From the category archives:

Criminal Procedure

A Conflict of Interest for D.C. Superior Court Judges

January 27, 2010 Criminal Procedure

Yesterday’s testimony of D.C. Superior Court Magistrate Judge Janet Albert as a witness in a criminal case against her former girlfriend raises challenges for everyone involved.  A number of D.C. judges, including Lynn Leibovitz, refused to hear the case.  And it will be left to court-appointed defense attorney Dorsey Jones Jr. to cross-examine the judge [...]

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Celebrating “Legal Technicalities”

January 25, 2010 Criminal Procedure

In “Reconfiguring Terms,” legal blogger Gideon complains about the widespread use of  the phrase “legal technicality” to explain why a particular criminal case was dismissed.  Writes Gideon:  “It really grinds my gears when I hear lay people . . . use the term technicality to describe a violation of some Constitutional right.”

Gideon is absolutely right.  [...]

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A Public Apology in a Criminal Case

January 25, 2010 Criminal Procedure

In a blog entry entitled “Victims Speaking Out,” D.A. Confidential describes the cathartic effect allocutions can have for the victims of a crime.  “Allocution” refers to the dialogue between a judge and a defendant prior to sentencing.  Allocution allows the defendant to ask for mercy, explain his or her conduct, apologize for the crime, or [...]

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Miranda Rights and the Christmas Day Bomber

January 24, 2010 Criminal Procedure

The client was so excited he could hardly contain himself when he came into my office.  “We’ve got this case beat,” he told me.  Why is that?  “Simple,” he said.  “The police never read me my rights.”
The Miranda rights are deeply ingrained in our society and culture.  The U.S. Supreme Court briefly considered abolishing the [...]

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The “Jury Trial Tax”: The Penalty for Insisting on a Jury Trial

January 23, 2010 Criminal Procedure

It is a sad but well-known fact among criminal defense lawyers in many jurisdictions that if you insist on a jury trial and lose, you will get a stiffer penalty than if you lose the same case in front of a judge.  That’s right:  Same facts.  Same verdict.  Different sentence.

This is a variation of the [...]

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“Discovery” in a D.C. Superior Court Criminal Case

January 13, 2010 Criminal Procedure

Courtroom surprises make for great drama on T.V. and in the movies.  The defense lawyer produces a new piece of evidence or the witness makes a startling admission on the witness stand.  The case is broken, and justice prevails.
Courtroom surprises in real-life are very rare.  The entire system is in fact geared toward eliminating such [...]

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Drugs: Judge or Jury Trial

October 11, 2009 Criminal Procedure

Sometimes, after the pre-trial motions have been litigated and any plea bargaining negotiations have been concluded, a defendant needs to have his or her day in court.

The Sixth Amendment guarantees the right to a jury trial for “all” criminal offenses. However, the U.S. Supreme Court has interpreted this requirement to apply only to “serious” criminal [...]

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Drugs: Admissibility of Statements

October 7, 2009 Criminal Procedure

Many people assume that if the police did not read the defendant his or her Miranda rights (“You have the right to remain silent,” etc.) during any phase of police investigation, the whole case will be thrown out. This is not true. In fact, any statements the defendant or any co-conspirators make would [...]

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Drugs: Search Warrants and Pedestrian/Car Stops

October 7, 2009 Criminal Procedure

One key to successfully defending drug cases is to keep out as much evidence as possible from the prosecution’s case at trial. Trials are basically a struggle between the two sides as to what evidence comes in and what evidence does not come in. That’s why the Rules of Evidence are so important [...]

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