| Witnesses and Confidential or Classified Information |
|
| 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... |
|
|
| ALIBI DEFENSE |
|
| An alibi means that a defendant was at a place at the time of an offense where he or she could not have participated in the offense. Although an alibi defense is not an affirmative defense, it does involve the negation of an element of the prosecution's case against a defendant. The defendant does not have the burden of proving his or her alibi. The prosecution has the burden of proving that the defendant committed the offense. The alibi defense contradicts the allegations of an indictment or an information against the defendant and casts doubt about whether the prosecution has met its burden of proof. More... |
|
|
| CRUELTY TO ANIMALS |
|
| A person commits the offense of cruelty to animals if he or she intentionally or knowing tortures an animal, fails to provide food, care, or shelter for an animal, abandons an animal, transports or confines an animal in a cruel manner, kills or seriously injures an animal that belongs to another person, or causes an animal to fight with another animal. More... |
|
|
| VOLUNTARY MANSLAUGHTER |
|
| A person commits the offense of voluntary manslaughter when he or she commits murder under the immediate influence of sudden passion that arises from an adequate cause. Sudden passion is also referred to as "heat of passion." More... |
|
|
| PAROLE |
|
| Parole is the early release of a prisoner from incarceration. Parole is discretionary and is usually subject to certain conditions. Parole is not a commutation or a change in a prisoner's sentence. It is also not an act of clemency. More... |
|
|