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The rule against double jeopardy does not apply here since the jury could not or did not agree on a verdict of conviction or acquittal as to any one of the four charges against the officer. In such circumstances, subsequent trials are permissible until there is a verdict. As a practical matter, the costs of such trials are prohibitive to both sides but the government, unlike the defendant, gets to levy taxes to pay its expenses as it goes along. The mob in the street will have the attitude "Costs be da*ned! Full speed ahead until we gets justice (i.e. convictions and jail terms)."

When a trial ends as this one did in a mistrial. it is said that jeopardy never attached and thus double jeopardy is not possible at this stage.

One other observation. Since something like 95% of criminal trials end in convictions, anything less is a humiliation of the prosecutors. If they continue to fail to convict, the prosecutors are looking at defeat in the next election or they are looking at a situation of what amounts to jury nullification which thy would regard as anarchy.

Then they must really be seething here with the Gotti Jr. cases. but i think they give up.

He’s a bad guy but it looks ridiculous after a while.