Double Jeopardy

The Fifth Amendment provides for the rights of accused persons. The right

against double jeopardy will be the focus of my paper and presentation. Double jeopardy

can be a difficult subject for the Supreme Court and the inferior courts, not to mention to

the American people. Through my extensive research, I am still not totally definitive on

this clause of the Bill of Rights. I will, to the best of my ability, try to explain it.

Our book, Democracy Under Pressure, defines double jeopardy as “more than one

prosecution for the same offense; prohibited by the Constitution.” (Cummings 109)

Basically, the Fifth Amendment of the Constitution prohibits a person from standing trial

twice for the same crime. The Fifth Amendment provides “nor shall any person be

subject for the same offense to be twice put in jeopardy of life or limb.” (Cummings A8)

Jeopardy refers to the danger of punishment applied to an individual brought to

tri...