State v. Fennell

The Double Jeopardy Clause of the United States Constitution, as well as Maryland common law, protects a defendant from being subject twice to criminal proceedings for the same offense. U.S. Const. amend. V; Hubbard v. State, 395 Md. 73, 91-92, 909 A.2d 270, 280-81 (2006). Where a mistrial is declared because of manifest necessity, however, retrial is not prohibited. Hubbard, 395 Md. at 89, 909 A.2d at 279.

Prior to the conclusion of jury deliberations in the present case in the Circuit Court for Montgomery County, the jury sent an unsolicited, completed verdict sheet to the trial judge…