94
votes
What happens if I negatively answer the court oath regarding the truth?
That will amount to refusal to testify.
The judge will warn you that, for a summoned witness, a refusal to testify means contempt of court and you will be asked that question again. After a second &...
- 25.8k
63
votes
Accepted
Can you refuse to swear on the Bible?
In order to accommodate various objections that have arisen in recent generations, in general:
You are allowed to "affirm" instead of "swear"
You do not have to say "so help me God"
You do not have ...
- 21.7k
48
votes
Accepted
Why don't courts punish time-wasting tactics?
I haven't reviewed the filings, but I can tell you that it's perfectly routine for lawyers to describe the other side's position as "plainly without merit," with no regard for the actual ...
- 57.2k
45
votes
Is there a legal reason that organizations often refuse to comment on an issue citing "ongoing litigation"?
united-states
But what is that legal reason? Why would an organization not be able
to state their position with respect to the issue, such as "We believe
we acted correctly, but this will be ...
- 195k
43
votes
Is there any limit to the rate at which court cases can be filed?
Yes, it's actally happened. Several outfits have filed cases by the hundreds, and they were even literally photocopies.
And it works rather well, until one victim stands up for what's right - and then ...
43
votes
Accepted
What was the original idea behind the practice of courtroom wigs?
The courtroom wig actually dates from an era centuries ago when it was common for the upper classes to shave their heads and wear wigs - a practice that arose for hygiene reasons.
That is, at the time ...
- 2,510
42
votes
Accepted
Adapt the oath of truth to a reasonable version?
I think you should take "the whole truth" as simply short for "all the truth known to the witness, within the limits of the rules of evidence as applied by the judge." and take &...
- 113k
40
votes
Can you refuse to swear on the Bible?
In Torcaso v. Watkins, 367 U.S. 488 (1961), the Supreme Court held that
Neither a State nor the Federal Government can... pass laws or impose requirements which aid all
religions as against ...
- 8,647
38
votes
Accepted
What can a lawyer do if the client wants to be acquitted of everything despite serious evidence?
In several civil law systems, including in Switzerland, the involvement of a defence lawyer can be mandatory, even against the will of the accused.
If the accused does not appoint a lawyer, a duty ...
- 5,786
37
votes
Does the law make exceptions for Good Samaritans?
Depends on where you are, and what law would be broken and why.
In germany, there is the concept of rechtfertigender Notstand (justifying emergency). If there is a present danger to a Rechtsgut (...
- 14.5k
36
votes
Accepted
Why can courts refuse evidence?
Different exclusionary rules have different reasons.
Hearsay is frequently inadmissible because it's less reliable for the court to hear Alice saying "Bob told me that Carol hit him" than to ...
- 35.1k
36
votes
What is the legal basis for judges being able to see classified material?
united-states
The simple answer is the procedures adopted under the Classified Information Procedures Act. Under Personnel Security, they say that:
No person appointed by the court or designated for ...
- 23.6k
36
votes
Accepted
Why are there two case numbers for United States v. Trump?
Court Listener explained by email:
This is unfortunately a bug we have in multi-defendant criminal cases. Sorry!
See a more technical description of the problem here: https://github.com/...
- 43.8k
33
votes
Accepted
Why does Double Jeopardy apply if you confess?
In the United States, prohibition against double jeopardy is a constitutional protection. As long as one was actually at jeopardy for an offence by a particular sovereign, that sovereign may not ...
- 43.8k
32
votes
What happens if I negatively answer the court oath regarding the truth?
In England & Wales
A witness who attends court but who refuses to take the oath or
affirmation, or who improperly refuses to give evidence, is liable to
be fined or imprisoned.
In the magistrates’...
- 3,976
29
votes
Accepted
Why do judges use a hammer in court?
The ceremonial hammer is called a gavel and usually looks like this:
Stock image used with permission
(Gavels in India and in the U.S. Senate which received its gavel as a diplomatic gift from India,...
- 195k
29
votes
Accepted
Do countries (with rule of law) exist where a court can require the legislature to vote on a law in order to clear ambiguities?
germanycivil-law
there was a way for supreme court judges to resolve ambiguities
The Bundesverfassungsgericht (Federal Constitutional Court), through a Verfassungsbeschwerde (constitutional ...
- 5,348
26
votes
Why can courts refuse evidence?
You need to ask why evidence gets excluded. For example evidence that was obtained by a search without a proper warrant. That's not excluded to protect criminals, it's excluded so that law abiding ...
- 32.9k
26
votes
Does the law make exceptions for Good Samaritans?
While the question asks generally about "necessity"-type defenses, there is a need to distinguish between two separate concepts.
Good Samaritan laws
Good samaritan laws "offer legal ...
- 1,449
26
votes
Why does Double Jeopardy apply if you confess?
Just because I believe I’m guilty doesn’t mean I am
All crimes contain elements, each of which must be true for someone to be guilty. Yes, I shot the victim, yes, I intended to kill him, yes, he’s now ...
- 198k
25
votes
Accepted
On the limits of a law clerk to the judge to "co-judge" a case and how the communications should be recorded
Short of forging the judge's signature or acting with a conflict of interest, there's really not much a law clerk can do to "improperly" contribute to the judge's work.
Although Trump's ...
- 57.2k
24
votes
Accepted
Why was Joe Arpaio not given a jury trial?
Some of the documents are here. As document 61 of the trial, the government motion for bench trial, argues,
There is no constitutional right to a jury trial for criminal contempt
charges ...
- 210k
23
votes
Accepted
Can lawyers ask judges questions?
The question should not include France and Germany, and should be limited to common law jurisdictions that are similar to India, because the function of judges differs starkly between adversarial vs. ...
- 210k
23
votes
Can a lawyer at trial keep shouting objection in order to fillibuster?
I am guessing that the question is about the United States, since the "objection!" procedure is not the same in other places.
The Supreme Court has held that even though you have the right ...
- 4,771
22
votes
Accepted
Why did Christopher Tran warn Judge Kelly about the Minister for Immigration's power to cancel Djokovic's visa?
Video of that portion of the hearing can be found on the court's YouTube channel.
It doesn't seem like anything nefarious. My interpretation is that Mr. Tran is just giving Judge Kelly this ...
- 29k
22
votes
Accepted
Can a lawyer at trial keep shouting objection in order to fillibuster?
canada
The Criminal Code allows a court to "cause the accused to be removed and to be kept out of court, where he misconducts himself by interrupting the proceedings so that to continue the ...
- 43.8k
21
votes
Why is it unlawful for an officer of the court to inform a jury they may find as they see fit, absolutely?
The "why" is pretty simple: the duty of the court is the ensure compliance with the law and uphold the rule of law. A statement to the contrary would undermine that obligation and would ...
- 195k
Only top scored, non community-wiki answers of a minimum length are eligible