Conscientious Objector’s Trial Ends in Mistrial

Yahoo! News is reporting that the court martial of Army 1L Ehren Watada has ended in mistrial. The request for mistrial, strangely enough, comes from the prosecuting attorneys who are now unsure of the case they’ve built based on a confession Watada signed. The defense seems extremely confident that the mistrial prevents a retrial due to double jeopardy, and when the new trial begins next month, they plan to ask for an immediate dismissal.

Precedent, however, is not entirely clear, but there is this summary to consider:

The common law generally required that the previous trial must have ended in a judgment, of conviction or acquittal, but the constitutional rule is that jeopardy attaches much earlier, in jury trials when the jury is sworn…

The jury in Watada’s trial has been dismissed, which seems to indicate that jeopardy has attached, however I would not be surprised to learn that jurisprudence dictates otherwise for courts martial. According to the wikipedia entry on double jeopardy, courts martial are subject to the same standards. Perhaps Watada’s defense is right.

Any thoughts?

Watada’s previous comments.