Newsletters

CHALLENGING JURISDICTION

Jurisdiction is a court's power to hear and to decide cases. There are two types of jurisdiction. They are subject-matter jurisdiction and personal jurisdiction. Subject-matter jurisdiction is the power of a particular court to hear and to decide certain types of cases. Personal jurisdiction is the power that a court exercises over a particular person.

CRIMINAL INSTRUMENTS & TOOLS

A person commits an offense if he or she possesses criminal instruments or tools with the intent to use the criminal instruments or tools in the commission of a crime. A person also commits the offense of criminal instruments and tools if he or she manufactures, sells, or adapts criminal instruments or tools, with the intent to use, to aid in the use, or to permit another person to use the criminal instruments or tools in the commission of a crime.

Challenging a Speeding Ticket and Radar Guns

If a driver receives a ticket for a speed violation, the driver may challenge the ticket. Often times, a speeding ticket is the result of an officer using a device known as a radar gun. The radar gun is a device that officers use to determine the exact speed that the driver is traveling at a certain point.

A DEFENDANT'S RIGHT TO A PUBLIC TRIAL

A defendant is guaranteed the right to a public trial under the Sixth Amendment of the United States Constitution. The right to a public trial is also an element of the defendant's due process rights, which rights are guaranteed under the Fourteenth Amendment of the United States Constitution. In addition, states have enacted provisions in their constitutions that guarantee a defendant's right to a public trial. The public also has a right to attend criminal trials under the First Amendment of the United States Constitution.

Overview of the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act of 1970 RICO

RICO was enacted in response to the threat to the American economy from the unfettered growth of organized crime. RICO was intended to assist in remedying the inhabitation of the development of admissible evidence necessary to bring criminal charges against individuals involved in organized crime. The United States Congress enacted RICO in the hope that it would in part permit prosecutors to revitalize corrupted interstate enterprises into legal businesses.