4 Major Exceptions To The Hearsay Rule
Hearsay is an out of court statement that is offered at trial by someone other than the person who made the statement. Such testimony is prohibited when it seeks to establish the truth of the statement’s contents. That may sound confusing so here is an example....
3 Post Trial Proceedings
http://https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JXwD7Iazn64&feature=youtu.be Granted, no one charged with a crime wants to lose at trial. But, even when you do, hope is not lost. There are 3 post-trial pleadings a defendant can file that would vacate his conviction and...
6 Types Of Criminal Sentences
In Louisiana there are essentially 6 modes of sentencing people convicted of a criminal offense: a fine, jail, probation, home incarceration a split sentence and a habitual offender adjudication. This blog post will discuss each method. Prior to doing so, there are...
2 Categories Of Evidence
In all criminal cases there are 2 categories of evidence: direct evidence and circumstantial evidence. Direct evidence is anything the witness observed through his senses. “I saw this” or “I heard this” or “I could smell alcohol on his breath” are common examples of...
6 Major Time Limitations
Louisiana’s criminal code has a myriad of deadlines and time limitations scattered throughout its text. That said, there are 6 major deadlines every practitioner should know about. First Appearance The first major deadline is the defendant’s initial appearance...
6 Common Trial Objections
There are six common objections urged at trial. Two of them are rooted in the rules of evidence: hearsay and relevance and the other four tend to deal with the style of the question. Relevance Relevance is the first and most fundamental evidentiary...
7 Stages To A Criminal Trial
What happens at trial? Each trial has between 5-7 stages depending upon the actions of the defense team during the trial. Now, each stage has its own unique procedures which will be discussed in this article. Voir Dire Voir Dire is a fancy French word...
6 Major Types Of Forensics/ CSI Evidence Presented At Trial
Forensics is the use of scientific evidence in arguing a case in the court. During the course of a case investigation, police will gather various elements of forensics to provide evidence for the case. These elements may include DNA analysis, examples of...
Stop And Frisk
Stop and frisk is an active form of policing that has come under scrutiny by various civil liberties groups. In essence, this is the power of the police to stop and detain someone then conduct a weapon pat down. Generally speaking, these tactics are deployed in high...
4 Types Of Pleas
There are 4 types of pleas a person can enter into at an arraignment: not guilty, guilty, nolo contendere and not guilty by reason of insanity. Not Guilty The most common plea is a not guilty plea. In fact, if the accused is silent and refuses to enter into a plea,...
