State v. Jandreau

Defendant was charged with operating under the influence. After a trial, the court concluded that the jury was genuinely deadlocked and sua sponte declared a mistrial due to manifest necessity. Defendant then moved to dismiss the criminal complaint against him on double jeopardy grounds and on the grounds that the prosecutor had committed misconduct. The court denied Defendant’s motion to dismiss, concluding that the double jeopardy clauses of the federal and state constitutions did not bar a second prosecution and that there had been no prosecutorial misconduct. The Supreme Judicial Court affirmed, holding (1) there was a manifest necessity for a mistrial due to a genuinely deadlocked jury; and (2) Defendant’s allegations of prosecutorial misconduct were unfounded. View "State v. Jandreau" on Justia Law