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A delinquency case is brought by petition rather than indictment, decided by a judge in most states rather than a jury, and resolved by a disposition rather than a sentence. Proof beyond a reasonable doubt applies, but the purposes clause of the juvenile code shapes what the court may order afterward. An adjudication is not a conviction, yet it carries consequences that survive the case.
The Interstate Agreement on Detainers gives a prisoner the right to demand final disposition of untried charges in another party state within one hundred eighty days, and gives a prosecutor temporary custody with an obligation to try the case within one hundred twenty days of arrival. Returning the prisoner before trial requires dismissal with prejudice, and failure to meet either deadline does the same.
A frisk is a protective measure, not an evidentiary search. It requires reasonable suspicion, separate from the basis for the stop, that the detained person is armed and presently dangerous. It is limited to a pat-down of outer clothing and to areas that could hold a weapon. An object may be seized only if its incriminating character is immediately apparent from that permitted contact; manipulating an object to identify it converts the frisk into a search.
Naturalization requires good moral character during the statutory period preceding the application and continuing until admission to citizenship, so conduct after filing is inside the period. Regulation lists conditional bars for acts within it, including a turpitude conviction outside the petty offense exception, a controlled substance violation, confinement of one hundred eighty days or more, and false testimony. An arrest must be disclosed at interview whether or not it produced a charge.
Some states require the physical presence of a parent before a juvenile's custodial statement is admissible, some require only notification, and some require consultation with a lawyer instead. The distinctions matter because a parent is not counsel, cannot give legal advice, and may have interests that diverge from the child's. Courts have generally held that parental encouragement to speak does not by itself make a statement involuntary.
A traffic stop is a seizure justified by a suspected violation, and its permissible duration is set by the tasks tied to that violation: addressing the infraction, checking the license and registration, confirming insurance, and running outstanding warrants. Officers may ask unrelated questions and take safety precautions, but nothing outside the mission may extend it. Once the tasks are complete or reasonably should have been, continued detention requires fresh suspicion or consent.
An agency may forfeit seized property by declaration where no claim is filed, subject to the value ceiling and the categories of 19 U.S.C. 1607. A United States attorney may sue the property itself in rem, proving forfeitability by a preponderance and, on a facilitation theory, a substantial connection. A prosecutor may seek forfeiture from a convicted defendant at sentencing, where the court finds a nexus to the offense and third parties are confined to an ancillary proceeding.
A crime involving moral turpitude is not defined by statute. Adjudicators look for elements that combine reprehensible conduct with a culpable mental state: fraud or deceit, theft with intent to deprive an owner permanently, and violence aggravated by a weapon, an injury requirement or a specific intent. Recklessness qualifies only narrowly and negligence almost never. Because the classification turns on elements rather than facts, the statute counsel selects decides most of the question.
Federal plea agreements routinely waive the right to appeal a conviction and sentence and to attack the judgment collaterally. Courts enforce such waivers where the plea was knowing and voluntary and the sentence falls within the terms waived. Exceptions include a sentence above the statutory maximum, one based on an impermissible factor, a claim that the waiver was not knowing, and ineffective assistance in negotiating the plea.
A plea agreement is interpreted using contract principles, with ambiguity construed against the government as drafter and with an added requirement of scrupulous performance because the defendant surrendered constitutional rights in reliance on it. Breach by the government is established by comparing the promise with the conduct, and the remedies are specific performance before a different judge or withdrawal. Breach by the defendant releases the government while leaving the conviction intact.
A breath testing instrument measures alcohol in a sample of deep lung air and converts it to a blood-equivalent figure using an assumed partition ratio. The result depends on the instrument conforming to published model specifications, on an internal air blank and control check accompanying each subject test, on a documented calibration history, and on an observation period intended to exclude alcohol originating in the mouth rather than the lungs. Each of those conditions leaves a record.
The documents that carry weight in a later immigration matter are certified copies of the charging instrument and disposition, the transcript of the plea and sentencing hearing, the signed plea agreement, the judgment showing the exact term ordered, contemporaneous evidence of residence and family ties, and a file memorandum recording the advice given. Each is cheap to obtain while the case is live and difficult or impossible to reconstruct once the file has closed.
