What Does "Self-Incriminate" Mean? When Can You Exercise Your 5th Amendment Rights? The language of the 5th Amendment to the United States Constitution affords a number of rights to every U.S. citizen, including the right not to be "compelled in any ... [Read more...]
Understanding Criminal Negligence
How Does It Differ from Civil Negligence? In the American criminal justice system, a criminal conviction requires the prosecution to show that both a guilty mind (mens rea), and a guilty act (actus reus). In most instances, the frame of mind that ... [Read more...]
Common Causes of a Car Crash
Factors Often Involved in Motor Vehicle Accidents According to data collected by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), there are more than 6 million car crashes in the United States every year—an average of about one per ... [Read more...]
Things to Know When Considering Divorce – How Alimony Works
What Factors Are Involved? | How the Court Determines the Amount Though it's less common than it was generations ago, alimony (also known as spousal support or spousal maintenance) can still be ordered by a court as part of the divorce process. The ... [Read more...]
The Dos and Don’ts of Winning a Custody Battle
Taking the Right Steps to Get the Outcome You Want in a Custody Dispute Whether you're currently going through the divorce process or your divorce is already final, if there are minor children from the marriage, there's a potential for disagreement ... [Read more...]
The Difference Between DUI and DWI
How Driving Under the Influence Differs from Driving While Intoxicated or Impaired Every state has laws prohibiting persons from drinking and driving or using drugs or other controlled substances before getting behind the wheel. But not all states ... [Read more...]
Distinguishing Between White-Collar Crimes and Other Crimes
What Is White-Collar Crime? How Does It Differ From “Street Crime”? There are many ways to categorize criminal offenses, but one of the most common is by type—the distinction between “violent/street crimes” and “white-collar crimes.” The most common ... [Read more...]
What Is a Moving Violation?
How Are Moving Violations Defined Under the Law? In every state, there are written laws regulating the operation of motor vehicles. Some of those laws address administrative or equipment issues, such as parking tickets or fines for defective turn ... [Read more...]
The Difference Between a Felony and a Misdemeanor
The Most Common Categories of Criminal Offenses At both the state and the federal level, most crimes are identified as either misdemeanors or felonies. (Offenses known as “infractions” are technically not criminal offenses. They don’t require you to ... [Read more...]
Punishment for Juvenile Crimes
How the Criminal Justice System Handles Crimes Involving Juvenile Defendants When dealing with minors who run afoul of the law, the U.S. justice system takes a significantly different approach than with adult offenders. Because of the perception ... [Read more...]