ExpertRating Online Law Course - $129.99

According to the US Bureau of Labor Statistics, in May 2006, the median annual earnings of all wage-and-salaried lawyers were $102,470.

Criminal law provides many legal protections for those who have been accused of crimes, in order to ensure that innocent people do not get convicted. If you have been accused of a crime it is absolutely essential that you are represented by a criminal lawyer. The state is legally required to provide a defendant with an attorney, however many people prefer to hire a private criminal defense lawyer.

Both sides begin the trial by making opening statements to the jury. The prosecution presents its case first. After both sides have made their closing arguments, the jury begins deliberation. If a guilty verdict has been reached, the judge determines what punishment will be administered. The sentencing is influenced by statutory law, legal precedent and the specific facts of the case. It is possible to appeal a guilty verdict to a higher court. A criminal defense lawyer can help you appeal your case. The ExpertRating Criminal Law Certification course will teach you the nuances of the criminal law.

ExpertRating Online Law Course (Criminal Law-II) Coverage (6 weeks program)

Week One

Wednesday - Lesson 01

This lesson will start the journey into the world of prosecutors, detectives, and defense attorneys. You'll see the real world of criminal justice and understand the all-important steps that a criminal case must follow but Hollywood routinely ignores. You'll understand how police obtain a confession and what they can do with it. You'll find out how police investigate a crime scene and the real protocols they must follow to gather evidence. This lesson will also consider an area of criminal law that's rife with misconceptions: arrest. When exactly is a person considered under arrest and what effect does that have on the prosecution?

Friday - Lesson 02

Have you ever wondered exactly what a search warrant is and under what circumstances police need one to search your car or your home? You'll find out in this lesson. This lesson will also examine some of those mysterious concepts you hear about all the time on television, such as "plainview" and "contraband." Finally, you'll learn how drug dogs contribute to searches and see how the famous "exclusionary rule" prevents unconstitutionally seized evidence from being used at trial.

Week Two

Wednesday - Lesson 03

Do the police have to tell you that you're under arrest? Are they required to let you know what you're charged with before an arrest is legal? What are the consequences when an arrest is considered to be illegal or unconstitutional? Did you know that an arrest is considered legal even if the police don't read you your Miranda rights? This lesson will get into the nitty-gritty of arrest law. You'll see how television and movies present a completely distorted picture of the consequences of an arrest.

Friday - Lesson 04

In the hearings following an arrest, can prosecutors use hearsay testimony, unconstitutionally seized evidence, and ignore the rules of evidence? The answer is yes. If that answer surprises you, then you need to learn more about initial appearance hearings and preliminary hearings. All states have them. They're conducted shortly after a person is placed under arrest. However, many of the rules that are associated with trials are waived for these hearings. When you finish this lesson, you'll understand why.

Week Three

Wednesday - Lesson 05-

There's a group of citizens that has the power to dismiss criminal cases. This group has been a feature of American and English law for over a thousand years. Yet most people know next to nothing about it. This group is the grand jury and it has sweeping powers. In this lesson you'll learn how the grand jury functions, and why its role in the criminal justice system is so important. You'll see that the grand jury has a great deal of power, including the power to subpoena individuals and force them to testify. You'll also discover how the grand jury uses indictments to bring criminal charges against individuals.

Friday - Lesson 06

You've seen CSI and lots of other law shows, but do you really know how prosecutors and detectives collect and use evidence? By the time you finish this lesson, you will. You'll see how detectives gather evidence, including physical evidence (such as blood spatter and DNA), as well as testimonial evidence (like the defendant's confession and witness statements). You'll also find out how the prosecution uses this evidence to prove the case against the defendant in the trial. Along the way, this lesson will dispel some of the more common misconceptions as it looks at the use of circumstantial evidence and exactly what hearsay evidence is.

Week Four

Wednesday - Lesson 07

Everyone has heard the Miranda rights thousands of times. Every night, TV detectives read them to suspects. But how much do you actually know about interrogation techniques and the rights suspects have when they're being questioned? Did you know that every day in the United States, thousands are arrested and never read Miranda rights? Yet these arrests are perfectly legal. The focus of this lesson is to introduce you to interrogation techniques, what exactly the Miranda rights are, and when they're supposed to be used.

Friday - Lesson 08

When do suspects have the right to remain silent? Can they be put in photographic or physical lineups and shown to witnesses? Is it a violation of constitutional principles to make a suspect read a prepared statement to a witness? After completing this lesson, you'll have a firm grasp on identification techniques—how police use them, and what their limitations are.

Week Five

Wednesday - Lesson 09

What exactly is a plea bargain? What is the purpose of an arraignment? Can a defense attorney force his or her client to plead guilty even when the client doesn't want to? In this lesson, you'll step inside the offices of district and defense attorneys. You'll get an inside view of plea-bargaining and why it's absolutely essential to the functioning of the criminal justice system. When you're done, you'll understand exactly why prosecutors offer defendants deals and why defendants accept them.

Friday - Lesson 10

If prosecutors know something about a case that's helpful to the defendant, are they obliged to let the defendant know it? How much of the state's file is the defendant allowed to see? What information is the defendant required to give prosecutors prior to trial? These are all questions that deal with discovery—the process of exchanging information between the parties in a case. In this lesson you'll get a detailed list of information that police and prosecutors must provide to the defendant, as well as information that the defense must supply to the government.

Week Six

Wednesday - Lesson 11

Does Law & Order get it right? Are the trials you see every night on television even remotely like the trials that occur in the real world? Wouldn't you love to know how real trials work? This lesson will walk you through the various stages of criminal trials, showing you how different they are from what you see on TV.

Friday - Lesson 12

When a defendant is convicted, what are his or her chances of winning on appeal? How, exactly, does an appeal work? Is the deck stacked against the defendant? These are the issues that will be dealt with in this final lesson. You'll see how appeals progress, and realize that despite what you see on TV, most defendants lose their appeals. This lesson will also explore the Supreme Court—how it functions in criminal cases, and the process involved in bringing a death penalty appeal.

Buy the ExpertRating Online Law Course (Criminal Law-II) - $129.99

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