Rebecca Pirius is a Legal Editor at Nolo with a focus on criminal law. She has worked in the area of criminal law since 2003, most recently as a senior policy specialist at the National Conference of State Legislatures (NCSL). For 12 years, Rebecca was a legislative analyst and an attorney in the Minnesota House of Representatives, providing nonpartisan legal research and drafting services to the 134 members. Right out of law school, she clerked for a judge in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Rebecca earned her J.D. from Mitchell Hamline School of Law in Minnesota, where she graduated magna cum laude and served as a law review member. She is a member of the Minnesota State Bar.
Nolo. In 2017, Rebecca began freelancing with Nolo and writing articles on criminal law, traffic laws, and impaired driving. She started full time at Nolo in 2019 as a Legal Editor. She writes primarily for CriminalDefenseLawyer.com and Nolo.com.
Prior career. Working at the Minnesota Legislature and NCSL, Rebecca conducted extensive research and analysis of laws and legislation on criminal law, public safety, corrections, and courts. Her roles required her to break down complex legal concepts for a broad audience, including policymakers and constituents, and allowed her to work with both sides of the political aisle. At NCSL, her policy work took her around the country to work with local and state policymakers, prosecutors, defense attorneys, former offenders, young adult offenders, crime victims, and criminal justice experts.
Articles by Rebecca Pirius
While illegal in every state, some states' marital and spousal rape laws provide loopholes or less harsh punishments than other types of rape.
In most states, the laws that criminalize public sex make it a misdemeanor. Some state laws explicitly criminalize public sexual activity. Other laws are broader and cover a variety of indecent or lewd conduct.
Criminal discovery is the pretrial exchange of evidence between prosecution and defense. Learn what must be shared, what stays confidential, and what a judge can do if either side breaks the rules.
AI technology has made deepfake pornography frighteningly easy to create. Learn how the federal TAKE IT DOWN Act and state laws criminalize deepfake porn and what victims can do.
The crime of attempted murder can be charged when a person intends to commit murder and tries to carry out the killing but, for whatever reason, is unable to accomplish it.
Police are allowed to lie during interrogations—claiming false evidence, fake confessions from accomplices, and fabricated DNA results. But not every tactic is legal. Learn where courts draw the line and what to do if you're being questioned.
Being intoxicated while carrying a gun can result in jail time, fines, and revocation of any firearms permits.
Before a criminal trial begins, lawyers file pretrial motions to set the rules. These requests can exclude illegally obtained evidence, drop charges, or move the trial. Learn how these critical rulings affect plea deals and your defense.
Being indicted doesn't mean you're guilty—it means a grand jury found probable cause to formally charge you. It begins a criminal case. Explore the grand jury process, the difference between state and federal rules, and when you should contact a lawyer.
Victims play an important role in the criminal justice system by reporting crimes, filing police reports, and assisting with investigations, but the decision to press charges rests with the prosecutor.
