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Arrest, appearance and bail

• Typical arrest procedure
• Typical criminal investigation procedure
• The initial appearance in court
• Plea bargaining
• When the initial appearance is delayed
• Bail essentials
• Types of bail
• How is bail determined?
• Preparing for bail hearings
• Presentation at the hearing
• Conditions of release
• Bail and conditions for specific offenses.
• Credit for pre-trial or pre-sentence custody

Search and seizure

• Does your case have a search and seizure issue?
• Intrusive or overbearing police action
• Requirement of expectation of privacy
• Attacking a search warrant
• Types of searches
• Auto stops and searches
• Plain view searches
• Searches of computers
• Consent searches

Interrogations, confessions and statements

• Suppressing a confession
• Failure to give Miranda warnings
• Assertion of right to counsel
• Coerced confession
• Challenging the voluntariness of a confession
• Attacking the confession at trial
• Cross-examination on recorded confession
• Prosecution's use of defendant's silence
• Using the 5th Amendment
• False exculpatory statements

Line-ups, photo arrays and show-ups

• Criminal identification procedures
• Mistaken identification is common
• Right to counsel at line-up
• Problems with the in-court show-up
• Suppressing identification testimony
• Attacking the identification testimony at trial
• Identification jury instructions

Preliminary hearing

• Your right to a hearing
• Goals at the hearing
• Preparing for the hearing
• Hearing cross-examination questions:
• Drug sale
• Consent in rape case
• Identification in robbery case
• Fraudulent billing
• Aggravated assault

Forfeiture

• How forfeiture works
• Should you litigate?

Grand juries

• A powerful investigative tool for prosecutors
• Are you a target, subject, or witness?
• When you are a target
• When you are a subject
• When you are a witness
• If a subpoena seeking your testimony
  is coming
• Obtaining protection for a prosecution interview
• Preparing for the hearing
• Responding to a document subpoena

Discovery

• The discovery process
• You are entitled to certain documents
• Prosecutor's obligation to disclose exculpatory evidence
• Your discovery obligations

Plea bargaining

• Two types of bargains
• Special and no contest pleas
• When to enter a guilty plea
• Consequences of a guilty plea
• Immigration consequences
• Cooperation with prosecutors: consequences and procedures
• Alternative dispositions
• How to do time (PDF download)

Related civil litigation

• How it works
• When an organization or multiple defendants are involved
• Responding to civil pleadings and discovery
• Tactics and tips

Trial

• The defense theory
• Trial before a jury or a judge?
• Dressing for court
• How the jury is selected
• The defense's opening statement
• Keeping out prior bad acts
• Impeaching an adverse witness
• Highlighting the adverse witness' deal with the prosecution
• 7 common defenses
• Neutralizing the prosecutor's cross-examination

Sentencing

• Sentencing alternatives
• The presentence investigation report and interview
• Showing the judge the real you
• Preparing for the sentencing hearing
• Getting ready for incarceration

Probation and parole

• 3 ways to be placed on probation
• Conditions of probation and parole
• Special conditions
• Communication with the parole officer
• Revocation of probation or parole