ASIS International (ASIS) Professional Certified Investigator Practice Exam

What does collateral estoppel prevent?

1. A person cannot be tried for the same crime twice.

2. A person from appealing a conviction.

3. A person from being a witness in their own trial.

4. A person from obtaining new evidence after a verdict.

The correct answer is: A person cannot be tried for the same crime twice.

Collateral estoppel is a legal doctrine that prevents an issue that has already been determined by a competent court from being re-litigated in any future case. This principle is particularly relevant in civil law and serves to ensure the finality of judicial decisions. By asserting that a person cannot be tried for the same issue or fact in subsequent legal proceedings, it protects against the risk of inconsistent judgments and promotes judicial efficiency. The application of collateral estoppel means that if a certain fact or issue has been conclusively decided in one case, that determination must be accepted in any future case involving the same parties, even if the future case involves a different legal claim. Therefore, if a person has been found guilty or not guilty of a certain fact relating to a crime, that specific fact cannot be re-examined in another trial concerning that crime, thereby preventing double jeopardy for that issue. The other options do not accurately reflect the scope of collateral estoppel. For instance, appealing a conviction relates more to procedural rights and appellate review rather than the re-litigation of established facts. Similarly, the ability of a person to be a witness is governed by other legal principles, and obtaining new evidence post-verdict pertains to different aspects of legal procedure, such as