Knox Ruling Shows Why U.S. Shouldn't Look Abroad For Law

[Geee]

Investors Business Daily:

Justice: The latest in the Amanda Knox saga — her acquittal overturned — offers a reason for being wary of the influence of foreign law. The Constitution suffices, thank you.

Tuesday's decision by Italy's highest court to order a new trial for Knox, accused of murdering her roommate in 2007, convicted in 2009 and acquitted two years later, is more than just a new twist in a long and lurid tale. It is also a useful lesson.

It serves to remind Americans that other nations, including friendly ones, can have quite different systems of justice and concepts of defendants' rights.

In Italy, prosecutors can appeal acquittals. In the U.S., the Fifth Amendment stands in their way with its declaration that no person "shall be subject for the same offence to be twice put in jeopardy of life or limb."

The reason for banning double jeopardy is clear, at least to jurists in the Anglo-American tradition.