Criminal Procedure Commons^™

Opening Statements, Robert B. Hirschhorn

Mercer Law Review

As we begin the last decade of the twentieth century, we are experiencing a revolution in the courtroom. The techniques of the old guard must give way to new and innovative means of motivating our captive audience called the jury. I will not engage in a legal treatise of the opening statement. Few cases have ever been reversed on error committed during the opening statement. Instead, I intend to address the humanistic factors that make the difference between a losing and a winning opening statement. Some cases have been lost because of an ineffective opening, but a disproportionate number of …

The Defendant As A Witness, Alex Zipperer

Mercer Law Review

Few tactical decisions facing the criminal defense lawyer are as problematic as the decision whether to present evidence on behalf of the defense, and particularly whether to have the defendant testify. Trial lawyering cannot be practiced effectively by simply "going by the book." There are no definitive studies, nor can there be, to tell us what the general rule should be in deciding whether the defendant should testify, or otherwise present evidence in any given case. The nature of the criminal trial does not lend itself to a neat set of rules one pulls out of the hip pocket and …

Every Mother's Son: Humanizing The Defendant, Lisbeth Potts

Mercer Law Review

When the jury panel walks into the courtroom, the first thing they do with "bull's eye" accuracy is zero in on your client. "He must be guilty. Why else would I have to be here? If he wasn't guilty, he wouldn't be here." Those are the thoughts flashing through most of their minds., This is typically the situation, whether the defendant has been charged with a minor offense or a heinous crime.

Political Trials, Ephraim Margolin

Mercer Law Review

In Political Criminal Trials, John Sink distinguished between cases in which the defendant admits the deeds, but invokes political reasons as a justification, and cases in which the prosecution proceeds against suspects for political reasons of its own. Each category of case is tried differently. Each compels a different approach to the handling of the media.

There Is No Such Thing As A Free Question: Examining The Hidden Costs Of Trial Advocacy, Michelle Schieber

Mercer Law Review

Readers of Robert H. Klonoff and Paul L. Colby's new book on trial tactics might well be surprised by the authors' frequent references to fictional works such as Presumed Innocent and Perry Mason. A reader might even go so far as to conclude that the text which he has undertaken to peruse is somewhat radical. But if the reader also assumes that the authors' quirky approach has resulted in a book without merit, then he would be very wrong indeed.

A Crisis Of Legality In The Criminal Law? Reflections On The Rule Of Law, Francis A. Allen

Mercer Law Review

The Carl Vinson Lecture

The notion of the Rule of Law dates from the beginnings of political thought in the western world. In many ways it has had a curious career, for the concept has inspired hyperbole and bombast while, at the same time, generating some of our most sensitive meditations on the nature of law and the relation of individual rights to the exercise of political power and authority.

Calling Your Attention To The Direct Examination: How To Avoid The What Happened Next Question, Christina L. Hunt

Mercer Law Review

When presenting a direct examination, whether it'is the testimony of your client or of another witness, you must remember one thing-prepare your case. Without preparation, a number of consequences inevitably follow:

1. you will definitely lose your client's case;
2. your client will call you every day and drive you insane;
3. your client will then proceed to the penitentiary;
4. he will say unflattering things' about you (and you will deserve it);
5. you will lose potential new clients;
6. he will file habeas corpus papers pro se;
7. he also will sue you for millions of dollars, and, he will do that pro …

The Art Of Impeachment, J. Vincent Aprile Ii

Mercer Law Review

Impeachment is more than a cross-examination technique; impeachment is often a criminal defense lawyer's only weapon against the prosecution's case-in-chief. Impeachment is not a trial tactic or strategy that often can be extemporaneously employed to undermine a prosecution witness's believability. When impeachment, regardless of the mode or technique, is a significant part of the defense strategy, defense counsel must begin to build the context of the impeachment, at the latest, during voir dire and, at the earliest, no later than pretrial motion practice.

Criminal Law And Procedure, Donald F. Samuel, Kathleen V. Duffield

Mercer Law Review

In many respects, this was a quiet year in the area of criminal law and procedure. Though the appellate courts reviewed nearly as many criminal cases as all other types of cases combined, there were few major developments that marked a departure from settled precedent. Perhaps the most significant developments involved two areas of substantive law: the Georgia Supreme Court staked out new territory in the area of bribery,1 holding that a "campaign contribution" may amount to a bribe if the donor expects a specific quid pro quo;2 and the court held that in future murder cases involving self-defense, the …

Liability For Parole Decisionmaking: The Absence Of Discretion In The Parole Process, Robert F. Polglase

Mercer Law Review

In Payton v. United States, the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals held that the United States was liable under the Federal Tort Claims Act, for the parole of a federal prisoner who, following release, murdered plaintiff's wife. The court concluded that such parole decisionmaking did not come within the discretionary function exemption of the Federal Tort Claims Act (FTCA).

United States V. Di Francesco: Court Upholds State Initiated Sentence Appeals, Thomas Michael Hackel

Mercer Law Review

In United States v. Di Francesco, the Supreme Court upheld a statute that allowed the government to seek, through an appeal, an increase of the sentence imposed by the trial court. The Court found that the statute did not violate the protections of the double jeopardy clause against multiple trials and multiple punishment. The question of state initiated appeals assumes further significance when it is considered that proposed revisions of the Federal Criminal Code include wider implementation of sentence appeals by the state.

United States V. Williams: The Good Faith Exception To The Exclusionary Rule, Patricia Walker Bass

Mercer Law Review

In an opinion with two alternative holdings, the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals decided en banc United States v. Williams on July 31, 1980. The court first held that, because Ms. Williams' arrest was legal, the incriminating evidence found as a result of the search incident to arrest could be used against her at trial. Alternatively, the court ruled that evidence should not be excluded when it is discovered by officers acting in good faith despite the fact that they are mistaken in thinking that their actions are lawful. This note focuses on the second holding that purports to establish …

Federal Common Law, Not State Law, Controls Interpretation Of Federal Bail-Bond Contracts, William T. Wingfield Jr.

Mercer Law Review

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit, in United States v. Miller, held that the liability of a surety on a federal bail-bond contract depends on the wording of the contract as interpreted under general federal common-law principles of suretyship and contract law.

Resolute Insurance Company was surety for Thomas Miller on two identical appearance bonds. Miller was found guilty of assaulting an FBI agent, had pleaded guilty to interstate transportation of stolen goods, and was sentenced to a total of three years and three months of imprisonment. The trial court, at Miller's request and in the …

Privilege Against Self-Incrimination Does Not Bar Seizure Of Personal Papers, Ross Mccloy

Mercer Law Review

In Andresen v. Maryland, the U.S. Supreme Court held that the Fifth Amendment privilege against self-incrimination does not apply to the forcible seizure, with valid search warrants, of an attorney's incriminatory personal business records from his office. Petitioner Andresen, a sole practitioner specializing in real estate settlements, came under the scrutiny of a Bi-County Fraud Unit investigating real estate settlement activities in the Washington, D.C., area. The investigation revealed that Andresen, while acting as settlement attorney, had defrauded the purchaser by knowingly concealing two existing liens on the property. The investigators concluded that there was probable cause to believe …

The Omnibus Hearing: Benefit Or Burden For State Courts?, Joel J. Fryer

Mercer Law Review

The inefficiency of the criminal justice system has come to be recognized by judicial reformers as a major problem that has been exacerbated by the expansion of the rights of defendants. During the past 15 years, largely in response to U.S. Supreme Court decisions attempting to insure due process and promote fairness, trial courts have had to accommodate not only the resultant changes in criminal practice and procedure but also the increased caseload caused by defendants' assertion of constitutional rights which have been recently articulated and guaranteed. The recognition that the burden placed on courts must not be so great …

'Materiality' Limits Prosecutors' Duty To Disclose Exculpatory Evidence To Defense, James K. Knight Jr.

Mercer Law Review

In United States v. Agurs, the U.S. Supreme Court held for the first time that criminal prosecutors have a constitutional duty to voluntarily disclose exculpatory evidence to a defendant even when the defense doesn't request such evidence. The Court, however, limited the scope of this new obligation by narrowly defining the category of material evidence to which it applies. It held that the duty arises only when the exculpatory evidence is so material that had it been disclosed, its use at trial would have created a reasonable doubt of the defendant's guilt that did not otherwise exist.

Respondent Agurs …

Criminal Law--Due Process--Burden Is On The State To Affirmatively Prove Lack Of License In Prosecution For Carrying Pistol Without A License, Robert V. Rodatus

Mercer Law Review

No abstract provided.

Criminal Law, Denny C. Galis

Mercer Law Review

No abstract provided.

Defendant As A Witness In A Criminal Proceeding, S. Dan Pack

Mercer Law Review

At common law an interested party in a court proceeding was not a competent witness in his own behalf. The basis for disqualifying parties was a notion that the temptation to falsify was too great for the average witness to resist. Any party, therefore, who had any interest whatsoever in the case could not testify. A riper wisdom and experience, however, brought to light the fact that it was better not to close the mouths of interested parties in court proceedings, and statutes were subsequently passed in practically all the English-speaking jurisdictions that would allow an interested party to be …

Criminal Law And Procedure, H.T. O'Neal Jr.

Mercer Law Review

A synopsis of the criminal law as decided by our appellate courts consists, in the main, of a restatement of age-old concepts. The criminal law does not readily lend itself to startling new trends or changes. It is a science which is not static, but stationary.

It has been necessary to formulate several very general categories in which to place the cases, in order that a discussion of them may have some .semblance of order and organization. Although some of the categories have received exhaustive treatment elsewhere in this issue, it appears necessary that they be discussed here solely from …

Criminal Law And Procedure, H.T. O'Neal Jr.

Mercer Law Review

The course of the Criminal Law is so firmly established that a year of decisions fails to generate any momentous impact. Its ancient principles have "existed from the time whereof the memory of man runneth not to the contrary." The twelve months of decisions herein surveyed have produced neither radical departure nor astounding change.

In order to construct a coherent story of one year of Criminal Law, it is necessary to devise several very general categories into which each of the decisions can find a place. Certain of these divisions, particularly those concerning evidence and procedure, have received exhaustive treatment …

Interstate Extradition And State Sovereignty, Eugene Cook

Mercer Law Review

Since the first days of the Federal Union the problem of defining and delimiting the sovereignty of the states has occupied our courts, our Congress, and our legislatures, and, sadly, even at times our armies. The concept of dual sovereignty is an abstract one representing a compromise between the conflicting principles of local autonomy and national authority, and, like many another constitutional principle, it has occasionally been restated and rearranged to meet the demands of new and shifting governmental philosophies.

Injunctive Law Enforcement: Leaven Or Secret Weapon, Frank E. Maloney

Mercer Law Review

The historical development of English law resulted in the division of the law into three main branches: common law, equity, and criminal law. The common law as administered by the king's court developed into a rigid system of formal actions, with relief by way of money damages as the one remedy in personal actions. This development, together with the growth of highly technical rules of pleading, left many situations in which no adequate relief was available in those courts; and the resulting inflexibility of the system led to the growth of equity, under which the king's prerogative might be exercised …