Double jeopardy

Double jeopardy is a situation in which an individual is tried twice for a given crime. Laws differ around the world as to whether or not to allow this to happen.

In the Ace Attorney series, defendants are legally protected from double jeopardy. In fact, if an individual is convicted of a crime, he or she is also automatically declared innocent of all other crimes in which the convicted can use his or her crime as an alibi, and the law in the Ace Attorney universe protects them from prosecution for these crimes as well.

In the series

 * Main article: The Stolen Turnabout

The double jeopardy law was the central aspect of Luke Atmey's plan to kill Kane Bullard. By claiming to have stolen the Kurain Urn on the day of Bullard's murder, he could be convicted for grand larceny and avoid conviction for the more serious crime of murder.

When Ron DeLite was declared innocent of stealing valuable objects under the guise of Mask☆DeMasque, he was legally protected from prosecution for the same crime when it turned out that he was, in fact, Mask☆DeMasque.