Coffey v. Pack

Michael Coffey petitions this court for a writ of prohibition barring the respondent from retrying him on felony charges after declaring a mistrial over Coffey’s objection. He argues that since there was no manifest necessity for the mistrial, retrial would subject him to double jeopardy. Spaziano v. State, 429 So.2d 1344 (Fla. 2d DCA 1983). We agree and grant the petition.

At his first trial Coffey attempted to portray one John Michael Bennett as the actual perpetrator of the offenses for which Coffey was charged. He sought to do so by introducing admissions allegedly made by Bennett to third…