The merger doctrine in

civil procedure Civil procedure is the body of law that sets out the rules and standards that courts follow when adjudicating civil lawsuits (as opposed to procedures in criminal law matters). These rules govern how a lawsuit or case may be commenced; what ki ...

stands for the proposition that when litigants agree to a settlement, and then seek to have their settlement incorporated into a

court order A court order is an official proclamation by a judge (or panel of judges) that defines the legal relationships between the parties to a hearing, a trial, an appeal or other court proceedings. Such ruling requires or authorizes the carrying out ...

, the court order actually extinguishes the settlement and replaces it with the authority of the court to supervise the behavior of the parties. Under this doctrine, the court is free to modify its order as necessary to achieve justice in the case, and may hold a party that breaches the agreement in contempt of court. In U.S criminal law, merger doctrine holds that if a defendant has committed acts that simultaneously meet the elements of a more serious and less serious offense, the defendant may be charged with the more serious offense and the lesser offense drops in order to avoid implicating

double jeopardy In jurisprudence, double jeopardy is a procedural defence (primarily in common law jurisdictions) that prevents an accused person from being Trial, tried again on the same (or similar) charges following an acquittal or conviction and in rare ...

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See also