For double jeopardy purposes, in a jury trial, jeopardy attaches at what point?

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Multiple Choice

For double jeopardy purposes, in a jury trial, jeopardy attaches at what point?

Jeopardy attaches in a jury trial at the moment the jury is impanelled and sworn in. That oath marks the official start of the defendant’s risk of conviction by a jury and the government’s decision to try the case before that jury. Before this moment, the proceedings can be halted or retried without triggering double jeopardy. Why the other moments don’t fit: starting at the very beginning of the trial isn’t the moment the defendant is placed at risk by a jury verdict. The point to which double jeopardy law attaches for a jury trial is when the jurors have been sworn. The first witness being sworn is the relevant point in a nonjury (bench) trial, not when a jury is involved. Accepting a plea agreement ends the case without going to trial, so jeopardy isn’t triggered by a trial beginning in that sense.

Jeopardy attaches in a jury trial at the moment the jury is impanelled and sworn in. That oath marks the official start of the defendant’s risk of conviction by a jury and the government’s decision to try the case before that jury. Before this moment, the proceedings can be halted or retried without triggering double jeopardy.

Why the other moments don’t fit: starting at the very beginning of the trial isn’t the moment the defendant is placed at risk by a jury verdict. The point to which double jeopardy law attaches for a jury trial is when the jurors have been sworn. The first witness being sworn is the relevant point in a nonjury (bench) trial, not when a jury is involved. Accepting a plea agreement ends the case without going to trial, so jeopardy isn’t triggered by a trial beginning in that sense.

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