by emailking » Fri 17 Nov 2006, 14:43:08
$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('Serendipity', 'I') know nothing of the american legal systems but if his accomplice comes forward and says :
" I was there this night and this is what happened...", can't he be retried on "new facts"?
No. As soon as the jury has been polled (if requested) and the not-guilty verdict is filed, you are forever not guilty of that crime in that jurisdiction no matter what hypothetical circumstances you can conceive. The only way to get him on this would be on some kind of federal violation (doesn't seem likely) or some related crime that wasn't at issue in the first trial. For example, if they could show he attacked the supposed accomplice, they could try him on that.
It does of course work the other way though. "New facts" can certainly lead to a retrial of a guilty verdict. We bias everything towards the accused out of an abundance of caution.