In United States law,an Alford plea,also called a Kennedy plea in West Virginia,an Alford guilty plea,and the Alford doctrine,is a guilty plea in criminal court,whereby a defendant in a criminal case does not admit to the criminal act and asserts innocence,even if the evidence presented by the prosecution would be likely to persuade a judge or jury to find the defendant guilty beyond a reasonable doubt. This can be caused by circumstantial evidence and testimony favoring the prosecution and difficulty finding evidence and witnesses that would aid the defense.
The United States district courts are the trial courts of the U.S. federal judiciary. There is one district court for each federal judicial district. Each district covers one U.S. state or a portion of a state. There is at least one federal courthouse in each district,and many districts have more than one. District court decisions are appealed to the U.S. court of appeals for the circuit in which they reside,except for certain specialized cases that are appealed to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit or directly to the U.S. Supreme Court.
Mary Murphy Schroeder is an American attorney and jurist serving as a senior United States circuit judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit.
The United States District Court for the Northern District of California is the federal United States district court whose jurisdiction comprises the following counties of California:Alameda,Contra Costa,Del Norte,Humboldt,Lake,Marin,Mendocino,Monterey,Napa,San Benito,San Francisco,San Mateo,Santa Clara,Santa Cruz,and Sonoma. The court hears cases in its courtrooms in Eureka,Oakland,San Francisco,and San Jose. It is headquartered in San Francisco.
Kent J. Dawson is a senior United States district judge of the United States District Court for the District of Nevada.
Thomas Michael Hardiman is a United States circuit judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit. Nominated by President George W. Bush,he began active service on April 2,2007. He maintains chambers in Pittsburgh,Pennsylvania,and was previously a United States district judge.
Susan Bieke Neilson was a United States circuit judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit,and before that,a state trial judge in Michigan.
Helene N. White is a senior United States circuit judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit. Previously,she was a judge on the Michigan Court of Appeals.
Stanley Marcus is a senior United States circuit judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit and a former United States District Judge of the United States District Court for the Southern District of Florida.
Ann Claire Williams is a retired United States circuit judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit and a former United States District Judge of the United States District Court for the Northern District of Illinois. She is currently of counsel at Jones Day.
Raymond Michael Kethledge is a United States circuit judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit. He was appointed by President George W. Bush in 2008. Kethledge appeared on Donald Trump's list of potential Supreme Court of the United States nominees in 2016,and was described by press reports as a finalist in President Trump's nomination to replace Anthony Kennedy on the court.
Lance Michael Africk is a United States district judge for the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Louisiana.
Marianne Olga Battani was an American jurist who served as United States district judge of the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan.
Gershwin Allen Drain is a senior United States district judge of the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan.
James Wesley Hendrix is a United States district judge of the United States District Court for the Northern District of Texas and former assistant United States attorney for the same district. He presides over the Northern District's Lubbock,Abilene,and San Angelo Divisions,which account for 47 of the Northern District's 100 counties,and span an area larger than Pennsylvania.
Lafler v. Cooper,566 U.S. 156 (2012),was a United States Supreme Court case in which the Court clarified the Sixth Amendment standard for reversing convictions due to ineffective assistance of counsel during plea bargaining. The Court ruled that when a lawyer's ineffective assistance leads to the rejection of a plea agreement,a defendant is entitled to relief if the outcome of the plea process would have been different with competent advice. In such cases,the Court ruled that the Sixth Amendment requires the trial judge to exercise discretion to determine an appropriate remedy.
Stephanie Dawkins Davis is an American lawyer who is serving as a United States circuit judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit. She previously served as a United States district judge of the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan and a former United States magistrate judge of the same court.
Aileen Mercedes Cannon is a Colombian-born American lawyer who currently serves as a U.S. district judge in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida. Previously,Cannon worked for the corporate law firm Gibson Dunn from 2009 to 2012,and then as a federal prosecutor in the Southern District of Florida from 2013 to 2020. She was nominated by then President Donald Trump to become a district judge and was confirmed by the U.S. Senate in November 2020.
Frances Kay Behm is a United States district judge of the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan.
