Criminal Law
| JURY INSTRUCTIONS ON THE EVIDENCE |
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| A jury's role in a criminal case is to determine the guilt or innocence of a defendant. In accordance with this role, the jury must determine the weight that is to be given to the prosecution's evidence and whether the prosecution has proven the defendant's guilt beyond a reasonable doubt. In order to make its determination, the jury is given instructions by a trial court. More... |
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| ISSUING A BAD OR A WORTHLESS CHECK |
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| A person commits the offense of issuing a bad or a worthless check when he or she writes, issues, or passes a check or similar document for the payment of money when he or she knows that he or she does not have sufficient funds in a banking institution to pay the check. More... |
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| Preliminary Determinations of Admissibility of Evidence |
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| Generally speaking legal issues are to be determined by the trial court and factual issues are to be determined by a jury or judge if no jury is present. However, either the judge or the jury may determine preliminary determinations of facts.
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| FEDERAL HABEAS CORPUS RELIEF |
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| A state prisoner who has been incarcerated for a criminal offense by a state court may challenge his or her conviction by filing a petition for habeas corpus relief in a federal court. The federal court has jurisdiction over the prisoner's custody in a state correctional institution if the incarceration constitutes a violation of the United States Constitution or the laws of the United States. The prisoner's federal habeas corpus petition seeks to secure the release of the prisoner from an unlawful custody. However, in order to be able to file the federal habeas corpus petition, the prisoner must be in custody, the custody must be unlawful, and the prisoner must have exhausted his or her state remedies.
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| FEDERAL LAWS REGARDING HOSTAGE-TAKING |
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| Although the policy of the federal government is that most hostage-taking offenses within the territorial jurisdiction of the United States should be handled by state and local authorities, there are situations in which the federal government may be involved in prosecuting such offenses. These situations include the taking of a federal official or an international guest as a hostage, a demand against the United States regarding the hostage-taking, or when international terrorists are the perpetrators. More... |
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