4 ms·

I believe the Double Jeopardy clause of the 5th Amendment of the US Constitution prevents such things as being tried for the same crime twice...

• toast0 10y ago
  From skimming on Wikipediea, there are exceptions: you can be tried for the same crime as a federal crime and a state crime if it is criminal in both jurisdictions (although not as a federal crime and a Puerto Rico crime). You can also be tried for a crime multiple times if earlier trials were declared a mistrial (some exceptions apply).
  • dragonwriter 10y ago
    > you can be tried for the same crime as a federal crime and a state crime if it is criminal in both jurisdictions A federal crime and a state crime, even if based on the same act, are different crimes. (Usually, even if they have similar popular names, with substantially different definitions.) > (although not as a federal crime and a Puerto Rico crime). Puerto Rico is a federal territory, therefore that would be a "federal crime" and a "federal crime". While Puerto Rico may have local government that looks a lot like a state in its relation to the federal government (and which is treated as a state under a lot of federal statutes), Constitutionally it is not a separate sovereignty like a State, but simply an appendage of the Federal government.