In a potentially very important ruling for the obligations of prosecutors in West Virginia to disclose evidence, the state Supreme Court ruled that the fact that a man’s due process rights were violated when the prosecution negotiated a plea bargain with him, knowing all the time that a DNA test exonerated him of the charges against him.
Conspiracy and attempt crimes explained
In criminal law, it is not always necessary to actually complete a crime in order to face prosecution. Being part of a conspiracy to break the law, or even a failed attempt to do so, exposes the accused to incarceration, fines and so on, just as if the crime had actually taken place.
