Criminal Law Newsletters

CHALLENGING A JURY ARRAY

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.

Criminal Forfeitures and Attorney Fees

Although a defendant has a right to an attorney and although the attorney has a right to be compensated for her services, the defendant does not necessarily have the right to transfer an asset to that attorney in lieu of payment when the asset may be subject to criminal forfeiture. Generally, the defendant may transfer an asset for compensation to her attorney if:

OFFENSES INVOLVING PUBLIC SERVANTS

A public servant is a governmental officer, employee, or agent, a juror or a grand juror, an arbitrator or a referee, an attorney or a notary public, a political party official or a political candidate, or anyone who is performing a governmental function. A person is a public servant even if he or she has only been elected to office and has not assumed the duties of his or her office.

RELEASE ON PAROLE

If a state’s parole board grants parole to a prisoner, custody of the prisoner is generally transferred to the state’s parole board prior to the prisoner’s release on parole. The prisoner is usually transferred to a residential facility or a halfway house, during which time the prisoner continues to receive credit for good conduct time.

Video Surveillance

Video surveillance may be conducted for investigative reasons for criminal matters. Because it has been found that video surveillance is covered under the Fourth Amendment to the United States Constitution, an individual has an expectation of privacy that may not be violated.