| Right to Effective Counsel and Attachment of the Right to Counsel |
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| The Sixth Amendment to the United States Constitution guarantees a defendant the right to effective assistance of counsel in criminal proceedings. Effective assistance of counsel is presumed. If the defendant claims that his counsel was ineffective, he has the burden of proving that the ineffectiveness prejudiced him and that a different result would have occurred but for the ineffectiveness. Instances that do not constitute ineffectiveness include trial tactics, failure to raise an invalid defense, and failure to argue frivolous matters. More... |
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| CHALLENGING A JURY ARRAY |
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| A jury array is a list of jurors who are summoned to appear for jury duty. Jurors for a particular trial are selected from the jury array. A defendant is entitled to challenge the jury array. The defendant usually discovers flaws in the jury selection process during voir dire or questioning of the jurors. Grounds for challenging the jury array include corrupt summoning of the jurors, violation of the jury law, discriminatory selection of the jurors, or discrimination regarding exemptions for the jurors. More... |
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| CONDUCT & CAUSATION |
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| A defendant's conduct does not constitute a criminal offense unless the conduct is prohibited by a statute, a municipal ordinance, or a rule. The word "conduct" means an act or a failure to act. The word "conduct" also includes the defendant's mental state. The word "act" is defined as a voluntary movement of the defendant's body. The word "act" includes speech. More... |
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| DURESS AS A DEFENSE |
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| If another person compels a defendant to commit an offense, the defendant may claim that he or she committed the offense under duress. The defense of duress means that the defendant did not have the necessary mental state to commit the offense or to be criminally responsible for the offense. More... |
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| Competency and Sequestration of Witnesses |
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| Testimony of witnesses is a common way to present evidence during a criminal trial. However, before the testimony of a witness can be accepted during a defendant's trial it must be established that the witness is competent or have the capacity to testify.
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