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Pitchess Motion
A ''Pitchess'' motion is a request made by the defense in a California criminal case, such as a DUI case or a resisting arrest case, to access a law enforcement officer's personnel information when the defendant alleges in an affidavit that the officer used excessive force or lied about the events surrounding the defendant's arrest. The information provided will include prior incidents of use of force, allegations of excessive force, citizen complaints, and information gathered during the officer's pre-employment background investigation. The motion's name comes from the case ''Pitchess v. Superior Court''. ''Pitchess v. Superior Court'' The story of ''Pitchess v. Superior Court'' is somewhat convoluted. The Los Angeles County Sheriff, Peter J. Pitchess, along with members of his administrative staff, are the case's petitioners, and the Superior Court of Los Angeles County is the respondent, with César Echeverría as the real party in interest. Sheriff Pitchess had sought a writ ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Driving Under The Influence
Driving under the influence (DUI)—also called driving while impaired, impaired driving, driving while intoxicated (DWI), drunk driving, operating while intoxicated (OWI), operating under the influence (OUI), operating vehicle under the influence (OVI), and drink-driving (UK/Ireland)—is the offense of driving, operating, or being in control of a vehicle while impaired by alcohol or other drugs (including recreational drugs and those prescribed by physicians), to a level that renders the driver incapable of operating a motor vehicle safely. Terminology The name of the offense varies from jurisdiction to jurisdiction and from legal to colloquial terminology. In the United States, the specific criminal offense is usually called driving under the influence, but states may use other names for the offense including "driving while intoxicated" (DWI), "operating while impaired" (OWI) or "operating while ability impaired", and "operating a vehicle under the influence" (OVI). Such ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Motion To Quash
A motion to quash is a request to a court or other tribunal to render a previous decision or proceeding null or invalid. The exact usage of motions to quash depend on the rules of the particular court or tribunal. In some cases, motions to quash are requests to nullify a decision made by the same or a lower court. It can arise out of mistakes made by any lawyer or court officer. A lawyer may file a motion to quash if a mistake has been made on the part of a court, or if an attorney believes that some court document such as a subpoena was not issued or delivered following the required procedure. For example, a party that receives improper service of process may file a motion to quash. In the context of a court hearing an appeal In law, an appeal is the process in which cases are reviewed by a higher authority, where parties request a formal change to an official decision. Appeals function both as a process for error correction as well as a process of clarifying and ..., de ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Testilying
Police perjury is the act of a police officer knowingly giving false testimony. It is typically used in a criminal trial to "make the case" against defendants believed by the police to be guilty when irregularities during the suspects' arrest or search threaten to result in their acquittal. It also can be extended to encompass substantive misstatements of fact to convict those whom the police believe to be guilty, procedural misstatements to "justify" a search and seizure, or even the inclusion of statements to frame an innocent citizen. More generically, it has been said to be " ing under oath, especially by a police officer, to help get a conviction." United States When police lie under oath, innocent people can be convicted and jailed; hundreds of convictions have been set aside as a result of such police misconduct. Some sources say that it is both a police and a prosecutorial problem and that it is a systemic response to the fruit of the poisonous tree doctrine, which was re ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Brady V
Brady may refer to: People * Brady (surname) * Brady (given name) * Brady (nickname) * Brady Boone, a ring name of American professional wrestler Dean Peters (1958–1998) Places in the United States * Brady, Montana, a census-designated place and unincorporated community * Brady, Nebraska, a village * Brady, Texas, a city * Brady, Washington, a census-designated place * Brady Township (other) * Brady Lake (Ohio) * Brady Creek Reservoir, also known as Brady Lake and Brady Reservoir, McCulloch County, Texas Arts and entertainment * "Duncan and Brady", also known as "Brady", a traditional murder ballad * The fictional Brady family, in the American television show ''The Brady Bunch'' and various sequels and spinoffs * Brady Black, a character in the American soap opera ''Days of Our Lives'' Companies * Brady Corporation, a manufacturer of products for identifying components used in workplaces * Brady Drum Company, a manufacturer of drums in Western Australia ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Brady Disclosure
''Brady'' disclosure consists of exculpatory or impeaching information and evidence that is material to the guilt or innocence or to the punishment of a defendant. The term comes from the 1963 U.S. Supreme Court case ''Brady v. Maryland'', in which the Supreme Court ruled that suppression by the prosecution of evidence favorable to a defendant who has requested it violates due process. Following ''Brady'', the prosecutor must disclose evidence or information that would prove the innocence of the defendant or would enable the defense to more effectively impeach the credibility of government witnesses. Evidence that would serve to reduce the defendant's sentence must also be disclosed by the prosecution. In practice this doctrine has often proved difficult to enforce. Some states have established their own laws to try to strengthen enforcement against prosecutorial misconduct in this area. Definition of the ''Brady'' rule The ''Brady'' doctrine is a pretrial discovery rule that wa ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
California Superior Court
Superior courts in California are the state trial courts with general jurisdiction to hear and decide any civil or criminal action which is not specially designated to be heard in some other court or before a governmental agency. As mandated by the California Constitution, there is a superior court in each of the 58 counties in California. The superior courts also have appellate divisions (superior court judges sitting as appellate judges) which hear appeals from decisions in cases previously heard by inferior courts. Organization The superior courts are the lowest level of state courts in California holding general jurisdiction on civil and criminal matters. Above them are the six California courts of appeal, each with appellate jurisdiction over the superior courts within their districts, and the Supreme Court of California. As of 2007, the superior courts of California consisted of over 1,500 judges, and make up the largest part of California’s judicial system, which is in t ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Witness Impeachment
Witness impeachment, in the law of evidence of the United States, is the process of calling into question the credibility of an individual testifying in a trial. The Federal Rules of Evidence contain the rules governing impeachment in US federal courts. Parties that may impeach Under the common law of England, a party could not impeach its own witness unless one of four special circumstances was met. The Voucher Rule required the proponent of the witness to "vouch" for the truthfulness of the witness. Here are the special circumstances: #If the witness were an ''adverse party'' (such as the plaintiff calling the defendant to the stand, or vice versa). #If the witness were '' hostile'' (such as the witness refusing to co-operate). #If the witness were one that the party was required by law to call as a witness. #If the witness surprised the party who called him by giving damaging testimony against that party. The rule has been eliminated in many jurisdictions. Under the US Federal ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Discovery (law)
Discovery, in the law of common law jurisdictions, is a pre-trial procedure in a lawsuit in which each party, through the law of civil procedure, can obtain evidence from the other party or parties by means of discovery devices such as interrogatories, requests for production of documents, requests for admissions and depositions. Discovery can be obtained from non-parties using subpoenas. When a discovery request is objected to, the requesting party may seek the assistance of the court by filing a motion to compel discovery. History Discovery evolved out of a unique feature of early equitable pleading procedure before the English Court of Chancery: among various requirements, a plaintiff's bill in equity was required to plead "positions". These were statements of evidence that the plaintiff assumed to exist in support of his pleading and which he believed lay within the knowledge of the defendant. They strongly resembled modern requests for admissions, in that the defen ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Subpoena Duces Tecum
A ''subpoena duces tecum'' (pronounced in English ), or subpoena for production of evidence, is a court summons ordering the recipient to appear before the court and produce documents or other tangible evidence for use at a hearing or trial. In some jurisdictions, it can also be issued by legislative bodies such as county boards of supervisors. The summons is known by various names in different jurisdictions. The term ''subpoena duces tecum'' is used in the United States, as well as some other common law jurisdictions such as South Africa and Canada. The summons is called a "subpoena for production of evidence" in some U.S. states that have sought to reduce the use of non-English words and phrases in court terminology. The ''subpoena duces tecum'' is similar to the ''subpoena ad testificandum'', which is a writ summoning a witness to testify orally. However, unlike the latter summons, the ''subpoena duces tecum'' instructs the witness to bring in hand books, papers, or evidence f ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Resisting Arrest
Resisting arrest, or simply resisting, is an illegal act of a suspected criminal either fleeing, threatening, assaulting, or providing a fake ID to a police officer during arrest. In most cases, the person responsible for resisting arrest is criminally charged or taken to court. Brazil The Brazilian penal code states resistance to arrest is "opposition to the execution of a legal act, by means of violence or threat towards a competent official executing it, or to who is assisting them". The penalty is from 1 to 3 years of imprisonment. Any damage caused by the violence used shall also be charged to the offender. Canada The Criminal Code has two provisions covering resisting arrest. Section 129(a) makes it an offence for anyone who "resists or wilfully obstructs a public officer or peace officer in the execution of their duty or any person lawfully acting in aid of such an officer". Section 270(1) makes it an offence for anyone who "(a) assaults a public officer or peace officer ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Writ Of Mandate (California)
The writ of mandate is a type of extraordinary writ in the U.S. state of California. In California, certain writs are used by the superior courts, courts of appeal and the Supreme Court to command lower bodies, including both courts and administrative agencies, to do or not to do certain things. A writ of mandate may be granted by a court as an order to an inferior tribunal, corporation, board or person, both public and private. Unlike the federal court system, where interlocutory appeals may be taken on a permissive basis and mandamus are usually used to contest recusal decisions, the writ of mandate in California is not restricted to ''purely'' ministerial tasks, but can be used to correct any legal error by the trial court. Nonetheless, ordinary writ relief in the Court of Appeal is rarely granted. Writs are generally divided into two categories: the most common form of writ petition is ordinary mandate, which is a highly informal process mostly governed by advisory rules o ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Real Party In Interest
In law, the real party in interest is the one who actually possesses the substantive right being asserted and has a legal right to enforce the claim (under applicable substantive law). Additionally, the "real party in interest" must sue in his own name. In many situations, the real party in interest will be the parties themselves (i.e., plaintiff and defendant). Applications In California law, when a case goes up on writ of mandate (California's version of ''mandamus'') the appellant goes first in the case caption on appeal as the petitioner, and the superior court becomes the respondent. The true opponent is then listed below those names as the "real party in interest". This is how a number of famous California cases like '' Burnham v. Superior Court of California'' (1990) ended up with such unusual names. In Michigan law, the real-party-in-interest rule recognizes that litigation should be begun only by a party having an interest that will nsuresincere and vigorous advocacy. ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
