Intro to Paralegal Studies 2025 – 400 Free Practice Questions to Pass the Exam

Double jeopardy is a legal doctrine established by the Fifth Amendment of the United States Constitution that protects individuals from being tried more than once for the same offense. This protection ensures that once someone has been acquitted or convicted of a crime, they cannot face prosecution again on the same charges, even if new evidence emerges.

This principle serves to prohibit the state from subjecting a defendant to multiple rounds of prosecution, which could lead to relentless legal harassment and the burden of defending against repeated claims for the same alleged offense. As a result, it preserves the integrity of the legal process and protects individuals from the stress and potential financial ruin that could arise from facing the same charges repeatedly.

The other options do not capture the essence of what double jeopardy entails. For example, being tried for a lesser offense or being convicted despite insufficient evidence does not relate directly to the core protection offered by double jeopardy, nor does being punished without a trial, which is a separate issue related to due process rights.