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Charged with Aiding and Abetting or Being an Accessory? Your Next Steps

Charged with Aiding and Abetting or Being an Accessory? Your Next Steps

People accused of helping someone commit a crime fall into two categories: aiders and abettors, and accessories. If you have been charged with either aiding and abetting a crime or being an accessory, you probably have questions about these legal terms. An aiding and abetting charge means that prosecutors think the accused encouraged someone to commit a crime or advised him or her in its commission. To prove these charges, the prosecution must show that the aider and abettor acted with criminal intent or that he or she had knowledge of the person who committed the crime’s criminal intent. In other words,...

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What Is Impeachment Evidence?

What Is Impeachment Evidence

In criminal cases, lawyers use various types of evidence to question the accuracy of witnesses’ testimony. The process is called impeachment. Various different kinds of impeachment evidence may show that a witness is not being truthful, such as if prior statements to the police contradict testimony on the stand, or that a witness was not able to observe what happened, such as if the witness has poor vision. Oklahoma law permits lawyers to use specific types of evidence for impeachment purposes. Lawyers may question the witness they are trying to impeach, or they may question a different person to impeach a...

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Do I Have the Right to Assistance at Trial by an Expert Witness?

Do I Have the Right to Assistance at Trial by an Expert Witness?

Criminal defendants who cannot afford to pay for an expert witness but need one to mount a defense may wonder if the Constitution grants them the right to expert witness assistance at trial. The Supreme Court has determined – twice – that at a minimum, there is a right to assistance of a mental health expert to evaluate the defendant in death penalty cases. Whether there is a right to expert witness assistance in non-death penalty cases, or whether there is a right to assistance by other types of experts, are open questions. In Ake v. Oklahoma, 470 U.S. 68 (1985),...

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