Criminal Law
| DURESS AS A DEFENSE |
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| If another person compels a defendant to commit an offense, the defendant may claim that he or she committed the offense under duress. The defense of duress means that the defendant did not have the necessary mental state to commit the offense or to be criminally responsible for the offense. More... |
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| DEFENSE OF A THIRD PERSON |
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| A defendant is entitled to use force or deadly force against another person in order to protect a third person from the other person. The defendant must show that he or she reasonably believed that the use of force was necessary to protect the third person.
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| NECESSITY AS A DEFENSE |
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| A necessity may be claimed as a defense when a defendant reasonably believed that his or her criminal act was immediately necessary to avoid imminent harm. The reasonableness of the defendant's act and the harm that was sought to be avoided by the defendant are the essential elements of the defense. The defendant must show that the harm that he or she sought to avoid was greater than the harm that was committed by his or her criminal act. In other words, the defendant must show that he or she was attempting to achieve a "greater good." More... |
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| COMMUTATION OF SENTENCE |
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| A commutation of sentence is the reduction of a defendant's sentence by a state's governor. It is a form of clemency. A commutation does not remove any legal disabilities of the defendant's conviction. It only has the effect of reducing the defendant's original sentence. A commutation has no effect on the defendant's guilt. More... |
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| Juvenile Proceedings |
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| Juvenile proceedings are different from regular criminal proceedings because they are tailored toward juveniles, children under the age of 18. Every state has a different type of system set up to handle their juvenile matters. Some states have an actual juvenile court, other states place juvenile matters under the guise of the family or probate court. However, most courts that have jurisdiction to hear juvenile matters may transfer the case to a trial court when the offense charged is severe. The process of transferring a juvenile case is often referred to as waiving jurisdiction. More... |
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