| JURY INSTRUCTIONS ON ELEMENTS OF AN OFFENSE |
|
| The prosecution has the burden of proving all the elements of an offense with which a defendant is being charged. In accordance with this burden of proof, a trial court is required to specifically instruct a jury on all the elements of the offense. A jury instruction is defective if it fails to set forth all the elements of the offense. More... |
|
|
| Production Immunity |
|
| Although the concept of production immunity is relatively new, in 1886 the United States Supreme Court held that the compulsory production of private papers containing incriminating information violated the Fifth Amendment to the United States Constitution. The Court has since found that as long as the subpoenaed papers were prepared voluntarily, the documents themselves cannot be said to contain compelled testimonial evidence. The documents therefore may not always be withheld on Fifth Amendment grounds. More... |
|
|
| Obstruction of Justice |
|
| In addition, among those people who have made plans for the future, some have made plans that are legally defective. There are so-called wills that are defective because they have not been prepared according to the required formalities. There are also wills prepared according to the required formalities that are so well hidden that they cannot be found. When people try to make a will without the assistance of a lawyer, they seem bound to make a mistake. One of the strongest arguments for having a lawyer prepare your will is this: otherwise you won't know if you have made a mistake until you die.
More... |
|
|
| Check Kiting, Improper Personal Loans to Banking Officers, and Overdrafts |
|
| Check kiting is a crime that involves one or more individuals who utilize checking accounts at two or more financial institutions. The purpose of using two or more institutions is for the systematic exchange of checks written in similar amounts. The individual uses the lag time that it takes to clear checks through the Federal Reserve System to use and collect the money. More... |
|
|
| Interstate Agreement on Detainers |
|
| The Interstate Agreement on Detainers (the Agreement) is an agreement that applies to the transfers of sentenced prisoners between two states or between the federal government and a state. The purpose of the transfer is for the trial of the prisoner in another jurisdiction on an unrelated matter for which he is incarcerated. The Agreement is not applicable for the transfer of a federal prisoner between several jurisdictions for trial on federal charges. More... |
|
|