A Get Out of Jail Free card, also written in hyphenated form as get-out-of-jail-card, is a popular trope and primarily an element of a board game ‘Monopoly’ and gaming world. Also, there have been some interesting instances in law where it has had a major influence.

Get Out of Jail Cards in “Monopoly” Board Game

The US version of the popular board game “Monopoly” has two “Get Out of Jail Free” cards with unique illustrations. One of the two cards is a “Community Chest” card in which the winged version of the game’s mascot “Mr. Monopoly” is shown in a tuxedo and flying out of an open birdcage. The other card is the “Chance” card, which also features Mr. Monopoly, depicts him in a striped prisoner uniform and booted out of a prison cell. 

A player can get out of jail by using one of these cards. The cards read as:

THIS CARD MAY BE KEPT

UNTIL NEEDED, OR SOLD

GET OUT OF JAIL

FREE

Based on dice throws, the players move around the Monopoly board. While most of the tiles where players land is buyable properties, there’s also a tile on the board called “the Jail”. Whenever a player lands on this title, he/she loses a turn and has to meet certain conditions to proceeding further. A player may end up on this space by landing on the “Go to Jail” tile, drawing a "Go to Jail" card from Community Chest or Chance, or tossing three doubles in a row.

The Get out of Jail Free card sets the player free from jail and allows him to continue playing the game without paying any fee. After that, it must be put back on the respective deck. And as the text on the card says, the card can be sold by the player having it to another player for a mutually agreed price.

“Get-Out-Of-Jail-Card” as an Idiomatic Expression

The phrase ‘get out of jail card’, sometimes hyphenated, means something that will immediately resolve or get someone out of an undesirable situation. This situation is especially the one that leads to the least possible or no repercussions.

It may also refer to something that is used as an excuse for bad results, decisions,  standards, or behavior.

“Get Out Of Jail Card” in Law

• Commissioned by Queen Elizabeth I and vice-admiral Sir Francis Drake in 1567, Britain's first lottery prize for raising funds for England's navy comprised of a type of "get out of jail free card". The lottery winner could use it to excuse any but the most serious crimes.
  
• In 1967, one of the FBI's Ten Most Wanted Fugitives “James Robert Ringrose” gave a Get Out of Jail Free card to the FBI agents after getting arrested.
  
• On August 30, 2016, a man was arrested at an oil pipeline protest in Iowa. He informed the arresting officer that he had a Get Out of Jail Free card in his pocket. They didn’t believe him until he offered the card to him.
  
• In May 2017, the police in Minnesota witnessed the funny side when he stopped a suspect with an outstanding arrest warrant and the suspect handed over a Monopoly 'Get out of jail free card' to get away from the trouble.