| A DEFENDANT'S RIGHT TO TESTIFY |
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| Although a defendant has a right to remain silent under the Fifth Amendment to the United States Constitution, the defendant also has a constitutional right to testify at his or her trial for a criminal offense. The defendant's right to testify includes his or her right to present a defense.More... |
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| FRIVOLOUS APPEALS |
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| An appeal is considered to be frivolous if it lacks merit. An appeal lacks merit if a trial court committed no error in a defendant's case. Attorneys generally have a duty not to file frivolous appeals. However, even though an attorney may deem that a defendant's appeal is frivolous, he or she may be required to file an appellate brief. Such a brief is called an "Anders" brief.More... |
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| RELEASE ON PAROLE |
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| If a state's parole board grants parole to a prisoner, custody of the prisoner is generally transferred to the state's parole board prior to the prisoner's release on parole. The prisoner is usually transferred to a residential facility or a halfway house, during which time the prisoner continues to receive credit for good conduct time. More... |
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| Stipulations of Expected Testimony, Trial Procedure, and Rules of Evidence in a Criminal Trial |
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| The parties in a criminal trial may stipulate or agree to the expected testimony of a witness that will not be able to attend or testify at trial. The parties may also stipulate to the contents of a document that will not be produced at trial. When the parties stipulate to expected witness testimony or to the contents of a document they are not stipulating to the admissibility or factual accuracy of the testimony or document. More... |
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| CHALLENGING A JURY ARRAY |
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| A jury array is a list of jurors who are summoned to appear for jury duty. Jurors for a particular trial are selected from the jury array. A defendant is entitled to challenge the jury array. The defendant usually discovers flaws in the jury selection process during voir dire or questioning of the jurors. Grounds for challenging the jury array include corrupt summoning of the jurors, violation of the jury law, discriminatory selection of the jurors, or discrimination regarding exemptions for the jurors.More... |
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