Category: Double Jeopardy

The Double Jeopardy Clause of the Fifth Amendment to the United States Constitution (applied to the States through the Fourteenth Amendment) protects against being charged or punished twice for a single offense. In criminal cases, questions sometimes arise as to whether a particular criminal charge or procedure violates double jeopardy protection. In the recent Tennessee

A person who violates a court order of protection in Tennessee may be prosecuted under criminal contempt provisions or under a criminal statute criminalizing violations of orders of protection. However, charging both criminal contempt and violation of the criminal statute may be double jeopardy, depending on the circumstances of the case. Though the Tennessee Attorney