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Double Jeopardy

Law And Justice
Pronunciation

Understanding ARPABET Pronunciation

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The pronunciation guide uses the ARPABET phonetic system—the same system used in speech recognition and text-to-speech applications.

Vowel Examples:
AE1 = cat, bat
EH1 = bed, head
IY1 = see, me
OW1 = go, boat
UW1 = boot, do
Stress Numbers:
0 = no stress (unstressed)
1 = primary stress (loud)
2 = secondary stress (medium)
Example:
AH0 TH IY1 N AH0
= a-THEE-na (Athena)

The stressed syllable (marked with 1) is pronounced louder and clearer than others.

Quick Definition

The principle that a person generally cannot be tried twice for the same offense after an acquittal or conviction. It protects against repeated prosecution.

Detailed Definition
Double jeopardy prevents the state from repeatedly prosecuting someone for the same crime after a final legal outcome, with limited exceptions depending on the legal system. Poets can use it metaphorically for recurring punishment: being judged again for an old mistake, reliving a childhood charge, or facing the same accusation in new forms. The term brings legal force to poems about repetition, memory, and mercy denied.
Example
Example in poetry:
A poem invokes double jeopardy when a defendant is tried again for the same offense after an acquittal; In a courtroom narrative, the speaker explains that double jeopardy protects against repeated prosecution for one resolved charge; A poet compares recurring shame to emotional double jeopardy, while recognizing the legal term has a specific meaning; A verse drama raises tension when prosecutors seek a new case based on a different offense rather than retrying the same one
Additional Notes
Double jeopardy protects a person, with important legal limits and jurisdictional distinctions, from being prosecuted repeatedly for the same offense after a final acquittal or conviction. In poetry, it can become a metaphor for reliving punishment through memory, stigma, or public accusation.
Also Known As
Former Jeopardy Autrefois Acquit Autrefois Convict
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