PEOPLE v. PEREZ

Since there was manifest necessity for the court's declaration of a mistrial at defendant's first trial, his retrial was not barred by principles of double jeopardy ( see Arizona v. Washington, 434 US 497). The events of September 11, 2001 occurred in the midst of defendant's first trial, and on September 17, the court, after sufficient inquiry, properly declared a mistrial. The continuing emergency situation, of indefinite duration, and its particular impact on lower Manhattan, the site of the courthouse, made it "physically impossible to proceed with the trial in conformity with law" (CPL 280.10).