Retrial Isn’t Double Jeopardy (But It Should Be)

Scott Greenfield · 5 Sept 2026 · blog.simplejustice.us ↗

3 korrents from this piece

Scott Greenfield did not write this page.

Every claim below was made in this piece, quoted word for word and numbered in the order the piece makes them, so you can read it there rather than take our word for it. The sentence above each quote is our reading of the claim, not their wording. Each quote was checked against a stored copy of the page at build time; where the two differ, the quote is the fact.

Our reading
The right to a fair trial belongs to the defendant alone; there is no public right to be weighed against it.

Their wordsThere is a Fifth Amendment right to a fair trial, but that right belongs to the defendant, not the public.

Interesting
Our reading
A defendant's only job at trial is to prevent a unanimous conviction, never to win a unanimous acquittal.

Their wordsThe defendant has no duty to reach a unanimous verdict of acquittal, but only to prevent a unanimous verdict of conviction.

Interesting
Our reading
When a jury deadlocks, double jeopardy should bar a retrial, because the prosecution has already had its one fair chance to convict.

Their wordsOnce the prosecution has had, and has lost, the opportunity to make its case, double jeopardy should attach and prevent a retrial.

Interesting