Self-incrimination is the intentional or unintentional act of providing information that will suggest your involvement in a crime, or expose you to criminal prosecution.
The Fifth Amendment provides protection to individuals...
criminal law and procedure
sentencing
sentencing: an overview
A criminal sentence refers to the formal legal consequences associated with a conviction. Types of sentences include probation, fines, short-term incarceration, suspended sentences, which only take effect if the convict fails...
separate sovereigns doctrine
Under this doctrine, the prohibition on double jeopardy does not prevent dual prosecution when the prosecutions are each by separate sovereigns. Thus, a criminal defendant can be prosecuted by a state court and then by a federal court (or the other...
sex trafficking
Sex trafficking is a form of human trafficking which transports or exploits persons to use them for sexual acts. Title 22, Section 7102 of the U.S. Code defines sex trafficking as “the recruitment, harboring, transportation, provision,...
shoplifting
Shoplifting is generally defined as the unauthorized removal of merchandise from a store without paying for it, or intentionally paying less for an item than its sale price. However, shoplifting can include carrying, hiding, concealing, or...
shotgun charge
A shotgun charge (also referred to as dynamite, nitroglycerin, third-degree or Allen charge) refers to jury instructions given by a court to a hung jury to encourage it to continue deliberating until it reaches a verdict. Since a mistrial...
showup
A pretrial identification procedure, where a witness is shown only the suspect and asked if that person was the perpetrator. Has been criticized as subject to error. Contrast with pretrial lineup
specific denial
Specific denial is the defendant's denial of specific material facts asserted in the plaintiff's complaint; in other words, a denial of parts of an allegation in a complaint. A circumstance in which the defendant does not deny all of the...
spousal immunity
Under the Federal Rules of Evidence, in a criminal case the prosecution cannot compel the defendant's spouse to testify against him. This privilege only applies if the defendant and the spouse witness are currently married at the time of the...
spousal privilege
Spousal privilege, also known as marital privilege and husband-wife privilege, includes two types of privileges: the spousal communications privilege and the spousal testimonial privilege.
The spousal communications...