Criminal Law Newsletter

Money Laundering

Money laundering is a federal offense that is defined as the unlawful transfer of money that flows from racketeering or some other illegal sources into legitimate channels so that the original illegal source of the money cannot be traced.More...

CLEMENCY FOR DOMESTIC VIOLENCE VICTIMS

In some states, legislatures have recently enacted laws that grant the possibility of clemency by the states' governors for domestic violence victims who have been convicted of certain offenses, such as murder and manslaughter. In those states, the governors are entitled to request a clemency investigation by the states' parole boards into cases where defendants have pleaded guilty or have been convicted of those offenses when the offenses were directly related to the defendants' being victimized by domestic violence. 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...

BURGLARY OF A MOTOR VEHICLE

A person commits the offense of burglary of a motor vehicle when he or she breaks or enters into a motor vehicle, or any part thereof, without the consent of the owner and with the intent to commit a felony or a theft. More...

Jury Selection in Capital Cases

In a case in which a defendant may face the death penalty, jury selection takes on additional and different concerns than those faced in jury selection generally. The nature of the case, penalty phase procedures and length of the case are all additional factors that must be taken into consideration. More...