Obviously, a defendant cannot be placed in jeopardy twice before being placed in jeopardy once before. This is the moment in time at which jeopardy is said to “attach,” and it marks the point after which acquittal, conviction, or dismissal/mistrial will have double jeopardy consequences. See State v. Tate, 300 N.C. 180, 182-83 (1980); State v. Fowler, 197 N.C. App. 1, 17 (2009).

A. Jury Trial

Collateral estoppel “means simply that when an issue of ultimate fact has once been determined by a valid and final judgment, that issue cannot again be litigated between the same parties in any future lawsuit.” Ashe v. Swenson, 397 U.S. 436, 443 (1970); accord State v. Adams, 347 N.C. 48, 61 (1997); State v. Brooks, 337 N.C. 132, 147 (1994).

Rule 404(a) – Character Evidence Not Admissible to Prove Conduct; Exceptions

(a) Character evidence generally. – Evidence of a person's character or a trait of his character is not admissible for the purpose of proving that he acted in conformity therewith on a particular occasion, except: