Also known as: legal aid · counsel assistance
Written by attorneys · grounded in primary & secondary sources — see below
3 senses
Aid given to a person known to have committed a felony in order to help that person avoid arrest, prosecution, or conviction.
Aid given to a person known to have committed a felony in order to help that person avoid arrest, prosecution, or conviction.
After learning that his brother had robbed a bank, Alfred Ashford let the brother stay in his basement and supplied food and clothing for two weeks. Police later traced the brother to the house. The assistance allowed the brother to remain hidden and delayed his arrest.
The guarantee that an accused person in a criminal prosecution may obtain the services of a lawyer for defense.
Adrian Aguilar was charged with armed robbery and appeared in court without a lawyer. The judge refused to appoint counsel despite Aguilar's request. Aguilar entered a plea without legal advice and later challenged the conviction on that ground.
Amelia Amari asked her lawyer to transfer settlement funds to an offshore account to evade a known creditor judgment. The lawyer recognized that the requested step would violate ethical rules and consulted Amari about the limitation before declining the request.
An act or omission that supplies protection to another when the actor is under a legal duty to provide it.
Adam Anderson, the only lifeguard on duty at a public pool, saw a child struggling in deep water but continued his conversation and did not enter the water. The child drowned. Anderson's inaction breached the duty to render necessary assistance.
Atlas Ventures refused to make a home-improvement loan to Audrey Ashton solely because Ashton was not a member of the bank's preferred racial group. The refusal constituted unlawful discrimination in the provision of financial assistance for a residential real-estate transaction.
The guarantee that an accused person in a criminal prosecution may obtain the services of a lawyer for defense.
An act or omission that supplies protection to another when the actor is under a legal duty to provide it.
Each sense below has its own examples, sources, and questions.
The government must show that a felony was committed, that the defendant knew the felony had occurred, and that the defendant provided assistance to help the principal avoid arrest, prosecution, or conviction.
A lawyer must consult with the client when the lawyer knows the client expects assistance not permitted by the Rules or other law, and the lawyer may not provide assistance that would violate those rules.
Andre Antoine called 911 while his neighbor was being attacked inside the apartment. He described the ongoing violence and asked for immediate police help. The statements were later admitted at trial without confrontation because they were made to obtain police assistance during an emergency.
The right attaches once adversarial judicial proceedings have begun, such as at arraignment or indictment, and guarantees the accused the assistance of counsel for defense in all criminal prosecutions.
Statements are non-testimonial when made during an ongoing emergency to enable police assistance rather than to establish past facts for later prosecution.
Negligent conduct includes the failure to perform an act necessary for the protection or assistance of another when the actor is under a duty to do so.
…. . . shall be compelled in any criminal case to be a witness against himself," and that "the accused shall . . . have the Assistance of Counsel"—rights which were put in jeopardy in that case through official overbearing. These precious rights were fixed in our Constitution only after centuries of persecution and…