State v. Davenport

CLARK, Justice.

| ]The res nova issue before us is whether a defendant having been tried once, may nevertheless be ordered to stand trial a second time when the trial judge in the first proceeding, acting without authority, grants a motion for acquittal in a jury trial, dismisses the jury and subsequently orders a mistrial. A decision whether to retry a defendant under these circumstances requires a careful analysis of the constitutional protection against double jeopardy, the authority of a Louisiana judge in a criminal jury trial, and the grounds for a valid mistrial. After review, we find…