A “suppression hearing” is a proceeding conducted before a criminal trial judge that involves a motion to suppress or exclude evidence from being used at trial. Almost always, suppression hearings are conducted before the criminal trial begins. In federal criminal proceedings, Rule 41(h) of the Federal Rules of Criminal Procedure governs motions of this sort. […]

Generally speaking, in a criminal trial, there are two types of evidence presented — direct evidence and circumstantial evidence. The first type of evidence is testimony or documents from a person who claims to have personal actual knowledge of some fact that is relevant to the case. Circumstantial evidence is proof of a chain of […]

There is a general doctrine in criminal law called the “prior bad acts” doctrine. This is a rule of exclusion. The doctrine generally prohibits the prosecution from introducing and using evidence of an accused’s prior crimes, wrongs, or other “bad acts” to show “bad” character, a propensity to criminal behavior or that the accused acted […]