Words / A / Law

autrefois convict

noun/ˌəʊtrəˈfwɑː kənˈvɪkt/

C2CEFR level
98/100Rarity: very rare
TechnicalRegister

The plea barring a second prosecution for an offence of which the accused has already been convicted.

He entered a plea of autrefois convict, the earlier conviction covering the very same conduct.

Similar: double jeopardy

Topic: Criminal law in Legal English

Rarity runs from 0 (a word everyone knows) to 100 (almost never seen outside specialist or literary writing). Level is the word's real difficulty on the CEFR scale, from A1 to C2.

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More law words: Criminal law