| GRAND JURY CHALLENGES |
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| Any person has standing to challenge persons who are summoned to be members of a grand jury. The challenge must be made before the grand jury is selected. The person may challenge the entire grand jury or may challenge an individual grand juror.
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| INSANITY DEFENSE |
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| The defense of insanity is an affirmative defense to a criminal offense if at the time of the offense a defendant was suffering from a severe mental disease or defect, which disease or defect rendered the defendant incapable of knowing that his or her conduct was wrong. The purpose of the defense is to determine whether the defendant should be held responsible for the offense. It only excuses the defendant's conduct. It does not mean that the defendant did not commit the offense.More... |
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| MISTAKE OF FACT AS A DEFENSE |
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| The defense of mistake of fact is used when a defendant is accused of committing a particular crime and the defendant admits that he or she committed another crime, which other crime is different from the particular crime and is not a lesser-included offense of the particular crime. The defense is based on the defendant's belief that he or she was committing another crime, which crime is less serious than the crime with which the defendant is charged. More... |
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| FEDERAL HABEAS CORPUS APPEALS |
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| A final order by a federal district court judge in a federal habeas corpus proceeding may generally be appealed to a federal appellate court. However, the appeal is not a matter of right. A state prisoner who is seeking to appeal the denial of his or her petition for federal habeas corpus relief must obtain a "certificate of appealability" from a federal judge. In order to receive the certificate, the prisoner must show that he or she was denied a federal constitutional right. More... |
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| INTERNATIONAL PARENTAL KIDNAPPING |
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| A person commits a federal criminal offense if he or she removes a child from the United States with the intent to obstruct the lawful exercise of parental rights. Such offense is prohibited by the International Parental Kidnapping Act, which Act was enacted in 1993. A "child" is defined under the Act as a person who is under the age of 16 years old. The terms "parental rights" mean the right to physical custody of the child, either joint or sole custody, which right includes visitation rights. More... |
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301-869-5359 [Rockville/Germantown]
