Retrial Law and Legal Definition
Retrial refers to the conducting of a new trial in its entirety in the same court after it was already tried and a decision or verdict was reached. It is granted upon a motion by the losing party in the original trial. Granting ofa retrail may be based on a procedural error, bias or newly discovered evidence, or after mistrial or reversed by an appeals court.
Retrial is barred by the double jeopardy clause of the U.S. Constitution when the prosecution intentionally commits misconduct for the purpose of triggering a mistrial. Also, the double jeopardy clause also may bar retrial when the prosecution, believing (in view of events that occurred during trial) that a defendant is likely to secure an acquittal at that trial, knowingly and intentionally commits misconduct in order to thwart such an acquittal.
