Famous Cases
These two brothers were convicted for the 1989 murder of their parents, later claiming years of abuse as a defense.
Who are the Menendez Brothers?
This term describes the formal decision of guilt or innocence by a jury or judge.
What is a verdict?
This person represents the government in a criminal case and tries to prove the defendant guilty.
Who is the prosecutor?
This amendment protects our freedom of speech, freedom of religion, freedom of the press, freedom of assembly, and freedom to petition.
What is the First Amendment?
This serial killer, active in the 1970s, was known for charming his victims and escaping prison twice.
Who is Ted Bundy?
This Supreme Court case established the right to an attorney, even if you can’t afford one.
What is Gideon v. Wainwright?
If a defendant is declared not guilty, this is the legal term for it.
What is an acquittal?
This legal principle means a person is innocent until proven guilty.
What is the presumption of innocence?
If police search your house without a warrant, they may be violating this amendment.
What is the Fourth Amendment?
This notorious 1930s criminal duo became famous for their bank robberies before being gunned down by police.
Who are Bonnie and Clyde?
This case involved a Florida woman who was acquitted in 2011 of murdering her two-year-old daughter, Caylee, despite heavy media attention and public outrage.
Who is Casey Anthony?
This type of sentencing lets offenders serve time outside of prison, such as probation or community service.
What is alternative sentencing?
A life sentence without parole means an inmate will never get what opportunity?
What is early release?
If you are arrested and remain silent, you are using this constitutional right.
What is the Fifth Amendment?
This woman was accused of brutally murdering her parents with an axe in 1892, leading to one of the most infamous trials in American history.
Who is Lizzie Borden?
This pop star’s doctor was convicted of involuntary manslaughter after his improper medical care led to the singer’s death in 2009.
Who is Michael Jackson?
A suspect confesses to a crime they didn’t commit due to pressure from law enforcement.
What is a coerced/false confession?
The Innocence Project primarily uses this type of scientific evidence to free wrongfully convicted individuals.
What is DNA evidence?
The Eighth Amendment protects people from punishments that are considered this.
What is cruel and unusual punishment?
This unidentified serial killer sent cryptic letters to newspapers in the 1960s and 1970s, taunting police and claiming responsibility for multiple murders in California.
Who is the Zodiac Killer?
This 1996 case involved the mysterious murder of a 6-year-old beauty queen in her Colorado home, sparking decades of speculation and conspiracy theories.
Who is JonBenét Ramsey?
A defendant cannot be tried twice for the same crime, thanks to this legal protection.
What is double Jeopardy?
This famous document, signed in 1215, was one of the first to limit the king’s power and influence modern laws.
What is the Magna Carta?
The Fourteenth Amendment guarantees this legal principle, meaning all citizens must be treated equally under the law.
What is due process?
This unidentified serial killer terrorized London in 1888, brutally murdering at least five women in the Whitechapel district and leaving behind taunting letters to the police.