great great question

No. In fact, this is not a great question, it's a very uninformed question. First of all, the way this convoluted mess of a post was written, you imply that you were given 50 years for murdering someone who was never found. Well, that is curious. If they were never found, and you were convicted, wouldn't one assume that there was still overwhelming evidence of your involvement in the crime, despite the lack of a body? Then you go on to say "could i murder the person and get away with it coz i have already served the time for the crime." So, are we to assume that the original intended victim was in fact not murdered, and still alive, or are you talking about a different person? Either way, the first crime, even if it wasn't an actual murder, ended in a conviction, and you would still have a record for at least conspiracy to commit murder, and then if you got out and actually murdered someone, you would be up ****'s creek without a paddle. I could get into more possibilities, but I hope this is enough to show you that this is all rather silly for a legal debate.

Haven't had our prunes yet this morning Cav? :wink:

Aww come on....I was just getting to the point that the real reason this is a silly question is because all that information I just posted I learned from watching television. I don't date prunes, by the way.

Double jeopardy. Wasn't their a movie about this? Guy frames his wife with his death, she goes to jail and escapes and tracks him down? Tommy Lee Jones was in it.

Double jeapordy does say that you cannot be convicted of the same crime twice, in criminal court, but civil suits are fair ground.

I hope a real lawyer shows up soon.

Yes, the original post, in effect, paraphrases the premise of Double Jeopardy, starring Tommy Lee Jones and Ashley Judd. Here's the plot summary:

Libby Parsons is happily married to Nick and has a wonderful son, Matty. One day while spending the night on their boat, Libby wakes up and finds Nick gone and blood all over the boat and a bloody knife. When an investigation begins, it's discovered that Nick was financial trouble and had a two million dollar insurance policy. Though claims that she knew nothing about it, she would be convicted and sent to prison. She entrusts Matty to her friend, Angela and it's during one of her calls to Matty that she learns that Nick is alive. And she also learns that since she's already been convicted of killing Nick already, she can kill him and not be charged.

Well, as a lawyer, let me just say: don't try this at home, kids. If a Ashley Judd is convicted of killing her husband who, in truth, is still alive, and Ashley gets out of prison and kills her husband "for real," she would most definitely be charged with and convicted of murder.

Double jeopardy prevents someone from being tried for the same crime twice. Judd, in other words, couldn't be tried and convicted of killing her husband "for real" twice. But the "fake" murder and the "real" murder are different crimes, so a conviction for the "real" murder wouldn't involve any double jeopardy at all. This point is so glaringly obvious that only Hollywood could have ignored it.

Keeping Joe on retainer here at A2K was a great idea Cav.

DOUBLE JEOPARDY & JURISDICTION

Interesting read.

yup