March 2017 Archives

One of the primary defenses in Criminal Cases is the defense of self-defense. Self-Defense can be used as a defense in Criminal Cases for a number of different reasons. First, an accused can use self-defense in order to defend himself, other people that he is with or may know and even his property. In the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the law of self-defense is addressed in the Doctrine which is familiarly known as the Castle Doctrine. Assault Crimes The Castle Doctrine, which gained quite a bit of attention in the Florida homicide case against Mr. Zimmerman, involves the notion that people (specifically an accused), does not have a duty to retreat or run away from an aggressor. Specifically, an accused has the right to stand his ground. And that notion is certainly true if an accused is in his dwelling, home or residence at a time when people are attempting to forcibly enter.

In Pennsylvania, for Criminal Defense cases, attempting to commit a crime can land you with just as harsh as a punishment as actually committing a crime. A person commits an attempt when, with intent to commit a specific crime, Conspiracy he does any act which constitutes a substantial step toward the commission of that crime. Misapprehension of the circumstances that would have made it impossible for the accused to commit the attempted crime is not a defense to criminal attempt. You are able to use renunciation as a defense.

In Pennsylvania Criminal Defense case, the charge of conspiracy is taken very seriously. Simply conspiring to commit a crime will earn you just as harsh of a penalty as actually committing the crime. A person is guilty een if he presents a solid Criminal Defense of conspiracy if he agrees to commit a crime with another person or persons with the intent of promoting or facilitating its commission he and agrees with another person that they will commit the crime or an attempt or solicitation to commit the crime; eyewitness identification or agrees to aid such other person or persons in the planning or commission of such crime or of an attempt or solicitation to commit such crime.

Eyewitness identification in Criminal Defense is one of the major tools that the government uses to put together its case against a criminal defendant. The government in its case before a jury, must be able to prove that it was the accused that committed the crime and not Fraud some other random person. Since eyewitness identification of a defendant is so paramount in criminal cases, the government frequently uses pre-trial lineups as seen in movies such as the Usual Suspects, or pre-trial picture lineups. Pre-trial lineups have come under a lot of scrutiny recently as a result of being unduly suggestive and occasionally tainted.