| JUSTIFICATION AS A DEFENSE |
|
| A justification means that a defendant is seeking to avoid liability for a criminal offense by showing the circumstances that justified the defendant's actions. A justification is not a true defense. When asserting a justification, the defendant generally admits that he or she committed the offense but claims that his or her conduct was justified under the facts and circumstances. More... |
|
|
| JURISDICTION OVER VICTIMLESS CRIMES THAT ARE COMMITTED ON NATIVE AMERICAN RESERVATIONS |
|
| When a criminal offense is committed on a Native American reservation, jurisdiction over the offense will depend upon whether the victim of the offense is a Native American or a non-Native American. If the victim of the offense is a Native American, either the federal government or a tribal court will generally assume jurisdiction over the offense. If the victim of the offense is a non-Native American, the state in which the reservation is located will generally assume jurisdiction over the offense.
More... |
|
|
| CRIMINAL TRESPASS |
|
| A person commits the offense of criminal trespass when he or she enters or remains on property or in a building of another person without that person's consent after he or she has been given notice that entry was forbidden or that he or she must depart. The other person does not need to own the property in order to give notice to depart. The other person must only have a greater right of possession that the person who commits the offense. More... |
|
|
| Motions to Suppress Evidence |
|
| A defendant may file a motion to suppress evidence during the pretrial phase of her trial. A motion to suppress is filed when the defendant is seeking to exclude evidence on the basis that it was illegally obtained. The evidence may have been obtained in violation of the defendant's right against unreasonable searches and seizures as provided under the Fourth Amendment of the United States Constitution. The evidence may have been tainted by other illegally obtained evidence, thereby supporting the defendant's assertion that it should be excluded. More... |
|
|
| Judicial Notice |
|
| Judicial notice is the knowledge or recognition that a fact is true without evidence to support its truth. An example of a fact that a court may take judicial notice of is that the sky is blue. Most people know and understand that the sky is blue and no proof is needed to establish that the sky is blue. More... |
|
|