Questions tagged [trial]
For questions about trial in a court of law -- customs, procedures, and rules.
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Can a prosecutor hold back charges so they can try again?
Assume I was alleged to have been involved in a bank robbery gone wrong - guns were fired, people were killed and injured, some robbers were arrested at the scene, some escaped etc.
Obviously, there ...
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Why does Art. 103 of the German Basic Law forbid a second trial after an acquittal?
The German Constitutional Court (Bundesverfassungsgerichts) recently ruled that a second trial (due to new evidence) after a previous acquittal violates the German constitution:
BVerfG urteilt zur ...
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Why, more specifically, were women not permitted to view the trial of Ashford v Thornton?
According to Wikipedia which in turn cites p 63, “Schoenfield, Mark (1997), "Waging battle: Ashford v Thornton, Ivanhoe and legal violence", in Simmons, Clare (ed.), Medievalism and the ...
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Why are jurors still asked to apply the law if their primary role is to find facts?
Why do juries get asked whether the defendant is guilty or not instead of simply whether certain alleged facts took place?
Say Rob is being tried for the murder of Bob, but there's also a possibility ...
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Can a defense attorney face any serious repercussions for trying to induce jury nullification?
Say the prosecution has irrefutablly concrete evidence that the defendant commited the crime of which he is accused. Knowing this, the attorney of the defendant plays on empathy and convincing the ...
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Can a private contract obligate someone to exercise their right to a jury trial?
Say I think my local DA is pursuing too many low-quality cases, and pressuring people into plea deals, when they don't really have the evidence to convict.
Can I and several thousand of my closest, ...
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Recourse for biased judges presiding over trial
Alice has brought a civil claim against Barbara, and the paperwork has all been filed as directed in the written case directions. Alice has been self representing while Barbara has hired Barry as her ...
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Does a person have a right to a bench trial?
There is the famous right to be tried by a jury of your peers, but do you also have the right to a bench trial, if you prefer?
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What kind of claims did Ryan Salame forfeit in the FTX trial?
There is a recent article about the trial of Ryan Salame surrounding the crypto-currency platform FTX. The article starts with the big headline that he forfeited $1,5 billion and then writes later on ...
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Why does the prosecutor get both the first and the last word at trial?
In the U.S., rules of court have the prosecutor in a criminal trial giving the first opening statement, followed by the defense's opening statement; and then the final closing statement, after the ...
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Is it possible to go to trial while pleading guilty to some or all charges?
I understand that when a defendant is charged with one or more crimes, one of the following outcomes almost always occurs in practice: either
1 . They plead not guilty to all charges and go to trial, ...
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In a criminal trial, is the prosecution allowed to discuss its plea bargaining with the defendant?
Suppose that someone is charged with a crime. Before they are arraigned, they negotiate with the prosecution about a potential plea bargain, but do not reach one and instead go to trial.
During the ...
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What will a judge do if a witness refers to an event previously stricken from the record? (USA)
Some context. Suppose the prosecutor enters into evidence body camera footage from a police officer. On the tape, the suspect makes a lewd remark, and another officer offers a witty comeback. The jury ...
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What legal arguments could the defense use to stop a State racketeering case against an individual based on them being elected president?
If an individual in the US is indicted on state racketeering charges (e.g. Georgia) and they are later elected as US president, what legal arguments could be made in court by the defense to stop or at ...
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Is it possible for a witness to backtrack and claim that their previous statements were wrong because they misremembered?
One of the Youtube channels I'm following is running a series of videos about an ongoing lawsuit (within reason, of course). The latest video has an interesting point that got me wondering.
Suppose ...
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Why was the video evidence heavily debated in the Kyle Rittenhouse case?
During the Kyle Rittenhouse Trail, on days 6 and 8, questions were raised about the program used to enhance the video evidence. The program, Amped FIVE, was used for the drone footage. To do this, ...
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First criminal court trial with DNA evidence Idaho
I'm wondering what was the first Idaho criminal court trial that admitted DNA evidence and led to defendant's conviction?
The only thing I found is the following but the defendant pleaded guilty in ...
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Is a Denial of a Motion to Compel Arbitration reviewed de novo by the Appellate Division?
Appeals of an arbitration award are reviewed de novo. Does the same apply to the denial of a Motion to Compel Arbitration? In other words, if the trial court denied a motion to compel arbitration, is ...
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If you try to charge someone for something and it doesn't stick, can a less severe charge be made as a follow-up?
Say Mark is charged with A (let's say Murder), but the charges don't stick because e.g. he didn't do it on purpose. Can Mark then charged as a follow-up for B (e.g. involuntary manslaughter)? Or does ...
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Is there any merit in continuing to fight a trial despite an overwhelming chance of losing and there being no plea deal?
For example, if the evidence is overwhelmingly against them and the defendant knows they are guilty and there is no chance for a lesser sentence or a plea deal (happens in certain jurisdictions), is ...
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What remedies can a witness use to satisfy the "all the truth" portion of their oath?
Hypothetical:
A witness took an oath to tell the whole truth. The adversarial cross-examiner abruptly cuts off the witness's testimony in the middle of a statement, leaving the train of thought ...
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Is cross examination strictly confined to the subjects that the original examination pertained to, or can the opposing party make their own points?
Pretty straightforward question, really: what are the topical constraints of cross examination with reference to examination?
Suppose party A calls witness W to the stand to ask them questions about ...
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Are there any opportunities to Socratically question an opposing counsel on their legal arguments in a civil trial?
According to this answer,
https://law.stackexchange.com/a/90414/48046
Opposing counsel was called as a witness for examination in the American scopes trial.
Is such a practice allowed in English trial ...
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If one is tried+convicted of a crime at a certain time, can one be tried+convicted of another crime that happened at the same time? [Yakuza Series]
100% inspired by Yakuza Lost Judgement.
Bob is accused of assaulting Alice at X o'clock, with video evidence. It goes to trial, and Bob is successfully convicted.
Later on, strong evidence comes up of ...
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What are the typical stages / processes of a criminal trial?
In a criminal trial in the United States, there are stages or processes which are followed by every case heard by the courts. I understand some states may vary in procedure but what are the stages ...
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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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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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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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In what context can one reference or make points about pre-trial correspondence at trial?
Suppose one has a claim against a corporate defendant, and up until the trial the defendant is represented in correspondence by a solicitor. At trial, a human director of the defendant is called by ...
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Why was Alex Murdaugh sentenced so quickly after the guilty verdict?
Normally, isn't there a big pre-sentencing investigation and victim impact statements and stuff like that?
Not surprized about the withering rebuke and sentence, but that it occurred so immediately ...
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Why are trials on "Law & Order" in the New York Supreme Court?
On the TV show "Law & Order", when they cut to the trial it's usually accompanied by a chiron (along with the trademark "dun-dun" sound) saying something like "New York ...
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What does it mean for a trial, or other hearing, that has been listed to be “vacated”?
What does it mean, and what are the implications of having a trial (or other hearing) vacated?
Does it more strongly suggest that it will have been dispensed with finally, or that it will be ...
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Can I surprise the prosecution with an alibi defense at trial?
Let's say I've been accused of a murder. Throughout the investigation I've plead the Fifth as to where I was when the crime happened. Eventually I'm put on trial, still pleading the fifth as to my ...
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Can someone use good deeds to "bribe" their way to innocence?
Question inspired by Yakuza Judgement.
Carl, the huge rich criminal, is on trial for a murder he obviously committed. But during the trial, he looks at the 12 jurors and says
"if you let me go, I ...
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Can the prosecution fight for the defendent's innocence?
Bob is accused of a crime (let's say murder). Bob is a self-hating man who wants to be punished. He admits to the crime, and hires a lawyer to push forth his guilty plea. The prosecution, however, ...
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Is character assassination of witnesses allowed?
Say that one side of a trial brings a witness Walter onto the stand. If the other side doesn't like Walter's testimony (and wants the jury to not take it seriously), are they allowed to engage in ...
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Board of 9 judges in Japan?
This is from a fictional trial from Yakuza Judgement, set in Tokyo Japan. The context is a trial where someone is accused of murder.
On the left is the defendant (in white) and his attorney team. On ...
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Is it a valid attorney strategy to make statements, even if they will be striken from the record?
Similar to how, in football/soccer, players strategically go for fouls because they're effective. Is it common practice for an attorney to bring up inadmissable evidence/points that, even though they ...
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How does a prosecutor determine intent?
When prosecutors look at a statute, how do they determine the requirements to prove intent?
For example, look at this statute:
“Whoever knowingly and with intent to defraud, accesses a protected ...
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If a defendant is found guilty, they can usually appeal to a higher court. Is the plaintiff appealing an acquittal also allowed?
Say Adam the accuser is taking Dave the Defendant to court. If Dave loses in his local district, I've heard that he can appeal the decision and be re-tried in a higher court (all the way to 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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Does double jeopardy apply if the prosecution did a "terrible job"?
The point of this question is about how double-jeopardy could potentially be abused.
Say that Bob is suspected of murdering Mary. If he is tried for this crime and found not guilty, then he can't be ...
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Are there any limits on being "overly selective" during Jury Selection?
Say Andy the attorney is trying to defend Nathan the Nazi in a criminal court case. During Jury Selection, where potential jurors are vetted, what is stopping Andy from saying that every Nazi-hater is ...
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Can prosecutors and/or judges be sued for dereliction of duty when they change charges to avoid a jury trial?
Scenario (Utah, USA): A defendant is arraigned at a pre-trial hearing. Charges include driving without insurance and driving with an expired license.
State law declares that those who do these things ...
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In-court identification of defendants
(Inspired by Can a lawyer subject the court to a (temporary) ruse for a legitimate purpose?)
Under which circumstances are witnesses asked to identify people present (in particular defendants) in the ...
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How speedy must a trial be to for the purposes of article 6, ECHR?
Article 6 of the European Convention on Human Rights requires criminal trials to be fair and speedy. What is the time threshold for a trial to transpire is for it to be deemed "speedy" or ...
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How literally do courts in USA interpret face to face confrontation right of defendant under sixth amendment?
I will soon be a major witness in a criminal trial of another in the USA. I was present at the scene and was asked by state to testify at criminal trial. The defendant is facing felony charges against ...
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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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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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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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