CLEMENCY FOR DOMESTIC VIOLENCE VICTIMS

In some states, legislatures have recently enacted laws that grant the possibility of clemency by the states' governors for domestic violence victims who have been convicted of certain offenses, such as murder and manslaughter. In those states, the governors are entitled to request a clemency investigation by the states' parole boards into cases where defendants have pleaded guilty or have been convicted of those offenses when the offenses were directly related to the defendants' being victimized by domestic violence.

MISTAKE OF FACT AS A DEFENSE

The defense of mistake of fact is used when a defendant is accused of committing a particular crime and the defendant admits that he or she committed another crime, which other crime is different from the particular crime and is not a lesser-included offense of the particular crime. The defense is based on the defendant's belief that he or she was committing another crime, which crime is less serious than the crime with which the defendant is charged.

Preliminary Criminal Proceedings

After a defendant has been arrested and may have been released, he or she is required to appear for an arraignment. An arraignment is a court appearance in which defendant is brought before a judge or magistrate and apprised of the charges lodged against him or her. Ordinarily with respect to a misdemeanor offense, the defendant will only be arraigned once. However, with a felony offense, the defendant may be arraigned more than once if the offense is changed from the offense listed in the initial accusatory instrument.

RIGHTS OF CRIME VICTIMS

Being a victim of a crime is a frightening experience. Until fairly recently, crime victims had no rights and did not have access to any federal, state, or local services to help them through the experience. In most states, there are now many services and resources that are available to crime victims.

International Money Laundering and Undercover Money Laundering Transactions

International money laundering is a federal offense. The elements of this offense include: Monetary instruments that are transported internationally; Defendant acted with the intent to promote the carrying on of the illegal activity, concealed the original transaction, attempted to avoid tax liability, or attempted to avoid reporting requirements; Transfer was done with the intent to conceal the proceeds from an illegal activity; Defendant knew the monetary instrument represented the proceeds derived from illegal activity.