Ira Still, Esq.

Criminal Defendants on Trial: How to Relate to the Courtroom Work Group

Who is the Judge and what is his role? The Judge is the person who is elevated on the Bench in the front of the courtroom. While the Judge is required by law to rule on the " admissibility " of the evidence as it comes into trial, the jury is empowered by law to rule on the " reliability " or " credibility " of the evidence. The Judge must have no impact on the jurys verdict.... (posted by Ira 1 year 281 days ago.)

Criminal Defendants on Trial: Conducting Discovery

Years ago, American courts generally allowed little or no discovery to be given to persons charged with a crime. Today that has changed. The federal court and all of the states now have rules that permit completely open discovery. This is one of the due process rights that makes stand out as a beacon of bright light among most other criminal justice systems in the world today. Under the landmark case... (posted by Ira 1 year 281 days ago.)

Criminal Defendants On Trial: Raising Major Defenses

Defenses to the charges are always an appropriate area to explore and raise early on in the litigation process. Some of them will require special documents to be filed and witnesses to be listed in a timely fashion or they will be deemed waived by the Court. The defenses listed below are general denials and are always open to be argued by the Defense at trial. "I didn't do it!" "The State can't... (posted by Ira 1 year 342 days ago.)

Criminal Defendants On Trial: Courtroom Demeanor

The word demeanor is a word that isn't used as much today as it was in years gone by. Whenever we see a word that isn't used often we can react in one of two ways. We can unwisely disregard it, or we can try to understand its meaning in order to apply it to our lives for our best success. If we look the word up in the Dictionary, we see that demeanor is defined as "outward behavior; conduct; deportment;... (posted by Ira 2 years 99 days ago.)

Criminal Defendants On Trial: The Parties, Charges, Arraignment & Pleas

The Parties The defendant is the accused person against whom the criminal charges have been brought. The Defense team is headed by the attorney and may include an investigator, paralegal and other support personnel who work at the lawyer's direction to develop the particular case strategy. The plaintiff is the other party to the court case. This is the party who has lodged... (posted by Ira 2 years 288 days ago.)

Criminal Defendants On Trial: Pre-Trial Court Appearances

Preparing for Court It is time to get ready for court. Plan when you will get up, what you will wear and when you will leave to be there on time. Don't do anything that might jeopardize your bond or lead to having it revoked. If you arrive late the Judge could issue a capias. A capias is a Court order to the Sheriff to go out and arrest you. This means that your bond could be revoked and you... (posted by Ira 2 years 307 days ago.)