The legal term sounds more like the punishment handed down as part of a death sentence. However, expungement is actually a good thing from the perspective of someone who has endured an arrest or a criminal conviction. The court-ordered process called expungement seals an arrest or a criminal conviction record. By sealing the legal record, […]
Criminal law attorney John Rogers from St. Louis has spent the better portion of 25 years helping defendants beat criminal charges. John has worked on a wide variety of cases in both Missouri and Illinois. It is not the stories he tells that captivate the students he teaches the St. Louis University Law School. It […]
“You have the right to remain silent and refuse to answer questions. Anything you say may be used against you in a court of law. You have the right to consult an attorney before speaking to the police and to have an attorney present during questioning now or in the future.” Sound familiar? You might not have heard the monumental legal declaration during […]
The Andy Griffith Show continues to draw audiences from a wide range of demographics, even adolescents and young adults who never saw the show during its heyday. In many of the show’s episodes, town drunk Otis would arrive at the police station and lock himself up for public intoxication. Although the ongoing bit was worth […]
Get Legal Help with Your Criminal Matter Because criminal law can sometimes be complex and the penalties include the loss of your freedom, it is important that you have the skills of a qualified criminal defense lawyer on your side. But hiring an attorney is an important decision. To retain the lawyer that is best […]
Overview The process of deleting a criminal record so that it is not available for public viewing is known as expungement. The advantage to having records expunged is that the person may legally tell employers, landlords, and anyone else that they have not been convicted of a crime and do not have a criminal record. […]
Investigation A criminal investigation is the process of collecting information about an alleged crime. The criminal investigator looks for clues and evidence to determine whether a crime has taken place. If there is enough evidence, then the investigation shifts to identifying and apprehending the perpetrator. Sometimes identifying the perpetrator is easy. Other times, investigators must […]
In the United States, the criminal justice system is based upon the fact that every person has certain inherent rights to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. The people established the government to protect these rights, including the rights of those accused of committing a crime. Constitutional Protections Liberty is freedom from undue restraint, […]
Overview People naturally live together in groups. Without rules to govern these groups, chaos and injustice would result. The rules that are created to govern society are called laws; and they allow people to live together as a multitude with order instead of a crowd with confusion. Certain acts are deemed harmful to society and […]
CATEGORIZING CRIMES There are many ways that crimes can be categorized. The states often classify crimes in their own particular ways, although many have (at least partially) adopted the Model Penal Code (“MPC”). The MPC classifies crimes by type and degree. Although not a comprehensive list, the following represents the most common categories of crimes. […]