In Maryland, those accused of crimes have constitutional protections against “double jeopardy.” What that means is that a person cannot be put on trial for the same crime more than once (although there are exceptions discussed below).

This is the constitutional reason that if a jury says “not guilty,” the criminal defendant is set free immediately. In centuries past, that was not the case and sometimes, the government just re-arrested the defendant and put the defendant on trial again before a different set of judges or jurors. In theory, the government could have kept putting a defendant on trial until the government obtained the “correct” verdict.

However, the federal Constitution protects a defendant’s right not to be tried for the same crime more than once. The phrase used in the U.S. Constitution is that no one shall “be subject for the same offense to be twice put in jeopardy of life or limb.” The protections provided by the U.S. Constitution apply in Maryland and double jeopardy is also prohibited under the Maryland common law. Giddins v. State, 163 Md. App. 322, n.1 (2005).

Exceptions

The biggest exception that causes a great deal of confusion is that the United States has a legal and governmental system that is federal in nature. This creates two separate governments — one at the federal level and one at the State level. The protection against double jeopardy applies separately to each of these separate levels of government. Thus, if behavior is made a crime by both separate governments — like drug trafficking — then a defendant can be put on trial by each level of government without violating the principle of double jeopardy. So, if a Maryland jury were to declare a “not guilty” verdict, the federal government could still arrest the defendant and put him or her on trial based on the same set of facts. Note that each government must make an arrest and take all the necessary and required steps to put the person on trial.

The second important exception is for mistrials and deadlocked juries. It happens sometimes that a jury cannot make a unanimous decision and it happens sometimes that some misconduct or something else has happened during the trial that the judge presiding over the case is forced to declare a mistrial. When that happens, the trial starts over again. And new trials under these circumstances do not violate double jeopardy protections.

Another exception is for retrials after an appeal. Criminal defendants can take appeals to higher courts if they are convicted. If their convictions are overturned by the higher appellate courts, then the defendant will obtain a new trial that does not violate double jeopardy protections. There are several reasons why, but an important one is that when a defendant appeals, they are, in effect, wanting a new trial.

Contact Waldorf, Maryland Criminal Defense Lawyer Robert Castro Today

This article has been provided by the Law Office of Robert Castro. For more information or questions, contact our office to speak to an experienced Maryland criminal defense lawyer at (301) 870-1200. We are Waldorf, MD, Criminal Defense lawyers. Our address is 2670 Crain Highway, Waldorf, MD 20601.