| CLEMENCY FOR DOMESTIC VIOLENCE VICTIMS |
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| In some states, legislatures have recently enacted laws that grant the possibility of clemency by the states' governors for domestic violence victims who have been convicted of certain offenses, such as murder and manslaughter. In those states, the governors are entitled to request a clemency investigation by the states' parole boards into cases where defendants have pleaded guilty or have been convicted of those offenses when the offenses were directly related to the defendants' being victimized by domestic violence.
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| CHALLENGING JURISDICTION |
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| Jurisdiction is a court's power to hear and to decide cases. There are two types of jurisdiction. They are subject-matter jurisdiction and personal jurisdiction. Subject-matter jurisdiction is the power of a particular court to hear and to decide certain types of cases. Personal jurisdiction is the power that a court exercises over a particular person. More... |
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| PERJURY |
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| A person commits the offense of perjury when he or she, with the intent to deceive and with the knowledge of a statement's meaning, makes a false statement under oath or swears to the truth of a false statement that was previously made, which statement was required or authorized to be made under oath.More... |
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| Witnesses and Confidential or Classified Information |
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| Prosecutions involving issues of war, national security or espionage may involve witness testimony and classified information. Classified information is defined as information that should not be disclosed to the public because of the sensitivity of the information or the source from which the information was derived. Prosecutors and defense attorneys should avoid divulging classified information during the witness's testimony. Under the Classified Information Procedures Act, the attorneys are to avoid any unnecessary or inadvertent disclosure of classified information. More... |
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| RELEASE ON PAROLE |
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| If a state's parole board grants parole to a prisoner, custody of the prisoner is generally transferred to the state's parole board prior to the prisoner's release on parole. The prisoner is usually transferred to a residential facility or a halfway house, during which time the prisoner continues to receive credit for good conduct time. More... |
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