Criminal Law
| 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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| RIGHTS OF CRIME VICTIMS |
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| Being a victim of a crime is a frightening experience. Until fairly recently, crime victims had no rights and did not have access to any federal, state, or local services to help them through the experience. In most states, there are now many services and resources that are available to crime victims.
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| Battered Person Syndrome and Battered Child Syndrome |
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| Battered person syndrome is a derivative of battered woman syndrome. Battered person syndrome involves battery of a male spouse or someone that resides in the household. Battered person syndrome may be used as a justification defense in a homicide prosecution. Typically, the defendant would assert self-defense as a defense and then justify the premise of the self-defense based upon the battered person syndrome. The premise behind battered person syndrome is that this syndrome is gender neutral. More... |
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| RELEASE ON BAIL PENDING AN APPEAL |
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| Whether a defendant is entitled to be released on bail pending his or her appeal depends upon the type of offense of which the defendant was convicted and the length of sentence that is imposed on the defendant. If the defendant is convicted of a misdemeanor, the defendant is generally entitled to reasonable bail pending his or her appeal. If the defendant is convicted of a felony, the length of the defendant's sentence generally determines whether the defendant is entitled to bail. More... |
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| Criminal Violations of the Federal Mine Safety and Health Act of 1977 |
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| The Federal Mine Safety and Health Act of 1977 (MSHA) provides for enforcement of by way of civil penalties, criminal penalties, or administrative enforcement methods. MSHA was enacted to protect mining workers. When a violation of the MSHA is claimed, an investigation is conducted regarding the allegations of the violation. If a criminal division determines that a case referred to it warrants prosecution, the case will be referred to the office of the United States Attorney. More... |
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