State's attorney is an attorney elected or appointed by local government officials to represent the state in a criminal case brought in a judicial district or designated county.
The state's attorney is responsible for...
criminal law and procedure
statutory rape
Statutory rape is defined by statute as an act of sexual intercourse with a person under the age of consent, which is considered to constitute rape under the law, whether the person is willing or not. In statutory rape, there is usually no...
stop and frisk
A stop-and-frisk refers to a brief non-intrusive police stop of a suspect. The Fourth Amendment requires that before stopping the suspect, the police must have a reasonable suspicion that a crime has been, is being, or is about to be committed by the...
strip search
A strip search is an inspection of a naked person. Strip searches are generally improper unless supported by probable cause. When determining the reasonableness and legitimacy of a strip search, the court will consider the totality of circumstances to...
successive sentences
When a criminal defendant gets convicted of a crime, the judge will impose a sentence appropriate for the conduct. If the defendant gets convicted on multiple charges, they will face multiple sentences. The sentences can be applied either...
suppression
In a criminal case, most evidence gathered in violation of the Constitution is inadmissible at trial, due to the exclusionary rule. Evidence that has been kept out in this manner is said to have been “suppressed.”
suppression of evidence
Suppression of evidence is a pretrial proceeding to prevent evidence from being shown at trial, which could be lawful or unlawful.
Lawful suppression of evidence means the judge rejects the use of the evidence in the court...
surveillance
Surveillance is the act of observing another in order to gather evidence. Surveillance is one of the most common methods law enforcement officials use to investigate suspects and gather evidence. It can be accomplished with the knowledge of...
suspect
A suspect is a person who is believed to have committed a crime, but has not yet been found guilty. If a suspect received an arrest warrant, they might then be identified as a defendant; and after the suspect was convicted or found guilty,...
suspended sentence
In criminal law, a suspended sentence is an alternative to imprisonment where a judge may partially or entirely suspend the convicted individual's prison or jail sentence so long as they fulfill certain conditions. If the conditions are...