jury trial, or trial by jury, is a legal proceeding in which a jury makes a decision or findings of fact. It is distinguished from a bench trial in which a judge or panel of judges makes all decisions.
Jury nullification (US/UK), jury equity (UK), or a perverse verdict (UK) occurs when the jury in a criminal trial gives a not guilty verdict regardless of whether they believe a defendant has broken the law. The jury's reasons may include the belief that the law itself is unjust, that the prosecutor has misapplied the law in the defendant's case, that the punishment for breaking the law is too harsh, or general frustrations with the criminal justice system. Some juries have also refused to convict due to their own prejudices in favor of the defendant. Such verdicts are possible because a jury has an absolute right to return any verdict it chooses.
In common law jurisdictions, an acquittal means that the prosecution has failed to prove that the accused is guilty beyond a reasonable doubt of the charge presented. It certifies that the accused is free from the charge of an offense, as far as criminal law is concerned. The finality of an acquittal is dependent on the jurisdiction. In some countries, such as the United States, an acquittal prohibits the retrial of the accused for the same offense, even if new evidence surfaces that further implicates the accused. The effect of an acquittal on criminal proceedings is the same whether it results from a jury verdict or results from the operation of some other rule that discharges the accused. In other countries, like Australia and the UK, the prosecuting authority may appeal an acquittal similar to how a defendant may appeal a conviction — but usually only if new and compelling evidence comes to light or the accused has interfered with or intimidated a juror or witness.
Not proven is a verdict available to a court of law in Scotland. Under Scots law, a criminal trial may end in one of three verdicts, one of conviction ("guilty") and two of acquittal.
Beyond (a) reasonable doubt is a legal standard of proof required to validate a criminal conviction in most adversarial legal systems. It is a higher standard of proof than the standard of balance of probabilities commonly used in civil cases because the stakes are much higher in a criminal case: a person found guilty can be deprived of liberty or, in extreme cases, life, as well as suffering the collateral consequences and social stigma attached to a conviction. The prosecution is tasked with providing evidence that establishes guilt beyond a reasonable doubt in order to get a conviction; albeit prosecution may fail to complete such task, the trier-of-fact's acceptance that guilt has been proven beyond a reasonable doubt will in theory lead to conviction of the defendant. A failure for the trier-of-fact to accept that the standard of proof of guilt beyond a reasonable doubt has been met thus entitles the accused to an acquittal. This standard of proof is widely accepted in many criminal justice systems, and its origin can be traced to Blackstone's ratio, "It is better that ten guilty persons escape than that one innocent suffer."
Gerald Leonard Spence is a semi-retired American trial lawyer and author. He is a member of the Trial Lawyer Hall of Fame, and is the founder of the Trial Lawyers College. Spence has never lost a criminal case before a jury either as a prosecutor or a defense attorney, and did not lose a civil case between 1969 and 2010. He is considered one of the greatest lawyers of the 20th century, and one of the best trial lawyers ever. He was described by Richard Falk as a "lawyer par excellence".
William Kennedy Smith is an American physician and a member of the Kennedy family who founded an organization focused on land mines and the rehabilitation of landmine victims. He is known for being charged with rape in a nationally publicized 1991 trial that ended with his acquittal.
Earl Rogers was an American trial lawyer and professor. Rogers became the inspiration for Erle Stanley Gardner's fictional character Perry Mason. He was also posthumously inducted into the Trial Lawyer Hall of Fame.
David Ray Camm is a former trooper of the Indiana State Police (ISP) who spent 13 years in prison after twice being wrongfully convicted of the murders of his wife, Kimberly, and his two young children at their home in Georgetown, Indiana, on September 28, 2000. He was released from custody in 2013 after his third trial resulted in an acquittal. Charles Boney is currently serving time for the murders of Camm's wife and two children.
Ivan Stephan Fisher is a prominent New York City criminal defense attorney. He represents white-collar clients and others targeted or charged in complex federal matters. In 1980, The New York Times listed him in the top five of criminal attorneys in New York City and in a separate article described him as "one of the nation's most sought-after and highly paid criminal lawyers". The New Yorker has called him one of "Manhattan's leading attorneys". John Kroger, former attorney general of Oregon, described Fisher in 2008 as "one of the top defense attorneys in the nation ... and without question a brilliant trial lawyer". Fisher has been the recipient of many honors including being invited to address the United States Second Circuit Federal Judicial Conference.
In the United States, jury nullification occurs when a jury in a criminal case reaches a verdict contrary to the weight of evidence, sometimes because of a disagreement with the relevant law. It has its origins in colonial America under British law. The American jury draws its power of nullification from its right to render a general verdict in criminal trials, the inability of criminal courts to direct a verdict no matter how strong the evidence, the Fifth Amendment's Double Jeopardy Clause, which prohibits the appeal of an acquittal, and the fact that jurors cannot be punished for the verdict they return.
The Double Jeopardy Clause of the Fifth Amendment to the United States Constitution provides: "[N]or shall any person be subject for the same offence to be twice put in jeopardy of life or limb..." The four essential protections included are prohibitions against, for the same offense:
M. Gerald Schwartzbach is an American criminal defense attorney.
James Foster Neal was an American trial lawyer who was best known for prosecuting labor leader Jimmy Hoffa and later top Nixon administration officials in connection with the Watergate scandal.
Jose Angel Baez is an American criminal defense lawyer and author. He is known for representing high-profile defendants such as Casey Anthony, Aaron Hernandez, Mark Nordlicht, and Harvey Weinstein.
Amy Singer is a Florida trial consultant and research psychologist. Singer's firm, Trial Consultants, Inc., which she founded in Miami in 1979, is one of the first trial consulting firms in the United States. Singer is an acknowledged authority in the field of litigation psychology, a discipline she helped pioneer. Her revolutionary approach, which consists of applying principles of psychology and using open-ended questions to elicit jurors’ value beliefs regarding key trial issues, changed the way that attorneys around the United States conduct voir dire. Largely through Singer's influence, this became a juror de-selection, not selection, process.
Trial by jury in Scotland is used in the courts of Scotland in solemn procedure for trial on indictment before a judge and jury for serious criminal cases, and in certain civil cases.
The "Dream Team" refers to the team of trial lawyers that represented American athlete O. J. Simpson in his 1995 trial for the murder of his former wife, Nicole Brown Simpson, and Ronald Goldman. The team included Robert Shapiro, Johnnie Cochran, Carl Douglas, Shawn Chapman Holley, Gerald Uelmen, Robert Kardashian, Alan Dershowitz, F. Lee Bailey, Barry Scheck, Peter Neufeld, Robert Blasier, and William Thompson.
Blueford v. Arkansas, 566 U.S. 599 (2012), was a decision of the Supreme Court of the United States that clarified the limits of the Double Jeopardy Clause. The Supreme Court held that the Double Jeopardy Clause does not bar retrial of counts that a jury had previously unanimously voted to acquit on, when a mistrial is declared after the jury deadlocked on a lesser included offense.
References
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- ↑ "Aventura Business Monthly website". Archived from the original on February 5, 2011.
- ↑ Conchita Sarnoff & Lee Aitken (March 25, 2011). "Behind Pedophile Jeffrey Epstein's Sweetheart Deal". The Daily Beast. Retrieved March 25, 2011.
- ↑ "The Verdict". Vanity Fair . September 15, 2008.
- 1 2 3 4 5 Miami Magazine: "Black's Magic" BY CHRISTOPHER BOYD Spring 1998
- ↑ Christopher Boyd (Spring 1998). "Black's Magic". Miami Magazine. Retrieved August 29, 2011.
- ↑ Rohter, Larry (May 29, 1993). "Miami Police Officer Is Acquitted In Racially Charged Slaying Case". The New York Times. Retrieved November 20, 2023.
- ↑ Hartocollis, Anemona (June 16, 2022). "A Businessman Is Acquitted in a Georgetown Admissions Trial". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331 . Retrieved July 24, 2022.
- ↑ "Roy Black listing at IMDB". IMDb .
- ↑ "Roy Black". Super Lawyers. Retrieved November 28, 2023.
- ↑ People Magazine: "Love and the Law - Four Years After the William Kennedy Smith Trial, Lawyer Roy Black and a Juror Are Husband and Wife" by Karen S. Schneider March 06, 1995
- ↑ Karen S. Schneider (March 6, 1995). "Love and the Law". People . Retrieved August 5, 2008.
- ↑ "Season 2 Bio: Lea Black". BravoTV.com. Archived from the original on December 11, 2012.
