A judge can nullify a guilty verdict, but once a not guilty verdict then the restriction on double jeopardy (enshrined in the 5th Amendment) prevents the judge from doing anything other than releasing the defendant.
The only exception is the very rare circumstance in which jury tampering or "fixing" of a jury can be proved - and even then it does not guarantee prosecutors a second "bite at the apple".
43 posted on 12/22/2017 5:42:06 AM PST by WayneS
(An appeaser is one who feeds a crocodile, hoping it will eat him last. - Winston Churchill)