| Right to Effective Counsel and Attachment of the Right to Counsel |
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| The Sixth Amendment to the United States Constitution guarantees a defendant the right to effective assistance of counsel in criminal proceedings. Effective assistance of counsel is presumed. If the defendant claims that his counsel was ineffective, he has the burden of proving that the ineffectiveness prejudiced him and that a different result would have occurred but for the ineffectiveness. Instances that do not constitute ineffectiveness include trial tactics, failure to raise an invalid defense, and failure to argue frivolous matters. More... |
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| Extradition |
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| Extradition is the process by which an individual is delivered from state or nation where he is located, to the requesting state or nation in order to face prosecution or to serve a sentence. The participants in an extradition proceeding are either the two nations or two states and the individual. More... |
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| CLEMENCY FOR DOMESTIC VIOLENCE VICTIMS |
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| In some states, legislatures have recently enacted laws that grant the possibility of clemency by the states' governors for domestic violence victims who have been convicted of certain offenses, such as murder and manslaughter. In those states, the governors are entitled to request a clemency investigation by the states' parole boards into cases where defendants have pleaded guilty or have been convicted of those offenses when the offenses were directly related to the defendants' being victimized by domestic violence.
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| Preliminary Determinations of Admissibility of Evidence |
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| Generally speaking legal issues are to be determined by the trial court and factual issues are to be determined by a jury or judge if no jury is present. However, either the judge or the jury may determine preliminary determinations of facts.
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| WAIVER OF THE RIGHT TO COUNSEL |
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| Even though a defendant is guaranteed the right to counsel under the Fifth, Sixth, and Fourteenth Amendments to the United States Constitution, the defendant is entitled to waive such right. However, the defendant's waiver must be voluntary, knowing, and intelligent.
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