ABSTRACT
"Double jeopardy" refers to the criminal prosecution of the same person more than once for the same offense. According to the Fifth Amendment of the US Constitution, no individual shall be "subject for the same offense to be twice put in jeopardy of life or limb." Even before the Constitution was written in 1787, common law effectively protected Americans from being tried twice for the same crime. An individual may be tried in both federal and state court on separate charges arising from a single offense without being put in double jeopardy. In Serfass v. United States, 420 US 377, the Court held that in jury trials, jeopardy attaches at the point that the trial court begins to hear evidence. Only rarely would a trial be halted once it has begun. This might occur when a juror is disqualified or when a jury fails to reach a verdict.
