| FEDERAL HABEAS CORPUS RELIEF |
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| A state prisoner who has been incarcerated for a criminal offense by a state court may challenge his or her conviction by filing a petition for habeas corpus relief in a federal court. The federal court has jurisdiction over the prisoner's custody in a state correctional institution if the incarceration constitutes a violation of the United States Constitution or the laws of the United States. The prisoner's federal habeas corpus petition seeks to secure the release of the prisoner from an unlawful custody. However, in order to be able to file the federal habeas corpus petition, the prisoner must be in custody, the custody must be unlawful, and the prisoner must have exhausted his or her state remedies.
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| Larceny and Conversion of Government Property |
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| Larceny or the theft of government property is a federal offense. In order to prove the crime; the prosecution mustprove the following: A wrongful taking or carrying away of property; the property belonged to the United States; the defendant took the property without the consent of the United States; the defendant had the intent to deprive the United States of the property.
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| CHALLENGING JURISDICTION |
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| Jurisdiction is a court's power to hear and to decide cases. There are two types of jurisdiction. They are subject-matter jurisdiction and personal jurisdiction. Subject-matter jurisdiction is the power of a particular court to hear and to decide certain types of cases. Personal jurisdiction is the power that a court exercises over a particular person. More... |
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| SEARCH & SEIZURE - SEARCH WARRANTS |
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| The Fourth Amendment of the United States Constitution guarantees the right to be secure against unreasonable searches and seizures. It provides that warrants for an arrest or for a search shall be based on probable cause, shall be supported by an oath or an affirmation, and shall describe with particularity the placed to be searched or the person or thing to be seized. More... |
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| FEDERAL LAWS REGARDING HOSTAGE-TAKING |
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| Although the policy of the federal government is that most hostage-taking offenses within the territorial jurisdiction of the United States should be handled by state and local authorities, there are situations in which the federal government may be involved in prosecuting such offenses. These situations include the taking of a federal official or an international guest as a hostage, a demand against the United States regarding the hostage-taking, or when international terrorists are the perpetrators. More... |
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