double jeopardy

A mistrial can happen for a number of reasons in Virginia, including a hung jury and evidence of misconduct in the jury room. As a Fairfax criminal lawyer, I know that a criminal defendants' Fifth Amendment Double Jeopardy rights bar a retrial after a mistrial...

Double jeopardy protections apply not only to successive prosecutions on acquitted conduct, but also for multiple duplicative counts for the same act. As a Fairfax criminal lawyer, I know the necessity of always looking for double jeopardy defenses. Howard Groffel learned the hard way that...

Double jeopardy rights are enshrined in the Fifth Amendment to the United States Constitution: No person shall be "subject for the same offense to be twice put in jeopardy of life or limb." As a Fairfax County, Virginia, criminal defense lawyer, I have long known...

Jeopardy is among the essential avenues for criminal defense lawyers to consider. As a Fairfax criminal lawyer, I know that prosecutors might have the temptation to dismiss a case mid-trial when they see their chances of victory slip, but that such action precludes later renewing...

Collateral estoppel law generally prevents prosecutors from relitigating facts already established at certain prior criminal court proceedings. Unfortunately, today the Virginia Supreme Court placed strict boundaries on the extent to which criminal defendants can benefit from collateral estoppel relief, which is grounded in the United...

Any time a criminal defendant is charged with multiple offenses, it is time for the defendant's lawyer to check for double jeopardy issues. Double jeopardy protection not only applies against being tried twice on different occasions for the same offense -- U.S. Const. Amend. V...

In Bravo-Fernandez v. U.S., ___ U.S. ___ (Nov. 29, 2016), the jury returned inconsistent verdicts of conviction and acquittal under separate counts of the same statute. Bravo-Fernandez got his conviction overturned on appeal due to erroneous jury instructions, therefor enabling a retrial.