Most cases involving a defendant under the age of 18 fall under the juvenile justice system. This court system features different rules than the court system for adults. Unlike adult courts, juvenile courts mainly focus on rehabilitating the defendant. This means an emphasis on reform and change rather than just punishment and deterrence. However, sometimes the [...]
We've discussed what "beyond a reasonable doubt" means several times before, here and here. However, it's necessary in this case to show the connection between this idea and "innocent until proven guilty." If you recall from last week, this phrase means that the court needs to assume the innocence of the accused until the facts [...]
You've heard the phrase "innocent until proven guilty" before. Maybe from a movie, TV show, in your own case, or even from this website. But what does "innocent until proven guilty" mean? Does it apply to all court cases and trials? Furthermore, what does it have to do with "guilty beyond a reasonable doubt"? Most [...]
So you're called to jury duty. What a hassle, right? Few people want to do it even though it comes with paid time off. But if you're selected to serve, you might as well make the best of it. However, few people really understand the role of a juror, how the trial process works, or [...]
Wrapping up our series on the basics of the legal process, we've looked at courtroom positions and personnel, the way criminal cases work, steps in a courtroom trial, steps in a criminal case, and the jury selection process. If you recall, the steps in a criminal case include arraignment, preliminary hearing, second arraignment, pretrial hearing, the jury trial, [...]
Welcome back to our series: Basic information on trials and courtrooms. Since the beginning of this series, we've discussed courtroom positions and personnel, the way criminal cases work, steps in a courtroom trial, and the steps in a criminal case. Particularly in the last blog, we reviewed some of what happens before the trial begins. [...]
So far in our series on court 101, we've covered courtroom positions and personnel, how a trial works, and the steps and process of a courtroom trial. Our goal in this series is to introduce our readers to very basics of the legal process so they might be prepared if they ever have to endure [...]
Over the past couple of weeks, we've talked about courtroom personnel and how the courtroom process works. These have all been part of our series where we explain the most pieces of the legal process and how it works. After all, the more you know the more you can help your case. With that in [...]
Last week we began a new blog series about the most basic things regarding courtroom procedure. We want our readers to understand some of the elementary aspects about trials and courtroom procedure. So, our first blog focused on all the personnel and positions in a courtroom. Today, we're taking a deeper at look at that. [...]
So, in the past we've written several posts on legal jargon to help you understand certain legal concepts. We've also written about basic courtroom etiquette and procedures. With that in mind, this week we're beginning a new series on the most basic parts and proceedings of a courtroom. After all, if you're someone who doesn't [...]