Charlottesville Commonwealth's Attorney files nolle prosequi motion against Jesse Matthew

NEWS Dave Chapman says city, county prosecution violates Fifth Amendment by Caelainn Carney and Will Marshall | Feb 12 2015 | 12 hours ago

Charlottesville Commonwealths Attorney Dave Chapman filed a motion of nolle prosequi Tuesday in the case against Jesse Matthew and the disappearance and murder of second-year College student Hannah Graham, thereby handing the prosecution over to Albemarle County Commonwealths Attorney Denise Lunsford.

The motion, which represents a prosecutors willing decision not to pursue charges before the defendant goes to trial or receives a verdict, was filed in order to comply with the Double Jeopardy Clause of the Fifth Amendment.

The clause stipulates that a defendant cannot be tried for the same offense more than once. Specifically, the same evidence cannot be used to try a person repeatedly for a specific crime.

According to the motion filed with the General District Court in Charlottesville, the citys Commonwealths Attorney requested the charge be dropped because Matthew has already been charged with abduction with intent to defile in Albemarle County.

The prosecution of [Mr. Matthew] for [the pending charge] is duplicative and likely to become barred by the Double Jeopardy Clause of the Fifth Amendment, the motion states.

Chapman said the court jurisdictions overlapped between Albemarle and Charlottesville because Matthew was originally charged in Charlottesville, but Grahams body was later found in a field in Albemarle County.

Chapman said trying Matthew in Albemarle was a way of consolidating the relevant evidence and charges in a way that is preferable for the Commonwealth.

[It is] both efficient and appropriate in terms of the law and the justice process, he said.

Miriam Dickler, director of communications for the City of Charlottesville, said this kind of motion is fairly standard. She said there was never a charge for homicide or murder in the City of Charlottesville and the jurisdiction where remains are found is usually the one that takes the case.

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Charlottesville Commonwealth's Attorney files nolle prosequi motion against Jesse Matthew