Art. 594 Method of trial; time for disposition

If you believe you're being tried twice for the same crime, you can raise this problem at any point in your case. This is called a "double jeopardy" claim. However, you only get to raise it one time, so you need to make sure you're ready when you bring it up.

A judge decides this issue alone. You won't have a jury for this part of the case. The judge listens to the arguments and makes the call on whether double jeopardy applies.

If you raise this issue while your trial is already underway, the judge doesn't have to stop everything right away. The judge can wait until the trial is finished before holding a hearing on your double jeopardy claim. This means the trial can continue while the issue waits to be resolved later.