As an article on the American Psychological Association website notes, psychologists pretty much agree there’s not much data to support the effectiveness of lie-detector tests to sort out truth from lies.
The accuracy (i.e., validity) of polygraph testing has long been controversial. An underlying problem is theoretical: There is no evidence that any pattern of physiological [...]
A Story County, Iowa Law Firm specializing in family law and criminal defense
Tag Archive: criminal
Don’t trust a lie detector
How Facebook Almost Ruined a Divorce Case
I found this post from a blog by Tim Evans, a divorce lawyer in Hattiesburg, Mississippi. The direct link to the original post is: http://www.hattiesburgdivorcelawyer.com/2009/08/how-facebook-almost-ruined-a-divorce-case/
The other day, I had something happen to me that would have been devastating had it been discovered at trial. Another lawyer showed me a hard copy of someone’s Facebook page. This [...]
Juvenile delinquency case procedure & time lines
In many ways, the juvenile delinquency process mirrors that of the adult Iowa Criminal Procedure. A crime is reported. A Law Enforcement officer will conduct the investigation. If the Law Enforcement officer determines that a crime has been committed and the suspect is a juvenile, Juvenile Court Services will be contacted. A juvenile court officer [...]
Child in need of Assistance (CINA) case procedure & time lines:
CINA (pronounced China) cases start with someone reporting a child is in trouble. Often times these allegations are due to an action or inaction of the parents or guardians. These reports are investigated by Child Protective Services. Many cases are opened after Law Enforcement has conducted a criminal investigation.
If the Department of Human Services believes [...]
Juvenile cases
There are two types of juvenile cases in the Iowa court system. CINA (Child in Need of Assistance) cases are opened when the State believes that a child requires state help, usually in the form of supervision from the Iowa Department of Human Services. The other type of juvenile case is a delinquency case. Delinquency [...]
Your rights in a criminal case
Search: The general rule is that in order to search a person’s house, property, vehicle or person, law enforcement must have first obtained a search warrant supported by probable cause and signed by a neutral judge. There are exceptions to the search warrant requirement, the most common of which is consent. Law Enforcement often uses [...]
Arrested in Iowa? What happens next?
If you have been arrested, the Constitution of the United States protects your rights to legal counsel, and to remaining silent. To invoke your rights, tell Law Enforcement personnel you do not want to answer any questions without your attorney present and are invoking your right to remain silent. After you invoke your right to [...]
Criminal Justice Procedures & Timelines
Arrest: Starts the process. Arrest is defined as “the taking of a person into custody when and in the manner authorized by law.
Initial Appearance: The magistrate or judge informs the individual of the preliminary charge(s) against them and of his/her rights. Counsel may be appointed if the proper conditions are met. Only in Simple Misdemeanor [...]