double jeopardy

American  

noun

Law.

1. the subjecting of a person to a second trial or punishment for the same offense for which the person has already been tried or punished.

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double jeopardy British  

noun

1. the act of prosecuting a defendant a second time for an offence for which he has already been tried

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double jeopardy Cultural  

1. Trying a person twice in the same jurisdiction for the same crime, a practice prohibited by the Fifth Amendment to the Constitution. (See due process of law.)

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Etymology

Origin of double jeopardy

First recorded in 1905–10

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

double jeopardy

Scientists describe this as a "double jeopardy," where both environmental stress and biological demands are working against them.

From Science Daily ● Apr. 18, 2026

The prohibition of double jeopardy explicitly references threats to “life and limb.”

From Salon ● Dec. 30, 2025

He was acquitted in the 1990s and, due to the double jeopardy law, was unable to be prosecuted again, despite later making admissions to a prison guard that he was guilty.

From BBC ● Oct. 6, 2025

That’s a particularly ominous prospect because at that point, a jury would have been impaneled and the double jeopardy clause would preclude retrial.

From Los Angeles Times ● Mar. 20, 2024

And now the rebels realized they were in double jeopardy.

From Rebels of the Red Planet by Fontenay, Charles Louis