KRS 505.020 addresses double jeopardy. Which statement best describes its prohibition?

• A. Double jeopardy prohibits a defendant from being tried twice for the same crime by the same jurisdiction.
• B. It allows retrial in certain circumstances.
• C. It prohibits appealing a conviction after acquittal.
• D. It requires double the penalties on retrial.

Answer: (C)

Double jeopardy protects a person from being put to trial or punished twice for the same offense. Under Kentucky law, KRS 505.020 codifies this protection by barring attempts to retry or re-prosecute after a verdict of acquittal or conviction, and by restricting attempts to overturn an acquittal on appeal. The statement that best describes the prohibition is the one that matches this safeguard against retrial after an acquittal by prohibiting appealing or retrying a case after that verdict. In practice, once a defendant is acquitted, the government cannot appeal to overturn that acquittal and retry the case. The other choices either describe incomplete aspects (such as only focusing on being tried twice by the same jurisdiction) or describe features not aligned with how double jeopardy operates in general (like doubling penalties on retrial).