Criminal Law
| Closing Arguments During a Criminal Trial |
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| The defendant is entitled to present a closing argument in a criminal trial. The defendant's right to give a closing argument has been deemed by the United States Supreme Court as a basic element of the adversary factfinding process. More... |
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| Wiretaps and Electronic Surveillance Devices |
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| Under the United States Code wiretaps are permitted after a proper application has been made for their usage. A wiretap is defined as a form of electronic surveillance whereupon law enforcement officers listen to phone conversations or other communications of certain individuals. States have enacted their own statutes that cover the procedures and issuance of permits to conduct a wiretap. More... |
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| MISTAKE OF FACT AS A DEFENSE |
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| The defense of mistake of fact is used when a defendant is accused of committing a particular crime and the defendant admits that he or she committed another crime, which other crime is different from the particular crime and is not a lesser-included offense of the particular crime. The defense is based on the defendant's belief that he or she was committing another crime, which crime is less serious than the crime with which the defendant is charged. More... |
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| Expungement |
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| One can clean up a criminal record by expunging or sealing their criminal records. Expungement is the sealing of criminal records so that they may not be publicly available. It is basically the equivalent of erasing one's criminal record. One can petition the court to expunge their criminal record. Expungement may apply to convictions and arrests.
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| A DEFENDANT'S RIGHT TO REMAIN SILENT DURING TRIAL |
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| The Fifth Amendment to the United States Constitution provides that no person shall be compelled in any criminal case to be a witness against himself or herself. The self-incrimination privilege of the Fifth Amendment means that a defendant cannot be compelled to testify at his or her criminal trial More... |
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