This Court has yet to resolve the question lying at the core of this appeal, which has produced a split amongst this country's federal and state judiciary: whether the rights preserved by the Double Jeopardy Clause of the Fifth Amendment to the United States Constitution attach to charges dismissed during execution of a negotiated plea agreement that avoids a jury trial, or may the defendant be re indicted later for charges constituting the same offense. The absence of a clear answer has resulted in three discrete doctrines applied by the lower courts.

Whether the Double Jeopardy Clause attaches to charges dismissed during a negotiated plea agreement