Question: Does anybody know if they're using only New York law in the show? In California and many other states you can talk to a minor without his parents.
LorgSkyegon
29th Jun 2020
Law & Order: Special Victims Unit (1999)
25th Jun 2020
Law & Order: Special Victims Unit (1999)
Question: In a mistrial, most DA's have to decide if it is a do over. But in this show they have some dismissals in the mist of a trial and they can't be retried because of double jeopardy. Is this really a fact?
Answer: It would best to cite a specific episode; however, a dismissal is not the same thing as a mistrial by legal definitions. A case may be dismissed with or without prejudice. A case dismissed with prejudice would prevent a retrial on the grounds of double jeopardy. When this happens, the judge is basically saying he or she has heard enough to make a final decision and the case is over. Dismissals without prejudice and mistrials that the defendant consents to can be retried (generally it's the defendant's lawyer that will move for a mistrial for one reason or another).
Answer: Yes, once a jury is sworn in and impaneled, jeopardy attaches. So if a trial is ended for any reason, the accused cannot be tried again. Downum v. United States (1963), Crist v. Bretz (1978), Martinez v. Ilinois (2014).
A mistrial can allow the defendant to be re-tried in many cases.
A mistrial is not a dismissal. Since the jury has not reached a verdict, the trial has not ended.
Which is literally what I already said. But you stated if the trial is ended for any reason. A mistrial does end the trial, but not necessarily end jeopardy.
29th Jun 2019
Law & Order: Special Victims Unit (1999)
Question: Why did Judge Taft order Karen to kill her daughter?
Answer: There is no evidence he did beyond the words of a woman crazy enough to murder her daughter.
11th Mar 2013
Law & Order: Special Victims Unit (1999)
Question: This is a two-part question. 1. In one episode, the SVU team must get a man to confess to committing several murders and if they can't after 24 hours, they have no choice but to let him go. What is the name of this episode? 2. During the interrogation, the man gets up in Detective Stablers face and screams, "I'm a murderer! I'm a murderer! I kill people! What are you gonna do about that?" That sounded like a Confession to me, so why wasn't he immediately arrested?
Answer: 1- It's probably "Rage" from season 6, though there are several similar episodes. 2 - I could go to the police and say I'm a murderer, but without details, it's not really any use. They knew he was just playing with them and wanted to taunt Stabler.
Join the mailing list
Separate from membership, this is to get updates about mistakes in recent releases. Addresses are not passed on to any third party, and are used solely for direct communication from this site. You can unsubscribe at any time.
Check out the mistake & trivia books, on Kindle and in paperback.
Answer: While it isn't technically illegal to talk to a child without his parents (or a lawyer), doing it stands a good chance of getting anything learned from the conversation inadmissible due to the possibility of undue influence. So most police agencies don't do it.
LorgSkyegon