Fifth Amendment

The concept of double jeopardy is addressed in the Fifth Amendment, which relates to the clause stating "[...]nor shall any person be subject for the same offence to be twice put in jeopardy of life or limb[.]" In other words, once a person is acquitted for a crime, that individual cannot be tried again for the same offense.

However, this does not apply in terms of trials carried by different governments. The Federal and State Government, under law, are considered to be two different government systems, and it may possible for an individual to be acquitted at the State level of a crime, but be retried for the same crime at the Federal level.

Self-incrimination is another aspect that protects citizens from being forced or coerced into incriminating themselves when witness during a court proceeding. This clause has its history with the use of torture tactics to make witnesses confess to certain crimes.