Declaration of a mistrial means another trial must be held in the same matter: one important exception under the United States Constitution is that in criminal cases, if a mistrial was erroneously declared by the court, or if a mistrial was the result of prosecutorial misconduct that had the effect of "goading" the defendant into moving for it, then a retrial is barred by the protection against double jeopardy and the prosecution is terminated.
But the corruption trial of ex-Tyco CEO Dennis Kozlowski ended in a mistrial after a juror thought to be holding out for acquittal received what sources called a "coercive letter" in the past 24 hours.
Obus said he was concerned about the unfairness of the mistrial to the jury.
"A mistrial is generally good for the defendant because he's gotten a look at the government's case, and he can defend the case better the second time around, [but] I think this case is going to the exception to the rule," said Frank Razzano, a former federal prosecutor.
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