Criminal cases in the United States frequently involve one side carrying the burden of presenting evidence in support of its argument before a decider of fact like a judge or jury. One noticeable exception to this structure exists in the case of Brady v. Maryland, which is why people who are interested in federal criminal… Read More
The Supreme Court of the United States recently ruled in favor of an appeal for a bounty hunter who pled guilty to a gun possession crime but then attempted to appeal the constitutionality of the violation with which he was charged. In many cases, however, a guilty plea agreement waives a person’s right to an… Read More
Federal criminal appeals comprise a particularly complicated body of law, which is why it should come as no surprise that many people have a large number of questions about how they work. This article will tackle some of the most commonly perpetuated myths about federal criminal appeals in the United States. Myth: A Federal Appeal… Read More
In many situations, courts hand down decisions knowing that they fail to address a person’s needs or rights. While some people might be left with options after receiving their sentence, other people identify grounds on which to appeal the decision to a higher court. While a number of people ultimately decide to appeal their sentence,… Read More
On December 19, 2016, a federal appeals court overturned the convictions of former Massachusetts Probation Commissioner John O’Brien and two former deputies, Elizabeth Tavares and William Burke. In overturning these convictions, the Court ruled that the prosecutors failed to prove a scheme to favor politically connected job candidates was a federal crime. O’Brien, Tavares, and… Read More
Being convicted and sentenced for a federal crime is a serious event. However, it is not the end of the story. You can still appeal the outcome. One of the things that you can claim on appeal is that your trial attorney was to blame for you not being acquitted at trial, or for the… Read More
A case that got appealed to the Circuit Court of the District of Columbia following a conviction for second-degree murder has been overturned in the defendant’s favor because the prosecutor made an interesting mistake: He got the law wrong. The case began in Germany, when ex-military member Rico Williams, who had stayed abroad to be… Read More