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Double Jeopardy??? - WV

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neurosurge

Junior Member
My buddy has some troubles right now. Several weeks ago, he was doing 62 in a 35 and decided to make a mad dash through a yard, with a kid in it, down a street, and hide. Not to mention some of the things he had in the car with him. Long story short, the cop was directed to him and he was busted. The cop was nice enough to only charge him with fleeing in a vehicle, damage to property, and the 62 in a 35, which is wreckless driving in WV. His court date was set and he appeard before the magistrate, but the officer never showed up. The magistrate dismissed his case and let him go home. The other day, he received a letter stating that the officer wants to re-instate the charges and set up another court date to see if it can be brought back to court.

Now the big question is: is this double jeopardy? Can he be tried for the same charges after he was dismissed. Also, they want him to appear before the same magistrate that dismissed him the first time. This cannot be done either, right?

The cop stated on the re-instatement letter that his reason for not attending the original court date was he came in 15 minutes late... My buddy says he waited for nearly 30 minutes. Of course there are witnesses to this and he is working with a better lawyer now than his public defender he had at first, but he seems to be scared still.

Can anybody give some kind of answers to this situation? I'm not up on alot of case senarios like this, but I would just like to ease his mind some. Thanks for any help :p
 


justalayman

Senior Member
double jeopardy n. placing someone on trial a second time for an offense for which he/she has been previously acquitted, even when new incriminating evidence has been unearthed. This is specifically prohibited by the Fifth Amendment to the U. S. Constitution, which states: "...nor shall any person be subject for the same offence [sic] to be twice put in jeopardy of life or limb..."
Did the trial ever actually begin? I would suggest not considering the circumstances and information you provided. No double jeopardy here if so.

Additionally, did the judge actually dismiss the charges and if so was the dismissal with or without prejudice?
 

neurosurge

Junior Member
I'm quite sure the charges were dismissed. I've been through similar cases like this, just with speeding tickets though. If the cop doesn't show up to the court date, then there is no witness to the charges being brought and they have to be dropped. The cop lied and said that his excuse for not being there was he came in 15 minutes late, but everybody that was there stayed for nearly 30 minutes after the trial was supposed to begin.

Im not sure what you mean by the charges being dismissed with or without prejudice. All I know is that the cop never showed and the magistrate let him go.

If this isn't a double jeopardy, do you think that the charges will be re-instated and what would be the chances of jail time?
 

justalayman

Senior Member
Jail time?? nobody knows except the judge.

Dismissal with prejudice:

DISMISSAL WITH PREJUDICE - When a case is dismissed for good reason and the plaintiff is barred from bringing an action on the same claim.

w/o prejudice:

DISMISSAL WITHOUT PREJUDICE - When a case is dismissed but the plaintiff is allowed to bring a new suit on the same claim.

It would not be double jeopardy doesn't apply because he was never tried. As a matter of note, think about all the mistrials that take place which are often followed by a new trial. Those folks have sometimes been nearly through a trial and still were required to start over.

The best chance your friend has is to employ an attorney that might try to fight the re-instatement of the charges. I wouldn't expect him to win but it seems to be the best shot.
 

neurosurge

Junior Member
Alright. Thanks for the advice man. I really appreciate it. He's got a really good lawyer now, alot better than that public defender he had the first round. Guess we just have to wait and see what the judge says.
 

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