We’re Gonna Need The Hardly Boys For This One…
It was a mystery for the ages, the crime of the century. A few scratcher lottery tickets and/or some cash swiped from a convenience store counter. In broad daylight. The nerve! Police interviewed the clerk, who said he didn’t just steal them himself. Being human polygraphs, officers cleared him right away. Being forensic reconstruction experts too, they reviewed the surveillance video, which showed a lady quite clearly, but not much more. They immediately concluded there had been a crime. They got a lucky break because the clerk, who definitely didn’t just steal some stuff, got the license plate of the regular who committed the dastardly deed. Officers pulled the driver’s license photo associated with the plate and put it in a lineup that might as well have included a few … Read entire article »
Filed under: Prosecutors
It's All Illegal
Years ago, I thought I knew what was illegal and what was not. Now, I know that what I once thought I knew may in fact be unknowable. Take hindering prosecution, for instance. In Arizona, a person commits the offense of hindering prosecution if, with the intent to hinder the prosecution of another person for any felony, the person renders assistance to the other person. A person can render assistance by knowingly preventing by means of deception anyone from performing an act that might aid in the prosecution of the other person. I have a client who was in custody last summer, sitting on the chain in court waiting for a hearing. An officer came to court to get a handwriting exemplar from another inmate on the chain, … Read entire article »
Filed under: Government Rants
Lesser Included Offenses
In many cases that go to trial, it is important to request that the judge give the jury a lesser included offense instruction. That means that you ask the judge to tell the jury that the crime with which the defendant has been charged includes a lesser crime and that, if they feel the facts warrant it, they can find the defendant guilty of the lesser crime instead of the charged crime. For instance, in Arizona, theft is a lesser included offense of robbery, so if you are accused of robbery, the judge can tell the jury that they can find you guilty of theft instead. Some jurors don’t like the fact they only have two options (guilty or not guilty), so a lesser included offense instruction gives them … Read entire article »
Filed under: Arizona Cases
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