The vast majority (around 90%-95%)of federal prosecutions end in the accused defendants pleading guilty through what is known as a “plea agreement.” All three types of plea agreements are governed by Rule 11 of the Federal Rules of Criminal Procedure. These disturbingly high numbers have… Read More »Judges Shouldn’t Be Involved in Plea Agreements
The Fourth Amendment to the United States Constitution provides: The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated, and no Warrants shall issue, but upon probable cause, supported by Oath… Read More »The Fourth Amendment
There are three types of plea options when charged with a crime: guilty, not guilty, and nolo contendere (also referred to as “no contest”). See Federal Rule of Criminal Procedure 11(a)(1). “Nolo contendere” is treated like a guilty plea in the sense that it still… Read More »Plea Agreement
UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURTS The first court a defendant or plaintiff will enter is a United States District Court. There are 94 district courts in the country. While the proceedings here — especially if the matter is a criminal one rather than a civil one… Read More »Federal Court Structure
The legal term “pro se” literally means “for himself” in the Latin. It signifies that a party in court is representing him or herself and has decided to forego an attorney. Despite the old adage, “a man who represents himself has a fool for a… Read More »Pro Se
Petitions for a writ of mandamus, sometimes just called a “mandamus” for short, are rarely granted motions. Usually, their purpose and scope encompasses reporting some form of misconduct by a US District Court judge, such as an egregious and unnecessary delay in a proceeding, to… Read More »Writ of Mandamus
How many times have you heard the phrase “he said she said”? This phrase originates from the idea that — in divorce hearings — sometimes all a judge has to go on are the statements of the husband and the wife, which are often in… Read More »Franks Hearing
Affidavits are documents containing sworn statements of personal knowledge. The facts stated therein constitute evidence in court. Whoever is writing an affidavit may only swear, declare, or certify under penalty of perjury to facts that he or she has personal knowledge either through something specific… Read More »Affidavit
In order to resolve most issues in the Bureau of Prisons, from time not credited toward an inmate’s sentence to lack of cleaning supplies for the living units, an inmate is required to pursue the Administrative Remedy Process. This is a very cumbersome and costly… Read More »Administrative Remedy Process in the Bureau of Prisons