Cite as: 509 U. S. 688 (1993)
Opinion of Souter, J.
twice punished, but against being twice put in jeopardy; and the accused, whether convicted or acquitted, is equally put in jeopardy at the first trial." United States v. Ball, 163 U. S. 662, 669 (1896). "Where successive prosecutions are at stake, the guarantee serves 'a constitutional policy of finality for the defendant's benefit.' " Brown, supra, at 165 (quoting United States v. Jorn, 400 U. S. 470, 479 (1971) (plurality opinion)).
The Double Jeopardy Clause prevents the government from "mak[ing] repeated attempts to convict an individual for an alleged offense, thereby subjecting him to embarrassment, expense and ordeal and compelling him to live in a continuing state of anxiety and insecurity." Green v. United States, 355 U. S. 184, 187 (1957). The Clause addresses a further concern as well, that the government not be given the opportunity to rehearse its prosecution, "honing its trial strategies and perfecting its evidence through successive attempts at conviction," Tibbs v. Florida, 457 U. S. 31, 41 (1982), because this "enhanc[es] the possibility that even though innocent [the defendant] may be found guilty," Green, supra, at 188.
Consequently, while the government may punish a person separately for each conviction of at least as many different offenses as meet the Blockburger test, we have long held that it must sometimes bring its prosecutions for these offenses together. If a separate prosecution were permitted for every offense arising out of the same conduct, the government could manipulate the definitions of offenses, creating fine distinctions among them and permitting a zealous prosecutor to try a person again and again for essentially the same criminal conduct. While punishing different combinations of elements is consistent with the Double Jeopardy Clause in its limitation on the imposition of multiple punishments (a limitation rooted in concerns with legislative intent), permitting such repeated prosecutions would not be consistent with the principles underlying the Clause in its limitation on suc-
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