...Morse (2015) contends that criminal laws define the punishment levelled on the people who break the prescribed societal conduct while Holland (2015) asserts that criminal laws refer to the state laws, which make certain actions illegal and punishable by fines or imprisonment. Accordingly, the case of Casey Anthony falls under the criminal and as such, the forensic evidence gathered from the trunk of her car makes her criminally reliable, as the said evidence is admissible in the court of law. The forensic experts from the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) examined a band of hair recovered from her vehicle, which exposed evidence of apparent decomposition. Forensic analysis of the recovered band of hair showed consistence with the band of hair of the deceased. The FBI experts who conducted forensic analysis on the band of hair told the court that the sample had many consistencies in relation to the post-mortem banding. Moreover, microscopic hair examination specialist told the jurors that the root portion of the air was dark and, therefore, consistent with the evidence presented by the FBI. The analyzed evidence showed that the hair was evicted forcibly from the deceased. Further, an investigator of the crime scene testified that that there was an odor smell emanating from Casey Anthony’s car, which indicted that there was decomposition in the car. All this evidence prompted the court to judge Casey Anthony with first-degree murder when the remains of the deceased were found...
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...CJA/224 October 7, 2013 Lou Wittmer Introduction The double-murder trial of O.J. Simpson is surely one that will live in infamy. From the controversial “If the glove doesn’t fit, you must acquit” phrase coined by his superstar attorney Johnnie Cochran to the jaw-dropping verdict of not guilty this case has made its mark in history. In 1994 Nicole Brown-Simpson and Ronald Goldman were found stabbed to death. With no other obvious suspects, Brown-Simpson’s husband Orenthal James Simpson became the object of law enforcement’s suspicion and was charged with the murders. The case was brought to trial and with seemingly solid physical evidence the prosecution went into attack mode painting a picture that was supposed to prove beyond a reasonable doubt that Simpson was guilty of premeditated murder. However, having a “Dream Team” defense, as it was called proved to be far more beneficial to Simpson that anyone I this nation would have ever thought. The defense lawyers used mechanisms such as racial profiling and police corruption to mangle the prosecution’s case and discredit every piece of information that was once presumed viable. The trial deliberations grabbed the attention of almost every American and for the duration people stayed glued to the television awaiting the verdict. What was the crime the defendant was alleged to have committed? What are the elements of that crime? Orenthal James (O. J.) Simpson, the defendant, was allegedly convicted on two counts of...
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...person to the methamphetamine to prove knowledge beyond a reasonable doubt. Other jurisdictions have held in similar scenarios that the evidence was insufficient to withstand a motion for judgment of acquittal. Like Fischer, these courts had to determine the “knowingly” element of possession when the defendant’s knowledge was not determined on the basis of his exclusive ownership or dominant control of the entire premises. Like in Aponte where the conviction was reversed because the prosecution did not produce enough evidence for a jury to reasonably conclude that the occupants knew drugs were in the vehicle, the prosecution in Fischer produced no direct evidence to prove the “knowingly” element. Similar to Aponte where the State cited no authority for the proposition that a jury could infer knowledge of the drugs...
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...12 Angry Men Film Analysis 25 October 2010 Film Analysis The film, 12 Angry Men (1957), is a drama about a jury that was to decide the fate of a teenaged boy who was facing the electric chair for supposedly killing his father with a switchblade knife. The twelve men were locked into a small, claustrophobic jury room on an unbearably hot summer day until they came up with a unanimous decision - either guilty or not guilty. Over the course of the film the votes went from eleven guilty and one not, to a unanimous vote of ‘not guilty’. The movie provides many examples of persuasive speaking, group communication and conflict, and different communication climates. In the movie Henry Fonda’s character made good use of his persuasive speaking skills. He personally had nothing to gain from either verdict, but found the ease with which the others were willing to sentence a young man to death disconcerting. He was firm, but not confrontational when he gave his reasons for voting not guilty. He simply said that he was not convinced ‘beyond a reasonable doubt’ that the boy had committed the crime and asked that they review the evidence. With each piece of cosmetically ‘concrete’ evidence he discredited, he slowly placed doubt within the minds of his fellow jurors. He never out-right said he thought that the defendant was innocent, only that he believed there to be some doubt as to the certainty of his guilt. “It's always difficult to keep personal prejudice out of a thing like this...
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...victims’ families as well as the state. Especially with high profile cases where appearances isn’t always what it seems, mistakes are more apt to happen and can lead to a lot of circumstantial evidence which may or may not be enough to prove guilt in a court of law and may or may not be just and fair. It would depend on the individual efficiency and experience as well as the intuition of the police investigators. Police investigators have the most important and more prevalent jobs out of the three components in the criminal justice system. The police has to investigate, analyze, recreate, and actually put together a case enough so that there is enough evidence, whether circumstantial or concrete, to convict a perpetrator beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law. That is a tall order for any branch of government to try to accomplish. When a crime is committed, the first people to arrive at the scene is the police. Out of the three components in the criminal justice system, the police play the biggest and most crucial role in bringing a perpetrator to justice because a case is built and proved around a police investigation. The police will assess the scene, gather and analyze evidence, speculate and recreate the events...
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...Fourth Amendment, it does not necessarily mean that it will be found justified under the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms. While s.8 of the Charter seems to give similar protection as the Fourth Amendment, they have very different requirements for judicial authorization, reasonableness and standard of “probable cause”. Scrutinizing those different requirements and standards, this paper holds that the process of DNA collection is highly intrusive and would be a serious violation of s.8 of the Charter as it could reveal an excessive amount of private information about an individual over which he/she has a strong reasonable expectation of privacy. Furthermore, it will deprive people from their right to be presumed innocent, which is protected under s.11 (d) and significantly impact socially marginalized groups. Finally, this paper conducts an analysis of the violations under s.1 of the Charter and indicates that none of the violations can be justified in a free and democratic society. INTRODUCTION: In a recent judgment, the Supreme Court of the United States approved the collection of a defendant’s DNA upon arrests under the Fourth Amendment. 1 Interestingly, it seems that Canadian legislatures found this decision very inspiring as the Minister of Justice, Peter...
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...1. Getting started It is a matter of some interest that logic and the law should share so many of their foundational concepts – concepts such as proof, evidence, truth, inference, probability, plausibility, presumption and reasonableness – and yet should have had very little to say to one another within living memory. It is not especially surprising that logic and the law should have suffered (I use the word in its Latin sense) this alienation. With regard to its foundational concepts – for example, the concept of proof beyond a reasonable doubt, the concept of the balance of probabilities, the concept of the reasonable person – the law embeds am implied epistemology of implicity. There exists among practitioners, especially judges, the view that definitions and formalizations of such notions are both unnecessary and is liable to conceptual distortion. But definitions and formalizations are mother’s milk to logicians. Where the law favours approximation and contextually sensitive nuance, logicians thrive on exactitude and rigour. So why wouldn’t the lawyers and logicians go about their business without the regard of the one for the other? It would be wrong to leave the impression that there is no analytical exactitude in the law. It would also be a mistake to suggest that there has been no contact with the formal disciplines. Trials are often complex and judgements often embed exhaustive and detailed analyses of relevant points of law. In recent years probability theorists have...
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...into evidence. The questions before this Court are (1) whether the testifying expert violated the Confrontation Clause when he (a) opined about the victim’s cause of death and (b) recited his stomach contents, and (2) if so, whether the violation harmed the defendant. BRIEF ANSWER Dr. Dyer’s independently-derived opinions did not violate the Confrontation Clause because they were subjected to the defendant’s cross-examination. However, Dyer’s testimony on the stomach contents is a violation of the Confrontation Clause because it was based on the report and not his independent opinion. However, the admission of the stomach content testimony is harmless error because of the remaining evidence that would allow a jury to convict beyond a reasonable doubt. STATEMENT OF FACTS On Nov. 21, 2015, Michael Moore, had been watching his girlfriend’s children, including two-year-old KaDerious King. Moore called emergency dispatchers telling them that KaDerious had stopped breathing. 4 RR 15. When police arrived at the scene, Moore told them that the child, two-year-old KaDerious King was having trouble breathing, and he had tried to help the child by taking him to the bathroom but fell multiple times. 4 RR 15. The child was taken to Wadley Hospital, where they attempted to save his life, but the child died that evening. 4 RR 124. Moore was charged with felony murder. Dr. Podduturi, the pathologist that conducted the autopsy and authored the report, did not testify at trial. 4 RR 87. Instead...
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...Case Citation: State v. Serebin, 119 Wis.2d 837, 350 N.W.2d 65 (1985) Procedural History: The case was tried in Milwaukee County Circuit Court. It was appealed in the Circuit Court of Appeals. The Court of Appeals reversed and the State petitioned for review, which was granted. It was heard in the U.S. Supreme court where they affirmed in part, reversed in part and remanded. Issue: 1) Was the evidence sufficient to support a conviction of homicide by arising from a residents’ death while acting as an administrator? 2) And was the evidence sufficient to support conviction of twelve counts of abuse of nursing home residents? Answer: 1) Yes 2) No Holding: 1) The evidence was not sufficient to support a conviction of homicide by arising from a residents’ death while acting as an administrator 2) The evidence was sufficient to support conviction of twelve counts of abuse of nursing home residents. Brief Statement of Facts: Defendant Stephen Serebin and owners of “Glendale” were charged with one count of homicide by reckless conduct and fifty-eight counts of abuse of inmates, for incidents that occurred December 20, 1975- June 30, 1976. Serebin was the administrator at Glendale nursing home from 1973 to 1977. The homicide charge was from an incident on February 7, 1976. A resident of Glendale, Bruno Dreyer, wandered out of the nursing home unseen and died from exposure to the cold. The charges of abuse stemmed from various residents who...
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...Twelve Angry Men Analysis BA 321 Reaching a unanimous vote, beyond a reasonable doubt, was a difficult task for the jurors represented in the film, 12 Angry Men. All but one were convinced the boy on trial was guilty of first degree murder based on eye witness testimony and circumstantial evidence. Uncomfortably hot and sweaty, one intent on getting to a ball game, eleven of the twelve jurors had no intention to stop and think about the life contingent on their verdict. The entire story was motivated by the reasonable doubt, communication competence, and persuasion of one man. Had they not discussed the evidence in further detail and investigated potential explanations, the boy would have been executed. The purpose of the group was to determine guilt or innocence across the board. Just as the jurors did not know the defendant, they did not know each other. No juror shared his name and the men were only identified by juror number. The lack of trust, combined with various backgrounds and beliefs, created communication barriers between the jurors. Yelling, side conversation, walking away, preexisting bias, game playing, doodling and unbearable heat are all examples of the communication barriers the jurors were challenged to overcome throughout the film. The relationship between the jurors was complex and appeared to only be important in the short-term. They were forced to communicate with each other for the duration of the deliberation. As the conversation advanced...
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...It is well thought through and organized in an easy to follow format. Warburton uses a great tactic of introducing one to three philosophers in each chapter, making their ideas easier to follow. The philosophical hypotheses are challenging to comprehend but Warburton attempts to keep it short and simple by using examples from our daily lives. He doesn’t attempt to bring us to any definite answers. As we move through the chapters, he continuously makes us rethink what he writes in an attempt to reevaluate our own beliefs. In doing so, he encourages us to keep an open mind, to not accept any blindly and proves that there can be no end to questions and analysis. The Method of Cartesian Doubt is what makes change and progress possible. Philosophy teaches us morality, inquisitiveness, how to live our lives, how to cope with our sensations and emotions, how to organize our societies and how to find meaning in our daily struggles. Philosophy is crucial to our lives, as without its ideas and arguments, we wouldn’t know to argue against injustice, wars, slavery, discrimination and inequality. Warburton’s A Little History of Philosophy serves as a great introduction to this important discipline, which teaches people to think critically and to challenge themselves. It provides a lot of insight into everyday life and describes the views and thoughts of philosophers in much depth, without losing the reader's’ interest...
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...Convicted beyond a reasonable doubt is a phrase that is often thrown around within the courtroom of television dramas, however what about those who were convicted with reasonable doubt still in the air. Several movements such as the Innocence Project have now for 15 years been helping wrongfully convicted convicts regain freedom. A system that never originally accounted for the human error is now having light shone onto its discrepancies as we can never truly know to what rate people are wrongfully convicted. As stated by the National Academy of Sciences “There is no systematic method to determine the accuracy of a criminal conviction; if there were, these errors would not occur in the first place”(Gross, 2014). It is a sad day when a freeman is incarcerated for a crime that he did not commit, it is even worse that the true perpetrator is free to roam the street perhaps only to commit more crimes. Reasons for false convictions are very numerous and can range from being misidentified by an eyewitness to false confessions, however there seems to be a pattern in the way that false convictions occur, they have discrepancies within the court proceedings. One famous quote by William Blackstone reads “It is better that ten guilty persons...
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...Deputy State’s Attorney (a) earnings/salary range (why is there a range? Are there any other benefits besides monetary compensation?) The median annual salary of an attorney employed in the United States by a local government was $95,950 in May 2013 (Bureau of Labor Statistics [BLS], 2013). The bottom 10 percent earned less than $51,220, and the top 10 percent earned more than $154,150 (BLS, 2013). “Lawyer salaries can range widely based on several factors such as the size of the firm, the number of employees, kind of law being practiced, location of the firm, the type of clientele served, how much the lawyer is willing to work, and amount of experience gained through law school” (lawyercareer.net, 2014) . In regards to non-monetary benefits, “local government employees typically have access to a number of major benefits in their compensation packages, including health care, retirement and savings, and paid leave” (BLS, 2011) . State and local governments tend to spend more on voluntary benefits at $13.24 per hour worked for their employees, compared with $7.66 for private-sector employers (Employee Benefit Research Institute, 2008). (b) Educational and training requirements (what does an individual need to possess and/or pass to get into this field?) Possession of a bachelor’s degree is required for admission into most law schools in the United States (BLS, 2014). Getting accepted into law school, especially those accredited by the American Bar Association (ABA),...
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...Evan Stabolitis Professor Max Seymour Political Science 6th April, 2014 Case Cameron Willingham Willingham was immediately prosecuted for arson and the murder of his three little girls to cover up the supposed “abusing” of them. Stacy Kuykendall said there was no way he abused the children and that they were spoiled rotten. Think about it, how could a man abuse two twin one year old little girls and a two year old little girl. According to his wife he was also the best the father she had ever seen and the most loving man she’d ever met. When these things are put together, there is no way he could have done it, there is no reason why. Some of the evidence gathered against Willingham was charcoal starter fluid which was under the grill under the front porch which was melted, but some starter fluid was found inside the door next to the grill. This evidence shouldn’t have held any weight because of the fire hose pressure probably blowing some of the fluid into the house while trying to put the fire out. There was three starting points in the house where an accelerant was supposedly put to start the fire because of the marks of a “fast and hot” start of the fire. Later in the case a fellow inmate of Willingham testified against him saying that Willingham had indeed told him he did start the fire. The inmate that gave this information should have not have been of any importance because him and Willingham had gotten into an argument days before. The inmates background was not...
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...was a result of a sudden heat of passion 2. In the same situation a reasonable person would have also been provoked and also would have lost self-control. 3. There was no cooling off period between the provoked anger and the homicide of the first or second victim Model Penal Code lessens murder to manslaughter if the murder is committed during an extreme mental or extreme emotional disturbance. Under the Model Penal Code there are two elements that need to be proven: 1. that the defendant was under an extreme emotional disturbance. 2. That there was a reasonable explanation or excuse for the extreme emotional disturbance. Analysis When Hal decided to come home early and bring his wife flowers he was already in an emotional and easily excitable mood. Then when he pulled up to the house he looked into the office window before he entered the house where he saw his wife in an embrace with the neighbor Norm. This evidence being right before his eyes made him believe they were sex partners and this put him into a rage where he went to the garage to get his gun and bullets with the intention of doing bodily injury maybe even killing Norm and possibly Ronda. In Common Law Hal could get his crime reduced to voluntary homicide because all the elements are met the killing was a result of a sudden heat of passion because Hal believed that his wife and Norm just had sexual intercourse, which would enrage a reasonable person in the same situation. Additionally there was no time for Hal...
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