Questions tagged [court]
For questions regarding the court system, courtroom procedure, or the process of interaction with a court of law. Do not use for questions that are more generally about a legal case handled by a court; instead, use other tags about the specifics of the case.
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What happens if I negatively answer the court oath regarding the truth?
Bailiff: (to the witness) Please raise your right hand. Do you swear
to tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth?
Witness: No.
What would happen? Unfortunately, in the limited ...
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Why did this US prosecutor keep asking whether documents would refresh a witness's memory?
Background
I served on a jury during a criminal trial in the United States several years ago. There was a strangely formal interaction that repeated itself a few times during the trial.
The ...
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Held indefinitely for contempt of court?
Tommy Gregory Thompson is a former deep-sea treasure hunter and is about to mark his fifth year in jail for contempt of court for refusing to disclose the whereabouts of 500 missing coins made from ...
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What is the penalty for a bad-acting juror?
Let's say Bob is part of the jury during a trial. But Bob is a dishonest/bad juror. What penalties could he face, and what party would be prosecuting him?
The particular scenarios I have in mind are:
...
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Are underage people allowed to defend themselves in court?
Bob is underage, yet commits a severe criminal act that's worthy of going to trial. Normally, one is allowed to represent themselves in court, however ill-advised that may be. But is Bob, underage as ...
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UK - Working without a contract. I resign and guy wants to sue me
I am a foreigner from overseas I just arrived in UK 3 months ago.
I have been working for a small startup in UK as CTO, my employer didn't want to give me an employment contract of any type, or ...
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Is a potential juror protected for what they say during jury selection?
Walter and Bob are potential jurors for the same trial for a white supremacist. Walter happens to believe in white supremacy. Bob happens to be Walter's boss (or even just a potential employer).
...
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Why are there two case numbers for United States v. Trump?
There are two almost identical case numbers assigned for the case United States v. Trump. The dockets are almost identical.
1:23-cr-00257-TSC USA v. TRUMP PACER CourtListener
1:23-cr-00257-TSC-1 - ...
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How is a plea agreement NOT a “threat or promise”?
I was viewing a televised case, the Judge asks the defendant “have any threats or promises been made to you to deliver this plea” before the defendant delivers their guilty plea as part of a plea ...
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Are witnesses allowed to give private testimonies?
Alice's grandpa Greg is on trial. Alice's testimony is crucial to get Greg convicted. But, for some reason or another, Alice doesn't want to appear in court as a witness in front of Greg to badmouth ...
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Is there any limit to the rate at which court cases can be filed?
Is there a limit to the rate at which a person can file court cases? What if someone purposefully tries to file a court case every minute to disrupt the court? Can that person be punished in India or ...
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Can a witness lodge an objection in response to a question?
Suppose that a lawyer asks a question that may breach some court protocol. Is it acceptable for a witness to turn to the judge and say "Objection!" and possibly go on to explain the nature ...
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What is the penalty for a bad-acting witness/expert?
Say Alice from the defense/prosecution meets with Bob, some expert/witness, to establish some "facts", and then Alice agrees to call Bob to the stand to establish those "facts" for ...
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Are leading-witness rules applied equally to prosecution and defence?
Preamble
I'm a scientist, not a lawyer, so please excuse this if it's obvious.
Background
In watching the Chauvin trial, I've noticed that the defence lawyer tends to ask questions by stating the ...
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If a witness asks for their lawyer during a trial, how is it handled?
A criminal trial is going on. Andy the Attorney asks Walter the Witness some questions. After a while, Walter realizes he's been an idiot, and says he wants his Lawyer Larry.
How does the court ...
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What is a municipal court?
I am studying for a Master's in Legal Translation. (I am French)
I need to understand what a "municipal court" is.
Is it like our "Tribunal de Police" for speeding on the road, ...
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Why are judicial circuits so named?
Why are judicial circuits named "judicial circuits"?
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When lords were tried by the House of Lords, where could they appeal to?
If a lord was proceeded against then the HoL would be the venue of first instance. But where would the appeal go from there, and what was the venue of last resort? Or was it there be all and end all, ...
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At What Point Does a Supreme Court Ruling Become Binding on Lower Courts?
When the Supreme Court hears a case it can take a while for it to issue a verdict. Typically, after hearing oral arguments, the Justices have to decide the case. They do so at what is known as the ...
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What determines the time factor in a court reaching a decision?
Aside from scheduling, what factors determine how long it takes for a court to reach a decision?
My specific prompt for asking is the news that John Bolton is willing to defy the White House and ...
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How do civil courts handle denial of evidence as forged, tampered, or claims that 'I did not sign it' or 'That's not me'?
In a Civil Trial, how do courts handle scenarios when evidences presented are denied (by plaintiff/defendent) as forged, tampered, or claims that 'I did not sign it' or 'That is not me'?
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Can two people be tried together?
Bob and Carl are both accused of the same murder of Alice. Are they supposed to
be tried together as one party in a single trial?
be separately tried in two simultaneous trials?
be tried one after ...
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What is the basis that allows a judge to reject a defense in a criminal trial in the USA
I have another question inspired from watching Law and Order.
Often, a defense attorney will give notice of a defense, and both the defense lawyer and prosecutor will be in the Judges chambers making ...
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What happens if you tell the court you are not satisfied with your attorney's representation?
I have often heard judges ask parties at the conclusion of a hearing on some matter, "Are you satisfied with your attorney's representation of you in this matter?"
What is the consequence of ...
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What is the authority of the clerk of court?
In the United States, does the Clerk of Court typically have any type of decision-setting power, or does the Clerk's authority extend only to carrying out directives of judges?
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Does the law make exceptions for Good Samaritans?
I know very little about the law. When I watch court television shows, it seems like if a Good Samaritan breaks the law to stop a bad guy, the law/court turns a blind eye.
Are there cases where the ...
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What is a Writ and who can issue one?
What is a Writ and who can issue it? Can a normal person issue a writ on some normal person or should be done on an institution?
I'm asking this with respect to India. Is the meaning the same across ...
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Do most people who take the stand at a trial not tell "the whole truth"?
I should note beforehand that much of my legal "knowledge" is based off of TV shows and movies so some of my assumptions might be off.
When you take the stand at a trial, you promise to tell "the ...
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Can the jeopardy of being judged be fought against in court?
Can the right to take people to the court be itself subject to judicial challenge?
In other words, if someone attempts to sue you, would you ever be able to successfully argue in the court to prevent ...
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Felony codes in Frank Artiles fake campaign case in Miami-Dade
Frank Artiles, a former Florida state representative and senator, was charged with felonies in connection to a scam candidate scheme in Miami Dade County. There was a general question asked about the ...
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Is it required for a defendant to be in court?
Say that Nathan is on trial for 100 murder charges. He already knows his life is over, so every time they bring him into court, he starts screaming expletives out of turn. They charge him 1000 times ...
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Why did Christopher Tran warn Judge Kelly about the Minister for Immigration's power to cancel Djokovic's visa?
I find this detail in the recent Novak Djokovic's Australian visa saga quite interesting.
On Monday, 10 January 2022, when Judge Kelly delivered his decision to reinstate Djokovic's visa, Christopher ...
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Why did OJ Simpson's trial take 9 months?
It's my understanding that most trials are over in a week.
Are murder trials typically much longer, or was OJ Simpson's case very unusual (aside from the publicity)?
Do trials essentially last as ...
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How is the quality of an expert witness judged?
When bringing in an expert to testify something, obviously that expert doesn't have to bring in their resume and go through 3 rounds of interviewing with every member of the jury, as if they were ...
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Do judges get penalised when their decisions are quashed by a higher court?
In New Zealand, court decisions are fairly often taken to a higher court and got quashed / overturned. When this happens, the higher court judge would typically rule that the previous judge "erred" in ...
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Can a Defendant Insist on Cross Examining the Plaintiff Directly in a LT Trial?
This question relates to a landlord tenant trial in NJ in which the landlord ("Plaintiff") is being represented by an attorney.
The Defendant wishes to cross examine the Plaintiff directly ...
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Do U.S. courts have to select a jury that's racially representative?
Do U.S. courts have to select a jury that's racially representative? I am wondering if there's a legal obligation of that sort nationwide, or if it varies by state, or if no such consideration needs ...
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Is a witness on the stand allowed to take notes?
I have read that witnesses in a court are allowed to refer to notes when they are testifying, but, without regard as to why they might feel a need to, are they allowed to take notes while they are ...
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Force person on stand to only say, yes or no, legal?
I've searched and have been unable to find the answer to this. It's a pretty basic question and something you see a lot in USA crime/law dramas. A person takes the stand under oath, under examination ...
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Can a lawyer compel a witness to read something aloud in court?
Often on shows like Law and Order, a lawyer might ask someone on the stand to read something aloud. An example might be an academic putting forward one opinion, being asked to read an excerpt from a ...
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What international body would one go to file a case against Australian Immigration?
I have a situation with Australian immigration that sounds like a cheap scam...
Immigration process goes as follows, you submit documents to one of agencies that are appointed by the Australian ...
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What does it mean when a court case is "dismissed"?
I've heard a number of conspiracy theorists say that court cases related to 2020 election fraud were "dismissed without looking at the evidence".
According to wikipedia there have been 55 ...
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Could Congress create a court higher than the Supreme Court?
Could Congress create a court that could overrule SCOTUS decisions?
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Is one allowed to ask for compensation for their witness testimony?
Bob witnesses a murder, so reports the crime to the police. Later, lawyers representing the state/jurisdiction come to Bob, asking him to provide witness testimony. But Bob values his time, and doesn'...
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Is trial courtroom layout prescribed by rule or law?
In the United States, in general criminal trial courtrooms, I have always seen the defense positioned furthest from the jury and the witness stand. However, I gather that not only is there no law or ...
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Why is it really bad to publicly talk about a case you are involved in on social media?
I was inspired to ask this question due to these related Reddit AMA
I’m Jaime Rogozinski, Founder of WallStreetBets and I’m suing Reddit. AMA.
Help me understand the trademark battle for ...
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can I get sued without accepting EULA
I plan publishing information in an article about Software which is the result of people reverse engineering the software.
The author of the software has been attempting to sue people who made use of ...
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How does lawyers' duty of fidelity to court work?
Rules of conduct and client care for lawyers say in Chapter 13:
The overriding duty of a lawyer acting in litigation is to the court
concerned. Subject to this, the lawyer has a duty to act in the ...
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What limits a court's power to order a company or private party to do anything?
Let's take the current case of the FBI vs Apple. The FBI wants the courts to force Apple to enable the FBI to crack a previously uncrackable password.
What limits are there on any court's power to ...
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What's the point of prohibiting leading questions when unfavorable answers can result in witness being declared hostile?
From what I understand, during direct examination:
It is assumed that the witness you called is favorable to your case, so you cannot ask them leading questions (in order to avoid coaxing them into ...
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