The Trial Penalty: How America Abandoned the Right to Trial by Douglas Ankney by Doug Ankney “I consider trial by jury as the only anchor ever yet imagined by man, by which a government can be held to the principles of its constitution.” —Thomas Jefferson (Personal letter to Thomas Paine, …

Fourth Circuit Denies Defendant Faced ‘Classic Penalty Situation’ During Polygraph Questioning While on Supervised Release by Anthony Accurso by Anthony W. Accurso The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit upheld the denial of a defendant’s suppression motion where he failed to invoke his Fifth Amendment protections while on …

Prosecutor’s Sentencing Message to Defendant: Insist on Trial, Pay with Your Liberty by David Reutter by David M. Reutter For persons inexperienced with the criminal justice system, it seems incomprehensible that an innocent person would plead guilty. The threat of a trial penalty, however, pushes many innocents to do just …