FURLOUGHS & REPRIEVES

An inmate may be entitled to a furlough or a reprieve while he or she is serving a term of imprisonment. A furlough is an emergency leave of absence. A furlough may be granted for medical reasons or for family emergencies. A reprieve is a temporary release from confinement. A reprieve may be granted for medical emergencies, for family emergencies, or for civil court proceedings.More...

Production Immunity

Although the concept of production immunity is relatively new, in 1886 the United States Supreme Court held that the compulsory production of private papers containing incriminating information violated the Fifth Amendment to the United States Constitution. The Court has since found that as long as the subpoenaed papers were prepared voluntarily, the documents themselves cannot be said to contain compelled testimonial evidence. The documents therefore may not always be withheld on Fifth Amendment grounds. More...

DEFENSE EVIDENCE AT SENTENCING HEARINGS

Either the prosecution or the defense is entitled to introduce evidence at a defendant's sentencing hearing. If the defense introduces evidence, it usually takes the form of reputation and character evidence or mitigation evidence.More...

WARRANTLESS SEARCH - SEARCH IN AN INVESTIGATIVE STOP

If a police officer has a reasonable basis for believing that a person is involved in criminal activity or is about to be involved in criminal activity, the officer has a right to make an investigative stop of that person. More...

DEADLY CONDUCT & TERRORISTIC THREATS

person commits the offense of deadly conduct when he or she recklessly engages in conduct that places another person in imminent danger of serious bodily injury. This offense is a firearm offense. Examples of this offense are discharging a firearm at or in the direction of another person, into an occupied vehicle, or in a residential area. The person does not need to believe that the firearm was loaded in order to be guilty of this offense. More...