Terms Used In Louisiana Code of Criminal Procedure 596

  • Defendant: In a civil suit, the person complained against; in a criminal case, the person accused of the crime.
  • Trial: A hearing that takes place when the defendant pleads "not guilty" and witnesses are required to come to court to give evidence.
  • Verdict: The decision of a petit jury or a judge.

Double jeopardy exists in a second trial only when the charge in that trial is:

(1)  Identical with or a different grade of the same offense for which the defendant was in jeopardy in the first trial, whether or not a responsive verdict could have been rendered in the first trial as to the charge in the second trial; or

(2)  Based on a part of a continuous offense for which offense the defendant was in jeopardy in the first trial.