Articles Posted in criminal rights

Arizona Court of Appeals Marijuana Trafficking Case Study: Part II of II – Suspects 40 Minute Detention for K-9 Drug Unit Not Unreasonable.
Law Office of James Novak

Arizona Court of Appeals Marijuana Trafficking Case Study: Part II of II – Decision to Detain for K-9 Drug Unit Not Unreasonable. Your rights at a police stop; Stop; 10 Com7mon Drug Defenses; Mitigating Sentencing; Drug Trafficking Laws; Penalties, Criminal Defense for Felony Drug Charges.

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DUI Confessions, Self-Incrimination in Arizona – Pleading the Fifth on Social Media
Law Office of James Novak

A Tragic Video Confession You might remember the viral video of an Arizona man, 22 year old Matthew Cordle, who caused a fatal drunk driving accident. He provided a confession in a four-minute online video that went viral with 2.3 million views last September. Cordle began his chilling confession with “My name is Matthew Cordle…

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US Supreme Court Rules No Warrant Needed to Collect DNA if Arrested
Law Office of James Novak

Impact of Maryland v. King Ruling on Arizona: What it gives and what it takes. Privacy rights were outweighed by law enforcement interests in the United States Supreme Court’s June 3rd ruling in Maryland v. King. In this case, the Court was divided 5-4 over the question of DNA sample collection. All states and the…

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“Remaining Silent” under the Fifth Amendment Should Not Infer Guilt
Law Office of James Novak

No “substantial penalties” can be imposed as a result of exercising their Fifth Amendment Rights Most people know they have a Fifth Amendment right not to be forced to incriminate oneself. This right encompasses not only the right not to speak about something that might lead you to actually admit to wrongdoing, but also the…

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Judge denies murder suspect’s request to represent himself at trial
Law Office of James Novak

“Request made ‘unknowingly’; defendant lacked ability to adequately mount a defense” – says Judge On October 9, 2012, the Superior Court Judge in Maricopa County denied Michael Lee Crane’s request to represent himself at trial. Crane is accused three violent robberies and homicides in the Phoenix, AZ. The defendant claimed the reason he wanted to…

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Arizona Criminal Defense Attorney Blog

Arizona Court’s Opinion Reinforces Case Law Dictating Trial Court Jurisdiction Over Defendants Over Eighteen Years of Age In a recent opinion published by the Arizona Court of Appeals, Division One, the court vacated a trial court’s dismissal of an assault indictment...

Recent Arizona Court Opinion Highlights Reality that Multiple Offenses Means Harsher Sentences In Arizona, if a defendant with prior convictions is found guilty of a crime, that defendant will face a harsher sentence than if he or she had no...

“Motive” as a Reason to Admit Otherwise Inadmissible Evidence at Trial When can an Arizona court admit evidence regarding a previous, seemingly unrelated offense during criminal proceedings? The answer is tricky, as...

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