Credit can be expensive because lenders or creditors do not lend $5,000 and then simply ask for $5,000 back in return. Rather, they charge you the debtor for the extension of credit. You have to pay interest often called finance charges as you pay back the loan amount. If you miss payments, then you will have to pay even more money in order to pay off your debt. Consumer credit has risen to nearly $3 trillion dollars, as many people regularly spend beyond their means.

• What is credit and why is it so important?
• Did the U.S. Supreme Court rely on international law in reaching its decision against the death penalty for juvenile offenders?
• Can a juvenile defendant receive the death penalty or life in prison without the possibility of parole?
• Do juveniles in juvenile court receive all of the same rights as adults charged in criminal court?
• If you’re convicted of a crime as a juvenile can you be tried as an adult?
• What is ineffective assistance of counsel?
• If a direct appeal process and the state post-conviction process both fail, are there any other legal avenues?
• What is a post-conviction proceeding?
• If an appellate court reverses a trial court, what happens next?
• What is the direct appeal?
• What is an appellate brief?
• What is the record?
• Is there a time limit on appeals?
• What are some commonly alleged errors in criminal trials?
• What further legal options are available to a person once convicted?
• What factors does a judge consider in determining sentencing?
• How does a judge determine whether sentencing is concurrent or consecutive?
• What is the difference between serving sentences concurrently or consecutively?
• What is time served?
• If a defendant is sentenced to three years, how much time will the defendant actually serve?