| FEDERAL ENFORCEMENT OF CHILD SUPPORT |
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| The Child Support Recovery Act of 1992 makes it a federal offense to willfully fail to pay a past due child support obligation for a child who resides in another state. A first offense under the Act is subject to a maximum penalty of six months in jail, to a fine, or both. Subsequent violations of the Act may be subject to a maximum penalty of two years in prison, to a fine, or both.
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| Juvenile Arrests and Procedures |
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| When a juvenile is arrested they are entitled to many of the same rights that an adult is entitled to upon arrest. More... |
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| Right to Effective Counsel and Attachment of the Right to Counsel |
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| The Sixth Amendment to the United States Constitution guarantees a defendant the right to effective assistance of counsel in criminal proceedings. Effective assistance of counsel is presumed. If the defendant claims that his counsel was ineffective, he has the burden of proving that the ineffectiveness prejudiced him and that a different result would have occurred but for the ineffectiveness. Instances that do not constitute ineffectiveness include trial tactics, failure to raise an invalid defense, and failure to argue frivolous matters. More... |
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| NECESSITY AS A DEFENSE |
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| A necessity may be claimed as a defense when a defendant reasonably believed that his or her criminal act was immediately necessary to avoid imminent harm. The reasonableness of the defendant's act and the harm that was sought to be avoided by the defendant are the essential elements of the defense. The defendant must show that the harm that he or she sought to avoid was greater than the harm that was committed by his or her criminal act. In other words, the defendant must show that he or she was attempting to achieve a "greater good." More... |
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| Hybrid Representation and the Standby Attorney |
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| Hybrid representation is where the defendant serves as co-counsel with an attorney. The defendant does not have a constitutional right to hybrid representation. It is within the trial court's discretion to grant the defendant's request for hybrid representation. More... |
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