When evidence surfaces that could exonerate those convicted of a crime, or a lack of evidence throws a prosecutor’s case into question, instead of righting the wrong, some defendants are offered an Alford plea in which the defendant enters a guilty plea in exchange for a reduced sentence even when they may be innocent. Although… Read More »
Archives for December 2018
Sentencing
After a defendant is convicted or pleads guilty to a crime, a judge will determine the appropriate punishment in the sentencing phase. While some sentences are mandatory, requiring a judge to impose specific and identical sentences to all violators of the law in question, others sentences are left up to the judge’s discretion within a… Read More »
Drug Dogs Stem Flow of Marijuana Across State Lines
As states and cities loosen marijuana laws, dogs assigned to sniff out pot might be out of a job. Older canines working in states where retail marijuana sales are legal, who are trained to alert on narcotics AND marijuana, are being let go, replaced by dogs no longer trained to detect cannabis. Even some law… Read More »