History Film / DoubleJeopardy

* ConvenientlyTimedAttackFromBehind: [[spoiler: Nick grabs her and knocks her out (during the cemetery scene), where he had said she'd meet their son]].

* DistaffCounterpart[=/=]GenderFlip: A person wrongly convicted of murder escaping from custody, determined to track down those responsible, pursued and eventually aided by an equally determined lawman played by Creator/TommyLeeJones? No, this isn't ''Film/TheFugitive'' (or another sequel), but as numerous reviews pointed out, it's essentially a female version of it. To the point where there's a misleading 911 call, Libby wails "I didn't kill my husband", and she's chased though a street fair just barely eluding capture.

** Killing someone who you were already convicted of murdering would simultaneously prove that prior conviction false, thus having it reversed, and make you eligible to be prosecuted on a new charge of murder. So, meta-irony.
** Moral of the story: [[SpaceWhaleAesop don't take "legal" advice on how to murder your husband who framed you for his murder from anyone who's an ex-lawyer disbarred for murder.]] Chances are that character just wanted to wreak havoc by proxy, so fed her that line.
** Lehman' s just as bad, as he backs up what the other woman told Libby (during the confrontation with Nick), stating, "as an ex law professor, (presumably once a lawyer himself) I can assure you, she's right".
** Thus, while her (actual) shooting of her husband in the end was justified, she'd probably still be going to prison for equal or greater time than she was originally sentenced to (though they might give her a deal for time served if she agreed not to sue for millions over wrongful conviction. It would be a big "if" though).

** Of course then the Police and justice system would have to admit they convicted a woman for killing a man who was still running around alive.
*** Not to mention she could just get credit for time served.

* DistaffCounterpart[=/=]GenderFlip: A person wrongly convicted of murder escaping from custody, determined to track down those responsible, pursued and eventually aided by an equally determined lawman played by Creator/TommyLeeJones? No, this isn't ''Film/TheFugitive'' (or another sequel), but as numerous reviews pointed out, it's essentially a female version of it.

** Moral of the story: [[SpaceWhaleAesop don't take "legal" advice on how to murder your husband who framed you for his murder from anyone who's an ex-lawyer disbarred for murder.]] Chances are that character just wanted to wreak havoc by proxy, so fed her that line.

* SteelEarDrums: Played straight to a ''ridiculous'' level. Libby fires a gun TWICE while trapped inside a sealed coffin and merely winces slightly when in real life she'd be completely deaf.

A 1999 thriller starring Creator/AshleyJudd, BruceGreenwood and Creator/TommyLeeJones. Directed by Bruce Beresford. The film begins with a wealthy couple going sailing with a yacht. The wife Elizabeth "Libby" Parsons (Judd) falls asleep for a while. When she awakes, her husband Nick (Greenwood) is nowhere to be found. What can be found is blood everywhere, on her body, her clothes, the boat's floors ... and on a knife placed on the deck. She has no idea what happened.

The film was a box office hit but met with negative reviews. Part of the problem was its blatant ripping off of [[TheFugitive that other film where someone is wrongly convicted of murder and goes on the run]]. The other was that the writers failed to understand what the concept of double jeopardy actually means. ''It only prevents someone from being put on trial for the same set of facts twice.'' Two separate events, the staged murder and the real one, would not constitute double jeopardy under any definition. In other words, though it seems odd in the specific crime of murder, it would be silly to say that being convicted of an assault that took place on January 1st should prevent you from being tried for assault on the same person that occurred on July 1st.

* TrappedInSinkingCar: Libby is tied to a car in handcuffs, as she tries to escape the car she drives into the lake sinking rapidly.

The film was a modest box office hit but met with mixed reviews. Part of the problem was its blatant ripping off of [[TheFugitive that other film where someone is wrongly convicted of murder and goes on the run]]. The other was that the writers failed to understand what the concept of double jeopardy actually means. ''It only prevents someone from being put on trial for the same set of facts twice.'' Two separate events, the staged murder and the real one, would not constitute double jeopardy under any definition. In other words, though it seems odd in the specific crime of murder, it would be silly to say that being convicted of an assault that took place on January 1st should prevent you from being tried for assault on the same person that occurred on July 1st.

The film was a modest box office hit but met with mixed reviews. Part of the problem was it's blatant ripping off of [[TheFugitive that other film where someone is wrongly convicted of murder and goes on the run]]. The other was that the writers failed to understand what the concept of double jeopardy actually means. ''It only prevents someone from being put on trial for the same set of facts twice.'' Two separate events, the staged murder and the real one, would not constitute double jeopardy under any definition. In other words, though it seems odd in the specific crime of murder, it would be silly to say that being convicted of an assault that took place on January 1st should prevent you from being tried for assault on the same person that occurred on July 1st.

** To be fair, in this case, it's quite possible that she might not be prosecuted given the extraordinary events involved.
** And many viewers seem to forget Libby's comment, "I don't want to kill you, Nick. I just want to make you suffer."
*** True, but the police likely wouldn't see it that way, especially if the prisoner who advised her reveals what her "advice" was.

The film was a modest box office hit but met with mixed reviews. Part of the problem was it's blatant ripping off of [[TheFugitive that other film where someone is wrongly convicted of murder and goes on the run]]. The other was that the writers failed to understand what the concept of double jeopardy actually means. ''It only prevents someone from being put on trial for the same set of facts twice.'' Two separate events, the staged murder and the real one, would not constitute double jeopardy under any definition.

(In other words, though it seems odd in the specific crime of murder, it would be silly to say that being convicted of an assault that took place on January 1st should prevent you from being tried for assault on the same person that occurred on July 1st.)

* HollywoodLaw: As pointed out by pretty much everyone, including [[http://www.worldfamouscomics.com/law/back20000201.shtml this column]], the whole plot runs on this. Ashley Judd is framed by her husband for his own murder and serves prison time. When she gets paroled, she hunts him down and brags that she could kill him and get away with it because she's already been convicted of that crime and double jeopardy means she can't be prosecuted for it again. Problem is, she was convicted of ''that'' crime (that is, of "murdering" him at that specific time, in that specific place). Hunting him down to another city and killing him ''there'', ''then'', [[http://www.scribd.com/doc/52357894/Alan-Dershowitz would be another crime entirely]], and thus she could be justly convicted of it. Not to mention the host of other crimes she committed, including burglary, theft, destruction of property, escape from custody, assault on a law enforcement officer, unlicensed possession of a firearm, transporting an unlicensed weapon across state lines, assault with intent to kill (all of them violating her parole, which would send her back to prison) and probably more, which could put her away for years themselves, perhaps even [[{{Irony}} for the same time or longer than her original sentence]]. [[CaptainObvious Not to mention the fact that she didn't actually kill him that first time...]]

* TrailersAlwaysSpoil: probably one of the most glaring examples.

!!The film provides examples of:
* ArtisticLicenseLaw: As pointed out by pretty much everyone, including this column [[http://www.worldfamouscomics.com/law/back20000201.shtml]], the whole plot runs on this.

* HollywoodLaw: Ashley Judd is framed by her husband for his own murder and serves prison time. When she gets out, she hunts him down and brags that she could kill him and get away with it because she's already been convicted of that crime and double jeopardy means she can't be prosecuted for it again. Problem is, she was convicted of ''that'' crime (that is, of "murdering" him at that specific time, in that specific place). Hunting him down to another city and killing him ''there'', ''then'', [[http://www.scribd.com/doc/52357894/Alan-Dershowitz would be another crime entirely]], and thus she could be justly convicted of it. Not to mention the host of other crimes she committed, including burglary, theft, destruction of property, escape from custody, assault on a law enforcement officer, unlicensed possession of a firearm, transporting an unlicensed weapon across state lines, assault with intent to kill (all of them violating her parole, which would send her back to prison) and probably more, which could put her away for years themselves, perhaps even [[{{Irony}} for the same time or longer than her original sentence]]. [[CaptainObvious Not to mention the fact that she didn't actually kill him that first time...]]

* HollywoodLaw: Ashley Judd is framed by her husband for his own murder and serves prison time. When she gets out, she hunts him down and brags that she could kill him and get away with it because she's already been convicted of that crime and double jeopardy means she can't be prosecuted for it again. Problem is, she was convicted of ''that'' crime (that is, of "murdering" him at that specific time, in that specific place). Hunting him down to another city and killing him ''there'', ''then'', would be another crime entirely, and thus she could be justly convicted of it. Not to mention the host of other crimes she committed, including burglary, theft, destruction of property, escape from custody, assault on a law enforcement officer, unlicensed possession of a firearm, transporting an unlicensed weapon across state lines, assault with intent to kill (all of them violating her parole, which would send her back to prison) and probably more, which could put her away for years themselves, perhaps even [[{{Irony}} for the same time or longer than her original sentence]]. [[CaptainObvious Not to mention the fact that she didn't actually kill him that first time...]]

** Never take legal advice from someone you meet in prison.
*** Even, or maybe ''especially,'' if they're an ex-lawyer disbarred for murder.
*** She gets lucky, in that the circumstances in which she ultimately does kill her husband could be ruled as self-defense.
** The main problem with prosecuting her would be that the state would prosecute her for murdering someone whom they had previously proven, beyond a reasonable doubt, was dead.
*** But she travels to another state to try and kill him.
*** What the above comment meant was, a jury would likely think, if Nick faked his death and framed Libby for murder the first time, who's to say he didn't do it again?
** Libby could also still be tried by jury under a lesser charge, such as second-degree murder or manslaughter.

* YouFailLawForever: As pointed out by pretty much everyone, including this column http://www.worldfamouscomics.com/law/back20000201.shtml

A 1999 thriller starring AshleyJudd, BruceGreenwood and Creator/TommyLeeJones. Directed by Bruce Beresford. The film begins with a wealthy couple going sailing with a yacht. The wife Elizabeth "Libby" Parsons (Judd) falls asleep for a while. When she awakes, her husband Nick (Greenwood) is nowhere to be found. What can be found is blood everywhere, on her body, her clothes, the boat's floors ... and on a knife placed on the deck. She has no idea what happened.

* HollywoodLaw: Ashley Judd is framed by her husband for his own murder and serves prison time. When she gets out, she hunts him down and brags that she could kill him and get away with it because she's already been convicted of that crime and double jeopardy means she can't be prosecuted for it again. Problem is, she was convicted of ''that'' crime (that is, of "murdering" him at that specific time, in that specific place). Hunting him down to another city and killing him ''there'', ''then'', would be another crime entirely, and thus she could be justly convicted of it. Not to mention the host of other crimes she committed, including escape from custody, assault on law enforcement, property damage, unlicensed possession of a firearm, transporting an unlicensed weapon across state lines, assault with intent to kill, violation of her parole, and probably more. [[CaptainObvious Not to mention the fact that she didn't actually kill him that first time...]]

*** She gets lucky, in that the circumstances in which she ultimately does kill her husband could be ruled as Self defense.

* IdiotBall: Nick attempts to kill Libby by burying her alive in an above ground tomb, and he doesn't take away her gun, although in all fairness, he might not have remembered that she had one. Libby counts too, for trusting Nick during the whole cemetery scene. Of course, she was desperate to see her son, but still.

A 1999 thriller starring AshleyJudd, BruceGreenwood and TommyLeeJones. Directed by Bruce Beresford. The film begins with a wealthy couple going sailing with a yacht. The wife Elizabeth "Libby" Parsons (Judd) falls asleep for a while. When she awakes, her husband Nick (Greenwood) is nowhere to be found. What can be found is blood everywhere, on her body, her clothes, the boat's floors ... and on a knife placed on the deck. She has no idea what happened.

* DistaffCounterpart[=/=]GenderFlip: A person wrongly convicted of murder escaping from custody, determined to track down those responsible, pursued and eventually aided by an equally determined lawman played by TommyLeeJones? No, this isn't ''Film/TheFugitive'' (or another sequel), but as numerous reviews pointed out, it's essentially a female version of it.

** This could very well be a case of {{Did Not Do the Research}} on the part of the writers.