Ne bis in idem, or “double jeopardy,” prevents individuals from being charged with the same offense resulting from the same incident more than once. Exceptions include positive appeals by convicted defendants and prosecution by separate sovereigns. Once acquitted, a defendant cannot be retried for the same offense, unless the guilty verdict is overturned on appeal based on the weight of evidence.
Ne bis in idem is a Latin phrase meaning “not twice for the same”. This phrase was first used in common law to describe a legal concept called “double jeopardy.” Dual criminality does not allow a person to be charged with the same offense resulting from the same incident more than once. There are some exceptions to the ne bis in idem concept, such as certain circumstances where there is a positive appeal by a convicted defendant.
Once a defendant has been acquitted, i.e. found not guilty, of a particular offense in a given case, he cannot be tried again for the same offence. Ne bis in idem is a concept in place to protect citizens who have been acquitted of a crime from having to face suspicion of that crime for the rest of their lives. For example, if ne bis in idem did not apply in the common law, then anyone suspected of a particular crime would not be able to escape government pursuit until the government agency decided to move forward. He or she could theoretically be subject to perpetual prosecution until a jury finds him guilty.
However, there are some exceptions to ne bis in idem. For example, if a defendant is found guilty, but the guilty verdict is returned on appeal, in some cases he may be retried. Whether or not the defendant can be retried for the same case at that point usually depends on the reason for the overturning of the verdict. In many jurisdictions, if the reversal is based on the weight of evidence, i.e. that the plea presented cannot support a guilty verdict, the case may be reconsidered. Conversely, in those same jurisdictions, if the overturn is based on the sufficiency of the evidence—that is, that even if all the evidence presented in the case is viewed favorably by the prosecution, it is not sufficient to prove every element of the crime—then double risk remains intact and the defendant cannot be retried.
Double jeopardy does not exist in the case of prosecution by individual sovereigns. For example, in the United States, the state governments and the federal government are considered separate sovereigns. So if someone is accused of a federal crime that also constitutes a state crime, then he or she could be prosecuted in both state and federal court for the same crime.
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