In July, Packers defensive tackle Johnny Jolly was scheduled to stand trial on felony drug charges in Houston.
A day before the trial commenced, prosecutors dropped the charges. But the plan, as stated at the time, was to eventually seek a new indictment of Jolly.
That new indictment came today.
Authorities arrested Jolly in July 2008 for possession of at least 200 milligrams of codeine, the active ingredient in cough syrup that routinely is mixed with soda to make a potent intoxicant.
The dismissal arose from the ability of the police to properly measure the amount of codeine in the liquid seized from Jolly’s alleged possession at the time.
We suspect that some of you will invoke the Constitutional protection against double jeopardy. Your instincts generally are accurate, but jeopardy does not “attach” untl the trial begins. If the trial doesn’t begin, there can be no double jeopardy because there never was a single jeopardy.
The only limitation, then, is the statute of limitations applicable to the charges that will be pursued.