Crawford Ellsworth Esq., PLC

the Supreme Court handed down a sweeping victory for Donald Trump

The Supreme Court just crushed any hope that Trump could be removed from the ballot This is the second major victory the Supreme Court handed Trump in less than one week.

The practice prioritizes efficiency over fairness and innocence, the American Bar Association says, and leads innocent people to be coerced into guilty pleas.

The vast majority of criminal cases end in plea bargains, a new report finds The practice prioritizes efficiency over fairness and innocence, the American Bar Association says, and leads innocent people to be coerced into guilty pleas.

What happens when you get a DUI varies based on where you live and other factors.

What Happens When You Get a DUI What happens when you get a DUI varies based on where you live and other factors. Getting a DUI may result in different consequences in different states.

The Justice Department’s No. 2 official is directing federal prosecutors to try imposing harsher penalties against criminals who’ve used AI to advance their misconduct.

Criminals Who Misuse AI Face Stiffer Sentences in DOJ Crackdown The Justice Department’s No. 2 official is directing federal prosecutors to try imposing harsher penalties against criminals who’ve used AI to advance their misconduct.

A defendant who is found guilty but mentally ill may, at the discretion of the corrections department, be referred for mental health treatment.

Defendant acquitted by reason of insanity can't be retried, despite inconsistency, SCOTUS rules in Jackson opinion The U.S. Supreme Court has unanimously ruled that Georgia can’t retry a defendant who was found not guilty of malice murder by reason of insanity, even though the verdict was inconsistent with jury findings on other charges.

Although the process may vary somewhat from state to state, these are the steps that most criminal cases follow until their case is resolved.

The 10 Stages of a Criminal Case If you have been arrested for a crime, you are at the beginning of what could become a long journey through the criminal justice system.

A new report estimates that the number of people on electronic monitoring has more than tripled since 2015. The growth has been driven in part by a steady increase in the use of electronic monitoring in the criminal justice system.

Ankle monitors and iPhone apps: New data reveals just how huge America’s digital jails have become New research finds that the number of people being placed on electronic monitoring has tripled since 2015, ballooning to half a million people in 2022.

Although the police can get creative when trying to get a confession, there are theoretical limitations. If you're in police custody, it's generally wise to request a lawyer and refuse to answer questions until they arrive.

Lies the Police Can Legally Tell You (and How to Respond) Are you a cop? You have to tell me if you're a cop! Unfortunately, no, they do not have to tell you if they're a cop.

A statute of limitations is a law that defines the maximum amount of time in which parties involved in a dispute must initiate legal proceedings following an alleged offense.

Statute of Limitations: Definition, Types, and Example A statute of limitations is a law that sets the maximum time that parties have to initiate legal proceedings from the date of an alleged offense.

Thanks to a series of technological advances, it's now possible to detect DNA at levels hundreds or even thousands of times lower than when DNA fingerprinting was developed in the 1980s. But this heightened sensitivity can create false positives.

Forensics gone wrong: When DNA snares the innocent Greg Hampikian expresses how DNA analysis has helped free thousands of wrongly convicted people, but it can also implicate bystanders

Many criminal cases will end in a plea agreement, rather than go to trial. But in some instances, the defense lawyer can even get the charges tossed before trial, using a motion to dismiss. Many circumstances can justify a motion to dismiss, and a criminal defense attorney can advise you if any apply in your situation.

Private security footage is nothing new to criminal investigations, but two factors are rapidly changing the landscape: huge growth in the number of devices with cameras, and the fact that footage usually lands in a cloud server, rather than on a tape.

More Police Are Using Your Cameras for Video Evidence Police “nerve centers” are blurring the line between public and private surveillance.

Eyewitness testimony can be a crucial part of the criminal justice system, but it has flaws. The consequences of inaccurate testimony can be serious, particularly if it leads to the conviction of an innocent person.

Is Eyewitness Testimony Reliable? Eyewitness testimony carries weight in a courtroom, but is one person's account enough evidence to convict someone of a crime? Learn about what research says about the reliability of eyewitness testimony and examples of cases where it led to wrongful convictions.

If you're found guilty of driving under the influence of alcohol or drugs, you could face consequences that include losing your license, paying a fine, or serving jail time. If you've been arrested or charged with impaired driving, a criminal defense attorney can help you decide on the best course of action.

Alphabet Inc.’s Google is changing its Maps tool so that the company no longer has access to users' individual location histories, cutting off its ability to respond to law enforcement warrants that ask for data on everyone who was in the vicinity of a crime.

Google Will Stop Providing Law Enforcement Data on Which Users Were Near a Crime The company said location data will soon be saved directly on users’ devices, blocking Google from seeing it and, by extension, blocking law enforcement demanding that information.

A new report by the National Registry of Exonerations found 129 cases in which people were falsely convicted at least partly because of flawed hair analysis and testimony.

How the Junk Science of Hair Analysis Keeps People Behind Bars The technique, developed before DNA testing, can’t definitively tie suspects to crime scenes. Try explaining that to juries — or some judges.

Eyewitness testimony generally holds considerable sway in criminal investigations, often shaping the course of prosecutions. Nevertheless, it's important to recognize that these accounts may not always be accurate. If you're facing criminal allegations and aim to question the reliability of an eyewitness account, an experienced criminal defense attorney can review the circumstances and identify the best way to challenge testimony being used against you.

Cybercrime involves a wide range of criminal conduct that makes use of digital and network technologies. This includes identity theft, financial fraud and personal data breach. Technology can also be employed to carry out drug crime, prostitution, child po*******hy and extortion. Federal and state laws enacted to fight cybercrime are being zealously enforced by prosecutors, aided by electronic surveillance and undercover operations. A criminal defense attorney can explain your possible exposure to investigation.

All states and the federal government criminalize the knowing receipt of stolen property. Penalties vary based on the specific statute and severity is often tied to the value of the stolen goods involved. If you are being charged with receiving or possessing stolen property, consult with an attorney in your state for guidance specific to your situation.

Facing criminal charges can be overwhelming. Let the attorneys at Crawford Ellsworth Esq., PLC safeguard your fundamental rights and advise you on potential defense strategies based on the facts in your case. Visit our website for more information. https://ellsworthesq.com/

Typically, when you serve a period of supervised release, you must meet with your parole officer periodically, and abide by the conditions of your release. If you do not, your parole could be revoked, which means you would return to prison.

The Supreme Court heard arguments over which drug offenses trigger mandatory 15-year sentences under the Armed Career Criminal Act, which is a kind of federal three-strikes law. The law imposes the mandatory sentences on people convicted of unlawfully possessing fi****ms if they had already committed three violent felonies or serious drug offenses.

Justices Search for Middle Ground on Mandatory Sentences for Gun Crimes A federal law imposes a mandatory 15-year sentence for possessing a gun after committing three serious drug offenses. But which offenses count?

Under normal circumstances, police may enter your home without your permission only if they have a warrant.

Before a criminal case goes to trial, the prosecutor and the defense have the opportunity to make pretrial motions. These motions can affect many issues at trial, from what evidence can be introduced to which charges will be tried. An experienced attorney can suggest which motions could be useful to your case and file them on your behalf.

White-collar crime describes crimes that relate to money. White-collar crimes are generally non-violent, committed for financial gain or to retain money already owned in the case of money laundering or tax evasion. These crimes are usually investigated and prosecuted on a federal level since most white-collar crime operations cross state lines.

White-collar crime: Non-violent crimes committed for financial gain White-collar crimes encompass a broad range of crimes, usually non-violent, committed for financial gain.

If you are convicted of a s*x offense in any U.S. state, your name will be placed on a s*x offender registry — a public database that impacts your civil liberties, such as where you can live and work. How long you must stay on the registry varies state to state and depends on several factors. Your criminal defense attorney must be keenly aware of how the local registry law applies in your case.

Finding employment remains difficult for individuals with criminal records despite a tight job market and millions of job openings.

Amid millions of open jobs, finding work remains a struggle with a criminal record While employers have indicated they are more willing to hire workers with criminal records in a tight labor market, job seekers say they face a tangle of barriers to getting work.

A recent court ruling in Colorado highlighted how Google’s tracking of our locations and web searches helps police find suspects when they have few leads — but it’s also sweeping innocent people into investigations.

Police love Google’s surveillance data. Here’s how to protect yourself. Novel ways of using Google’s search and location data are helping police. But privacy advocates say it’s violating Americans’ constitutional rights.

Not every prison sentence is served entirely behind bars. If you are granted parole, you are released from prison early, but remain under supervision for the rest of your sentence. During this time, you must abide by the conditions of your parole, or risk going back to prison. Not everyone is eligible for parole, and being granted parole is not guaranteed. If you have questions about the parole laws in your state, consider speaking with an attorney.

The Fifth Amendment’s double jeopardy clause prevents defendants from being put on trial more than once for the same offense. A key exception is that separate sovereigns can prosecute defendants for the same criminal acts. For example, if a person commits a single act that violates both federal and state laws, they could face trial in both federal and state courts.