To have a retrial after an acquital there has to be significant new evidence, and it is considered before a new trial can be started.

I'm afraid I forget who considers it, but the system was put in place as advances in forensic techniques meant that old verdicts could be appealed and in some cases reversed by a simple DNA test on evidence kept in storage.

It seemed only fair that the same techniques which proved someone innocent after being found guilty could also be used in a second accusation after a not guilty verdict.

Anne Croucher