Antiterrorism and Effective Death Penalty Act of 1996 (AEDPA) was passed by the 107th Congress “to deter terrorism, provide justice for victims, provide for an effective death penalty, and for other purposes.” To accomplish this goal, some of...
criminal law and procedure
appear
Appear is the verb for when a party makes an appearance at trial. You can appear either in person or virtually, though both options are not always available in any given court.
For more specific information, see appearance...
appearance
A party enters an appearance when they show up to court in response to a service of process. Appearance isn’t only a reference to physical presence in court when required, but also to procedural compliance (e.g., filing an answer,...
appellant
Appellant is the party who appeals a lower court's judgment or order to a higher court. The appellant is dissatisfied with the outcome of the proceeding and seeks review by a higher court to overturn or modify the decision. In some courts, it...
approach
Approach refers to moving toward the bench, a witness, or the jury box in court. An attorney may approach the bench in order to have a conversation with the judge and opposing counsel off the record and/or out of the jury's earshot. An...
approach the witness
Approach the witness refers to when an attorney moves towards a witness in order to show them a document or exhibit. See approach. In some jurisdictions, an attorney must request to approach a witness; e.g. "may I approach the witness?"...
Armed Career Criminal Act (1984)
The Armed Career Criminal Act (ACCA) of 1984 imposes a minimum sentence of 15 years in prison for anyone with at least 3 previous violent felony or serious drug offense convictions who illegally possesses a firearm. Like other “three strikes...
arraignment
An arraignment is the first step in a criminal proceeding where the defendant is brought in front of the court to hear the charges against them and enter a plea.
See, e.g. County of Riverside v. McLaughlin 500 U.S. 44 (1991...
arrest
An arrest is the use of legal authority to deprive a person of their freedom of movement.
An arrest is generally made with an arrest warrant. An arrest may be made without a warrant if probable cause and exigent...
arrest warrant
An arrest warrant is a document issued by a judge or magistrate that authorizes the police to take someone accused of a crime into custody. An arrest warrant is issued by the competent authority upon a showing of probable cause, which means a...