What is double jeopardy?

Double jeopardy is a fundamental legal principle that protects individuals from being prosecuted or tried for the same offense more than once after either an acquittal or a conviction. This safeguard is enshrined in the Fifth Amendment of the U.S. Constitution and ensures that once a person has faced the legal consequences for a specific crime, they cannot be subjected to the stress, expense, and potential for wrongful conviction of being tried again for that same crime by the same jurisdiction.

This principle is vital for maintaining fairness in the legal system and upholding the integrity of the judicial process. It prevents the government from repeatedly attempting to convict an individual for the same act, which can lead to harassment and abuse of the court system.

The other choices do not accurately describe double jeopardy. A plea bargain agreement pertains to negotiations in criminal cases to resolve the matter without going to trial, jury selection involves choosing jurors for trial, and appealing a court decision is the process of challenging a court's verdict to a higher court, none of which relate to the concept of being tried for the same crime multiple times.