| Plea Agreements Generally |
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| When a defendant has been charged with a crime, it is his decision whether to enter a guilty or not guilty plea to the offense. Often times, a defendant enters a guilty plea based upon a plea agreement. Many prosecutors offer defendants plea agreements or bargains in order to ascertain a guilty plea from the defendant. More... |
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| Where to Find a Defense Attorney and What to Ask at the Initial Consultation |
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| If an accused has been arrested or is awaiting a trial on criminal charges he may wish to hire a defense attorney. There are numerous defense attorneys that an accused may have to chose from. There are various places to find a defense attorney.
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| Brady Materials and Impeachment Evidence |
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| Certain types of impeachment evidence are required to be disclosed by the Government to the defendant upon the defendant's request. The disclosure of evidence by the Government upon the defendant's request is commonly referred to as disclosure of Brady materials. Brady materials must be known to the Government and must be material to the defendant's case to require disclosure.
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| MOTIONS IN ARREST OF JUDGMENT |
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| When a defendant has been convicted of a criminal offense, the defendant may seek relief from his or her conviction by filing a motion in arrest of judgment. A motion in arrest of judgment suggests that the judgment has not been legally rendered. The motion may be oral or it may be in writing. Although the defendant may have a statutory right in some states to file the motion, the motion is seldom used and is rarely granted by a trial court.More... |
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| The Introduction of Polygraphs or other Lie Detector Tests at Trial and Other Uses of the Polygraph |
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| Generally, courts in most jurisdictions do not admit the results of polygraph or other lie detector examinations. Most courts find such results quite unreliable and untrustworthy. There are a number of states that will admit polygraph or lie detector tests results into evidence if both the prosecution and defendant agree that the test results will be admitted. More... |
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