In the case of Lamar Evans v. Michigan, 2012, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in favor of Evans who was initially charged with burning a dwelling house in Michigan state court. The prosecution erroneously based its charge on a non-existent legal offense - "attempted" arson of a dwelling house (the building was not legally considered as such). After realizing their mistake post-acquittal, they sought to retry him for committing actual arson under correct statutory provisions. However, Evans argued that this retrial would violate his Fifth Amendment right against double jeopardy which prevents an individual from being tried twice for the same crime after acquittal or conviction. The Supreme Court agreed with Evans' argument and held that because he had been acquitted by law once already due to insufficient proof at trial (even if it was based on an error), he could not be retried again even under corrected charges related to the same incident. This decision upheld principles of finality and respect for juries’ verdicts while also preventing prosecutors from having multiple attempts at convicting defendants.

In the dissenting opinion for Lamar Evans v. Michigan, Justice Alito argued that a defendant cannot be retried after an acquittal, even if the acquittal was based on an error of law made by the judge during trial proceedings. He contended that this principle is deeply ingrained in American jurisprudence and serves as a safeguard against government oppression through repeated prosecutions. The majority's decision to allow re-prosecution in cases where judges make errors regarding elements of offenses not included in state law undermines this protection and could lead to potential abuses of power by prosecutors who might use it as a tool for harassment or intimidation. Furthermore, he disagreed with the majority's interpretation of what constitutes an "acquittal", arguing that any ruling which terminates a case in favor of the defendant should qualify regardless of whether it was correct according to statutory definitions.