A permissive inference arises when the existence of one fact by itself allows a judge or a jury to infer another, related fact without any additional information. What this means is that, if a judge or a jury determines that one fact is present, that judge or jury requires no additional information in order to assume the existence of other, related [..]

Abuse of Discretion

Abuse of discretion is a standard of review whereby a determination of a fact by either a judge or a jury, or a determination of the admissibility of evidence by a judge, can only be overturned on appeal if it is determined that the judge or jury exercised an abuse of discretion in admitting certain evidence or in determining a certain fact. Instan [..]

The appellee is the party against whom an appeal is noted. In most circumstances, the appellee is the party that prevailed at the most recent trial; however, in some cases known as interlocutory appeals, the appeal is noted in the middle of the trial.

In both the federal system and many state systems, an arraignment is a proceeding before trial in which a person who has been charged with a crime will have the charges read to him or her and will be given the opportunity to enter a plea in these charges of guilty, not guilty, or no contest.

BAC means Blood Alcohol Concentration or Blood Alcohol Content; it is measured on the basis of grams of alcohol per 200 liters of blood in the system of an individual. BAC is determined through examinations of an individual’s breath or blood, depending on the circumstances of the arrest. BAC is used as a measurement by law enforcement officials bec [..]

A bench trial is trial by a judge, rather than a jury. While the constitution guarantees a right to a trial by a jury, there are elements of judicial capacity and efficiency that are considered by the state in attempting to effectively mete out smaller cases by resolving such cases before the point at which a jury would be required. Because of this [..]

A departure, or variance, may be given by a judge when imposing a sentence on a defendant. When a defendant is sentenced by a judge in either the federal or the state system, his or her sentence is determined according to a set of sentencing guidelines that consider the defendant’s criminal history, the nature and circumstances of the crime committ [..]

A deposition is a form of out-of-court testimony that is conducted during pre-trial discovery and enables an attorney to gain evidence in preparation for a trial. Depositions are especially useful because they enable the parties to know what information potential witnesses have before a trial commences. Because depositions are considered sworn test [..]

The grand jury is a panel of individuals who determine whether or not probable cause exists for a case to proceed to trial. This panel is called from the population of registered voters and, although constitutionally required in the prosecution of many cases, is something of a formality. The proceedings of the grand jury are secret. Only the govern [..]