State v. Farmer

In State v. Farmer, 48 N.J. 145, 224 A.2d 481 (1966), cert. denied, 386 U.S. 991, 87 S. Ct. 1305, 18 L. Ed. 2d 335(1967), the Supreme Court stated: The important and relevant conclusion to be drawn from the Federal and State cases is that no hard fast or mechanically applied rule exists which compels a finding of double jeopardy whenever a criminal trial in progress is discontinued, or which suggests that every time such a trial begins, the defendant is entitled to go free if the trial does not end in a final judgment. Obviously there can be no cataloguing of events or conduct which, without more, will require a holding of double jeopardy when a mistrial is ordered without the defendant's consent. The circumstances must be examined with a mind conscious of the trial milieu and the fact that its atmosphere, vagaries, emotional stimuli and urgency of decision only rarely can be captured in a cold appellate record. They must be looked at also with an awareness that a person accused of crime has no natural constitutional right to be exempted from those procedural practices which are deemed necessary in the effort of the State to make sure that the conduct and final result of the trial should be in accordance with law and justice to all defendants and to the public. Farmer, supra, 48 N.J. at 170-171, 224 A.2d 481.