Criminal Procedure

The arraignment is usually the first court appearance for a criminal defendant in Washington, D.C. and, as such, tends to cause particular anxiety for clients. Do I need a lawyer at the arraignment? What do I say? Should I plead guilty or not guilty?
Although the court itself will assure that you don’t [...]

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.  [...]

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 [...]

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 [...]