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Duplicity (law)
Duplicity is the error committed when the charge (known as a ''count'') on an indictment describes two different offences. An indictment may contain more than one count, but each count must allege only one offence, so that the defendant (and the jury) can know precisely what offences he or she is accused of. If a count is poorly drafted so that it alleges two offences, it is said to be "duplicitous". A duplicitous count is defective and must be quashed by the judge, unless the judge permits the count to be amended so that it only alleges one offence, or is split into two counts. If a duplicitous count is not noticed until after the defendant has been convicted on it, the verdict may be void Void may refer to: Science, engineering, and technology * Void (astronomy), the spaces between galaxy filaments that contain no galaxies * Void (composites), a pore that remains unoccupied in a composite material * Void, synonym for vacuum, a .... Duplicity is a completely different situ ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Error (law)
Errors of various types may occur in legal proceedings and may or may not constitute grounds for appeal. Types of error * Harmless error is one considered not to have affected the trial's outcome and is thus not grounds for appeal. Harmless error is distinguished from "plain error" in that if error is "preserved" by the making of a timely objection, the burden of proof is on the respondent to show that the error was harmless, but if error was not preserved, the burden of proof is on the appellant to show that the error was plain. * Invited error is error brought about by a party's own conduct during a trial, and does not give grounds for appeal. * Reversible error is one that can lead to a judgment being overturned on appeal. See also * Actual innocence * Fundamental error Fundamental error is a legal term provided by United States Courts to describe an error which occurs whenever a judgement violates a federal fundamental right. In United States constitutional law, fun ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Indictment
An indictment ( ) is a formal accusation that a person has committed a crime. In jurisdictions that use the concept of felonies, the most serious criminal offence is a felony; jurisdictions that do not use the felonies concept often use that of an indictable offence, an offence that requires an indictment. Australia Section 80 of the Constitution of Australia provides that "the trial on indictment of any offence against any law of the Commonwealth shall be by jury". The High Court of Australia has consistently used a narrow interpretation of this clause, allowing the Parliament of Australia to define which offences proceed on indictment rather than conferring a universal right to a jury trial. Section 4G of the ''Crimes Act 1914'' provides that "offences against a law of the Commonwealth punishable by imprisonment for a period exceeding 12 months are indictable offences, unless the contrary intention appears". Canada A direct indictment is one in which the case is sent directly to ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Offense (law)
In ordinary language, a crime is an unlawful act punishable by a state or other authority. The term ''crime'' does not, in modern criminal law, have any simple and universally accepted definition,Farmer, Lindsay: "Crime, definitions of", in Cane and Conoghan (editors), '' The New Oxford Companion to Law'', Oxford University Press, 2008 (), p. 263Google Books). though statutory definitions have been provided for certain purposes. The most popular view is that crime is a category created by law; in other words, something is a crime if declared as such by the relevant and applicable law. One proposed definition is that a crime or offence (or criminal offence) is an act harmful not only to some individual but also to a community, society, or the state ("a public wrong"). Such acts are forbidden and punishable by law. The notion that acts such as murder, rape, and theft are to be prohibited exists worldwide. What precisely is a criminal offence is defined by the criminal law of ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
