In the US, the prosecution can appeal sentencing and pre-trial, but once you get to ‘not guilty’ or ‘guilty’, all prosecution associated with a crime is no longer constitutional.
However, you can get a civil trial after a not-guilty criminal trial (OJ Simpson was ‘not guilty’ in criminal court and became untouchable, but was found to have killed under civil court and had to pay the victims families).
From a prosecution perspective, the federal charges were a huge mistake. Nothing about the crime qualified it as ‘federal homicide’, so they had to settle for lesser charges. Normally the DOJ would back off and let the state handle it because it firmly falls in their jurisdiction, but of course this DOJ wanted to throw its weight around and it backfired on them.
Civil courts also have a much lower bar for evidence, only requiring it be more likely than not that you’re at fault, while criminal courts demand the jury be all but certain you’re guilty
In the US, the prosecution can appeal sentencing and pre-trial, but once you get to ‘not guilty’ or ‘guilty’, all prosecution associated with a crime is no longer constitutional.
However, you can get a civil trial after a not-guilty criminal trial (OJ Simpson was ‘not guilty’ in criminal court and became untouchable, but was found to have killed under civil court and had to pay the victims families).
From a prosecution perspective, the federal charges were a huge mistake. Nothing about the crime qualified it as ‘federal homicide’, so they had to settle for lesser charges. Normally the DOJ would back off and let the state handle it because it firmly falls in their jurisdiction, but of course this DOJ wanted to throw its weight around and it backfired on them.
Civil courts also have a much lower bar for evidence, only requiring it be more likely than not that you’re at fault, while criminal courts demand the jury be all but certain you’re guilty