Criminal Law
| RIGHT TO APPEAL |
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| A defendant has a right to appeal his or her final judgment of conviction and sentence by a trial court to a state's appellate court. In order to be considered a defendant for purposes of an appeal, the defendant must have been charged with a crime or the defendant must have committed a criminal offense. More... |
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| ALIBI DEFENSE |
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| An alibi means that a defendant was at a place at the time of an offense where he or she could not have participated in the offense. Although an alibi defense is not an affirmative defense, it does involve the negation of an element of the prosecution's case against a defendant. The defendant does not have the burden of proving his or her alibi. The prosecution has the burden of proving that the defendant committed the offense. The alibi defense contradicts the allegations of an indictment or an information against the defendant and casts doubt about whether the prosecution has met its burden of proof. More... |
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| Bail or Jail |
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| After a defendant is arrested, he or she is required to appear before a judge or magistrate. At this time, the defendant may request or a judge may set bail for the defendant's release. Bail is cash or a cash equivalent that is given to the court to ensure that he or she will appear in court when ordered. If the defendant appears when he or she was ordered to, bail is refunded. However, if he or she fails to appear, the court keeps the bail and issues a warrant for his or her arrest.
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| RELEASE ON BAIL PENDING AN APPEAL |
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| Whether a defendant is entitled to be released on bail pending his or her appeal depends upon the type of offense of which the defendant was convicted and the length of sentence that is imposed on the defendant. If the defendant is convicted of a misdemeanor, the defendant is generally entitled to reasonable bail pending his or her appeal. If the defendant is convicted of a felony, the length of the defendant's sentence generally determines whether the defendant is entitled to bail. More... |
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| Extradition |
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| Extradition is the process by which an individual is delivered from state or nation where he is located, to the requesting state or nation in order to face prosecution or to serve a sentence. The participants in an extradition proceeding are either the two nations or two states and the individual. More... |
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