In our last couple posts, we’ve been speaking about rape kits, specifically how the evidence is gathered and stored, and about the issue of chain of custody. When a defendant faces rape charges, there are several things to keep in mind when building criminal defense...
In our last post, we began speaking about rape kits and how the evidence is gathered with the use of these kits. We also mentioned the importance of maintaining chain of custody with respect to rape kits. What happens after a rape kit has been utilized depends on...
One of the tools prosecutors use in attempting to convict defendants for sexual assault is the rape kit. These kits are used to collect forensic evidence obtained in a medical examination of the victim after the alleged incident.Rape kits can include a variety of...
We’ve been talking about changes proposed to the federal sentencing guidelines, and particularly about how one basic aim of the changes is to give greater weight to the subjective intent of defendants when determining the appropriate sentencing range for economic...
In our last post, we mentioned that changes may be coming with respect to how the federal sentencing guidelines deal with a defendant’s culpability for economic offenses such as fraud, theft and embezzlement. Overall, the recent changes proposed by the U.S. Sentencing...
When building a strong criminal case, it is important for defendants to work with an experienced criminal defense attorney to highlight the aspects of their case which will go toward minimizing the penalties. This can include a variety of strategies, from challenging...
In our last post, we spoke about the FBI’s recent admission that thousands of criminal cases may have been affected by faulty hair analysis testimony. As we pointed out, there are bound to be a significant number of appeals stemming from the scandal, which itself is a...
Readers are well aware that the standard of proof for evidence in criminal cases is that of “beyond a reasonable doubt.” The highest standard of proof in the legal system, it requires prosecutors to present evidence that would convince a reasonable person that there...
Last month, we wrote about a proposal backed by Baltimore State’s Attorney Marilyn Mosby which would prevent judges from excluding from trial evidence that a defendant committed prior sexual offenses when admitting such evidence would be unfairly prejudicial to a...
In our last post, we began speaking about the issue of entrapment, which is a legal defense that can be asserted in situations where an individual is induced to commit a crime during the course of a police investigation. Here we wanted to offer a couple more comments...
