Criminal Law Basics

How to look up your or another's criminal or civil court case in Missouri online

Manslaughter essentially means causing the death of another person without malice aforethought, such as can happen in a bar fight that gets out of hand. If you want to learn about possible...

If you need to submit an amendment to a police report, you should first find the original report so that you can give the report number to the officer who is taking the amended report. You can...

It is not difficult to find your police record (or criminal record) in the state you are currently living in. Sometimes, if you have moved from state to state (and even from city to city within a...

If you have been threatened, verbally or physically, you should file a report with the police. If you are in danger of imminent harm, you should call 911 immediately. If you have been threatened...

Title 18, section 4 of the United States Code makes it a crime to fail to report a federal crime "as soon as possible." Failing to report a federal crime is a separate crime called "misprision of...

Community halfway houses for ex-offenders are important resources in the reintegration of these individuals. The key to keeping the doors to community halfway houses open today and into the future...

The police have many self defense tools for their use. One of the most common devices they use is the baton. The police baton has a history of hundreds of years, and has been used in dozens of...

A warrant is a formal written order, called a writ that is issued to law enforcement by a judge. Warrants allow law enforcement agents to put aside the rights of the individual for the purposes of...

Checking for warrants through your police department or the local sheriff’s department is a great way to find the most up-to-date information, but you run the risk of being arrested if an active...

Preventing police brutality is a serious, ongoing goal in America. It is difficult to balance laws and procedures designed to help police officers do their job effectively with laws protecting...

Criminal records are available to the public, but on a more limited basis than other court records. County and municipal courts will have records of criminal charges and convictions made in those...

DNA analysis, or DNA fingerprinting, is a forensic test used to determine whether a suspect's DNA is present at a crime scene.

Your FBI record is a record of information held by the Federal Bureau of Investigation in connection with fingerprint information taken during arrests, during applications for federal jobs, in...

A public defender is an attorney appointed by the court to represent an indigent client in a criminal case. There are three different systems courts use to assign and appoint a public defender....

If you are arrested, you are typically provided with a copy of your arrest record explaining why you were arrested and the facts surrounding the incident. Arrest records are often littered with...

Search warrants are documents signed by judges that authorize police to search for objects at a location during a specific time frame. These warrants are obtained by convincing a judge that there...

Now that almost anyone can easily access the Internet, and with the proliferation of public records on the Internet, it is very easy to find outstanding arrest warrants for anyone. The most...

Criminal records are a history of an individual's criminal background. They can divulge a lot about an individual's character. Many people now seek these records before extending employment,...

An FBI criminal record (also known as an identification record or rap sheet), relates to fingerprinting during arrests, and in some cases, military service, immigration, naturalization or...

A police badge represents more than a symbol of authority; it conveys a message that the officer wearing the badge is of great moral character, trustworthy and noble. Living the life of a police...

Federal and state laws against falsifying names, numbers and checks prevent employees, and outside criminals, from using payroll check fraud to get money. Commonly used schemes to take money from...

Dual nationality, also known as dual citizenship, is the practice of applying for and maintaining citizenship in two different countries. In the United States, American citizens are free to apply...

Expunging a misdemeanor takes it off of your record so that it is no longer visible to employers. It can also relieve a mental and emotional burden so that you can move on with your life.

The first thing you must understand is the military has hot crime periods and cool crime periods. World War II was a soft crime period but the post war era was a hot crime era. Pre Vietnam was...

Want to expunge a felony? In most states, felonies can be expunged if you meet certain requirements. Having a felony expunged can open up many social and job opportunities for you. Here is a step...

Blasting caps are small, but dangerous explosive devices that function as primary explosives intended to ignite larger, secondary explosives such as dynamite, Semtex, or C-4. Detonation and...

Establishing a code of ethics for the use of force is vital for any policing power, mostly because of the policing power's need to establish its legitimacy. Even with established ethical codes,...

People lie all the time. Some people are such masters that they can fool the entire world the best rule of thumb is assume everything is a lie until they can prove it. If they are not proving it why?

An FBI record, also known as a Criminal History Record, contains information about an individual's criminal history and is collected and maintained by the FBI. FBI records are typically derived...

When watching someone there are a few key things you need. You need a cover for the surveillance conceals you and gives an alibi. You need methods that cover your mark 24/7. When pulling...

The first thing you need to know is the reason or reasons for the Investigation. Think of your Investigation as a hypothetical criminal investigation. You look for a set a suspect or subject...

Prosecutors' actions carry the full weight of the government. They have broad discretion in determining when to bring criminal charges against a suspect. Accordingly, prosecutors have a great...

Entomology is the science of insects, as well as of spiders and other arthropods. Criminal entomology is the division of forensic entomology that applies this science to criminal law. Criminal...

The prevalence of popular forensics TV shows like CSI have given the public a taste for forensic identification. Can someone really be identified by just their DNA? While the field of forensic...

Discretion in criminal justice is used primarily during three phases of a case by a prosecuting attorney. Discretion is relevant in determining whether a person is to be charged with a crime in...

Each state maintains its own rules about sealing or expunging records. You do not need an attorney to have your record and can complete the steps on your own. You must file a petition to "set...

The Commonwealth of Virginia maintains a house arrest or home-detention program from criminal offenders in a number of cases. There are certain requirements and qualifications that an offender...

A criminal history screening is conducted in advance of a person being sentenced for a crime. Nearly every jurisdiction in the United States, including federal criminal courts, utilizes the...

A police record and a criminal record are different yet can overlap. Both can affect employment, apartment rentals, promotions and business licensing. Your criminal record can affect also your...

A recent alleged sexual assault by four teenage boys on a 15-year-old girl in California garnered national attention - but not for the reason you may think. While the rape was terrible on its own,...

In New Hampshire, pepper spray can be carried concealed without any restriction or permit. Carrying pepper spray concealed means no one can see it, but it is still accessible to you in a pocket...

House arrest is a type of restrictive supervision used in the criminal justice system in a number of situations. House arrest (also known as home detention) is used for some defendants awaiting...

Finding a suitable position of employment in the best of circumstances is a challenging task. If you have a felony conviction on your record, obtaining gainful employment is an even more daunting...

This is legalese for evidence or information obtained illegally. These materials are not admissible in court. Typically, such cases are accompanied by arguments of "infringement," meaning that...

It is any evidence, information, leads, etc, that investigators receive after an illegal confession or an illegal search. The fruit of the poisoned tree is also the name of the legal doctrine that...

Child abandonment, or the act of leaving a child unsupervised for an extended period of time jeopardizing their safety is a very serious crime in Illinois. Such an act is regulated by the Illinois...

Whether you hire workers or you are a person who wants to check out your dates, there will come a time when you will need to perform a criminal background check. The criminal background check...

Forensic pathology has become more prominent in recent decades as technology has advanced to aid in solving crimes and unexplained deaths. Adding to the popularity has been television shows such...

Workplace violence takes various forms. According to the Rutgers University Crime Prevention Service for Business, there are three types of workplace violence: violence by strangers and outsiders,...