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Brady Material
In the legal system of the United States, a ''Brady'' disclosure consists of exculpatory or impeaching information and evidence that is material to the guilt or innocence or to the punishment of a defendant. The term comes from the 1963 U.S. Supreme Court case '' Brady v. Maryland'', in which the Supreme Court ruled that suppression by the prosecution of evidence favorable to a defendant who has requested it violates due process. Following ''Brady'', the prosecutor must disclose evidence or information that would prove the innocence of the defendant or would enable the defense to more effectively impeach the credibility of government witnesses. Evidence that would serve to reduce the defendant's sentence must also be disclosed by the prosecution. In practice, this doctrine has often proved difficult to enforce. Some states have established their own laws to try to strengthen enforcement against prosecutorial misconduct in this area. Definition of the ''Brady'' rule The ''Bra ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Exculpatory Evidence
Exculpatory evidence is evidence favorable to the defendant in a criminal trial that exonerates or tends to exonerate the defendant of guilt. It is the opposite of inculpatory evidence, which tends to present guilt. In many countries, including the United States, police and prosecutors are required to disclose to the defendant exculpatory evidence they possess before the defendant enters a plea (guilty or not guilty). In some countries such as Germany, the prosecutor has to actively search for both exculpatory and inculpatory circumstances and evidence before filing of action. Per the '' Brady v. Maryland'' decision, prosecutors in the United States have a duty to disclose exculpatory evidence even if not requested to do so. While the prosecution is not required to search for exculpatory evidence and must disclose only the evidence in its possession, custody, or control, the prosecution's duty is to disclose all information known to any member of its team, e.g., police, inves ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
United States
The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 contiguous states border Canada to the north and Mexico to the south, with the semi-exclave of Alaska in the northwest and the archipelago of Hawaii in the Pacific Ocean. The United States asserts sovereignty over five Territories of the United States, major island territories and United States Minor Outlying Islands, various uninhabited islands in Oceania and the Caribbean. It is a megadiverse country, with the world's List of countries and dependencies by area, third-largest land area and List of countries and dependencies by population, third-largest population, exceeding 340 million. Its three Metropolitan statistical areas by population, largest metropolitan areas are New York metropolitan area, New York, Greater Los Angeles, Los Angel ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Jencks Act
In the United States, the Jencks Act () requires the prosecutor to produce a verbatim statement or report made by a government witness or prospective government witness (other than the defendant), but only before cross or adverse examination. Jencks material is evidence that is used in the course of a federal criminal prosecution in the United States. It usually consists of documents relied upon by government witnesses who testify at trial. The material is described as ''inculpatory'', favoring the United States government's prosecution of a criminal defendant. The Jencks Act also covers other documents related to the testimony, or relied upon by government witnesses at trial. Typically, the material may consist of police notes, memoranda, reports, summaries, letters, related to an indictment or verbatim transcripts used by government agents or employees to testify at trial. This also includes a witness's grand jury testimony, if the witness testified at trial. After the governm ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Michael Morton Act
Michael Morton (born August 12, 1954) is an American who was wrongfully convicted in 1987 in a Williamson County, Texas court of the 1986 murder of his wife Christine Morton. He spent nearly 25 years in prison before he was exonerated by DNA evidence which supported his claim of innocence and pointed to the crime being committed by another individual. Morton was released from prison on October 4, 2011, and another man, Mark Alan Norwood, was convicted of the murder in 2013. The prosecutor in the case, Ken Anderson, was convicted of contempt of court for withholding evidence after the judge had ordered its release to the defense. Early life, family and education Michael Morton was born August 12, 1954. His family resided in Waco, Texas, then towns in California before settling in Kilgore, Texas. In 1976, while attending a psychology class Stephen F. Austin State University in Nacogdoches, Texas, Morton met Christine Kirkpatrick, a Catholic woman from Houston, Texas. They relocate ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
United States Court Of Appeals For The Fifth Circuit
The United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit (in case citations, 5th Cir.) is one of the 13 United States courts of appeals. It has appellate jurisdiction over the U.S. district courts in the following federal judicial districts: * Eastern District of Louisiana * Middle District of Louisiana * Western District of Louisiana * Northern District of Mississippi * Southern District of Mississippi * Eastern District of Texas * Northern District of Texas * Southern District of Texas * Western District of Texas The Fifth Circuit has 17 active judgeships, and is headquartered at the John Minor Wisdom United States Court of Appeals Building in New Orleans, Louisiana, with the clerk's office located at the F. Edward Hebert Federal Building in New Orleans. Originally, the Fifth Circuit also included the federal district courts in Alabama, Georgia, and Florida. In 1981, the district courts for those states were transferred to the newly created U.S. Court of Appea ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
United States Court Of Appeals For The Fourth Circuit
The United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit (in case citations, 4th Cir.) is a United States federal court, federal court located in Richmond, Virginia, with appellate jurisdiction over the United States district court, district courts in the following United States federal judicial district, districts: *United States District Court for the District of Maryland, District of Maryland *United States District Court for the Eastern District of North Carolina, Eastern District of North Carolina *United States District Court for the Middle District of North Carolina, Middle District of North Carolina *United States District Court for the Western District of North Carolina, Western District of North Carolina *United States District Court for the District of South Carolina, District of South Carolina *United States District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia, Eastern District of Virginia *United States District Court for the Western District of Virginia, Western Dist ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
United States Court Of Appeals For The Second Circuit
The United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit (in case citations, 2d Cir.) is one of the thirteen United States Courts of Appeals. Its territory covers the states of Connecticut, New York (state), New York, and Vermont, and it has appellate jurisdiction over the United States district court, U.S. district courts in the following United States federal judicial district, federal judicial districts: * United States District Court for the District of Connecticut, District of Connecticut * United States District Court for the Eastern District of New York, Eastern District of New York * United States District Court for the Northern District of New York, Northern District of New York * United States District Court for the Southern District of New York, Southern District of New York * United States District Court for the Western District of New York, Western District of New York * United States District Court for the District of Vermont, District of Vermont The Second Circui ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
United States Court Of Appeals For The First Circuit
The United States Court of Appeals for the First Circuit (in case citations, 1st Cir.) is a federal court with appellate jurisdiction over the district courts in the following districts: * District of Maine * District of Massachusetts * District of New Hampshire * District of Puerto Rico * District of Rhode Island The court is based at the John Joseph Moakley Federal Courthouse in Boston, Massachusetts. Most sittings are held in Boston, where the court usually sits for one week most months of the year; in one of July or August, it takes a summer break and does not sit. The First Circuit also sits for one week each March and November at the Jose V. Toledo Federal Building and United States Courthouse in Old San Juan, Puerto Rico, and occasionally sits at other locations within the circuit. With six active judges and four active senior judges, the First Circuit has the fewest judges of any of the thirteen United States courts of appeals. It covers most of New ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
United States Court Of Appeals For The Tenth Circuit
The United States Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit (in case citations, 10th Cir.) is a federal court with appellate jurisdiction over the district courts in the following districts: * District of Colorado * District of Kansas * District of New Mexico * Eastern District of Oklahoma * Northern District of Oklahoma * Western District of Oklahoma * District of Utah * District of Wyoming These districts were part of the Eighth Circuit until 1929. The court is composed of nineteen active judges and is based at the Byron White U.S. Courthouse in Denver, Colorado. It is one of thirteen United States courts of appeals and has jurisdiction over 560,625 square miles, or roughly one seventh of the country's land mass. History Congress created a new judicial circuit in 1929 to accommodate the increased caseload in the federal courts. Between 1866 and 1912, twelve new states had entered the Union and been incorporated into the Eighth and Ninth Circuits. The Eighth Circ ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
United States Court Of Appeals For The Ninth Circuit
The United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit (in case citations, 9th Cir.) is the U.S. federal court of appeals that has appellate jurisdiction over the U.S. district courts for the following federal judicial districts: * District of Alaska * District of Arizona * Central District of California * Eastern District of California * Northern District of California * Southern District of California * District of Hawaii * District of Idaho * District of Montana * District of Nevada * District of Oregon * Eastern District of Washington * Western District of Washington The Ninth Circuit also has appellate jurisdiction over the territorial courts for the District of Guam and the District of the Northern Mariana Islands. Additionally, it sometimes handles appeals that originate from American Samoa, which has no district court and partially relies on the District of Hawaii for its federal cases. Headquartered in San Francisco, California, the Ninth Circuit is ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
United States Court Of Appeals For The Seventh Circuit
The United States Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit (in case citations, 7th Cir.) is the U.S. United States federal court, federal court with appellate jurisdiction over the United States district court, courts in the following United States federal judicial district, districts: * United States District Court for the Central District of Illinois, Central District of Illinois * United States District Court for the Northern District of Illinois, Northern District of Illinois * United States District Court for the Southern District of Illinois, Southern District of Illinois * United States District Court for the Northern District of Indiana, Northern District of Indiana * United States District Court for the Southern District of Indiana, Southern District of Indiana * United States District Court for the Eastern District of Wisconsin, Eastern District of Wisconsin * United States District Court for the Western District of Wisconsin, Western District of Wisconsin The court is b ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Plea Bargain
A plea bargain, also known as a plea agreement or plea deal, is a legal arrangement in criminal law where the defendant agrees to plead guilty or no contest to a charge in exchange for concessions from the prosecutor. These concessions can include a reduction in the severity of the charges, the dismissal of some charges, or a more lenient sentencing recommendation. Plea bargaining serves as a mechanism to expedite the resolution of criminal cases, allowing both the prosecution and the defense to avoid the time, expense, and uncertainty of a trial. It is a prevalent practice in the United States, where it resolves the vast majority of criminal cases, and has been adopted in various forms in other legal systems worldwide. Plea bargains can take different forms, such as ''charge bargaining'', where a defendant pleads guilty to a lesser offense, or ''sentence bargaining'', where the expected sentence is agreed upon before a guilty plea. In addition, count bargaining involves pleading gu ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
