Criminal Law Newsletter

ABUSE OF PUBLIC OFFICE & MISUSE OF OFFICIAL INFORMATION

A public servant commits the offense of abuse of public office when he or she intentionally or knowingly and with the intent to obtain a personal benefit violates a law regarding his or her office or misuses government property, services, personnel, or anything of value, which has come into his or her possession by virtue of his or her office or employment. The word "misuse" means to deal with property contrary to any agreement, any contract, or any law. More...

INCEST

A person commits the offense of incest when he or she engages in sexual intercourse with a family member or a relative. A family member or a relative is usually defined as any ancestor or descendant by blood or adoption, any stepchild or stepparent while the marriage that created the step relationship exists, any parent's brother or sister by whole or half blood, any brother or sister of whole or half blood or by adoption, or the children of any brother or sister of whole or half blood or by adoption. The person must know that the other person is a relative. However, the relative does not need to be legitimate. More...

VOIR DIRE EXAMINATION OF JURORS

A defendant in a criminal prosecution has the right to an impartial jury under the Sixth Amendment to the United States Constitution. In order to determine whether potential jurors are impartial, the defendant has a right to question the jurors about their qualifications and background. Such questioning of the jurors is called voir dire. Voir dire is also conducted in order to determine whether the jurors should be accepted or should be challenged by the prosecution or by the defense. More...

Witnesses and Confidential or Classified Information

Prosecutions involving issues of war, national security or espionage may involve witness testimony and classified information. Classified information is defined as information that should not be disclosed to the public because of the sensitivity of the information or the source from which the information was derived. Prosecutors and defense attorneys should avoid divulging classified information during the witness's testimony. Under the Classified Information Procedures Act, the attorneys are to avoid any unnecessary or inadvertent disclosure of classified information. More...

Ex Post Facto Laws

An ex post facto law is a law that provides for punishment for an act that was committed when the act was not illegal. Additionally, an ex post facto law includes: More...