Guilty Trial

2271 Words5 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: Aspects Of English Law

In criminal cases, the trial process usually ensure only the guilty are convicted and the process is fair. The reason for this is that a criminal conviction and subsequent punishment would subject individuals to moral denunciation and physical hardship. As per Lord Bingham in Sheldrake v DPP, presumption of innocence is acknowledged as one of the most fundamental principle to this legitimacy. It states that a person is presumed to be innocent until proven guilty. In other words, the prosecution bears the burden to prove defendant’s guilt by presenting evidence and proving all the elements of the offence to the satisfaction of the tribunal of fact to the standard of beyond reasonable doubt. If the defendant raise a defence such as provocation, …show more content…

This principle was mentioned by Lord Simon is of “general application in all charges under Criminal Law”. It could be illustrated in the landmark case of Woolmington v DPP. The trial judge, Swift J placed the burden of proof of lack on mens rea for murder on the accused but Viscount Sankey LC from the House of Lords (HOL) rejected the decision and laid down the basic rule where “throughout the web of the English Criminal Law one golden thread is always to be seen, that it is the duty of the prosecution to prove the prisoner’s guilt”. The rationale behind this traditional approach is that parties should have the obligation of proving their case if they wish the law to assist them. The State should bear the legal burden if it wishes to convict someone of a …show more content…

His Lordship stated that the exception to the presumption of innocence is only limited to “offences arising under enactments which prohibit the doing of an act save in specified circumstances or by persons of specified class or with specified qualifications or with the licence or permission of specified authority”. This could justify the decision in the case which concerning licence to sell intoxicated liquors in which the court placed the legal burden on the defendant to prove that he had licence even though the register of licences was available to the

Show More
Related

  • R V. Rogerson And Mcnamara Case Analysis

    611 Words  | 2 Pages

    This is demonstrated in the case of R v Rogerson and McNamara where two former police officers, Roger Rogerson and Glen McNamara were convicted to life imprisonment based on the murder of Sydney student, Jamie Gao in 2014. Due to the nature of the law, the offenders presumption of innocence was upheld until their conviction in September 2016. Consequently, it created a tedious trial and sentencing process, where extortionate amounts of money were attributed to aspects, such as a judge and jury fees. Additionally, time is also a negative element in this instance where cases under the presumption of innocence, involve extensive hours of litigation and hence an increase in taxpayers

    Read More

  • Andrew Mallard Case Study

    1720 Words  | 4 Pages

    Victims’ rights include being informed of the investigation, being able to make a witness statement, being informed of the charges laid against the accused and being treated with sympathy and compassion. (Charter of Victim’s Rights NT 2016). The rights of the accused are outlined Article 14 of ‘The International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights’, which states that the accused must; be informed of the charges laid against them, have adequate time to prepare and choose a counsel of their choosing, be tried without undue delay, be tried in the presence of the court, not be compelled to testify against themselves or confess guilt and be compensated by the court if wrongfully convicted (ICCPR 1966). These rights must be upheld to ensure equality before the law, however, when neglected justice is denied as illustrated in the Mallard and Raggett

    Read More

  • Pros And Cons Of Jury Nullification In The Canadian Justice System

    2757 Words  | 6 Pages

    As members of society we are told that the law is a predictable and reliable entity which is applicable to all individuals, despite the differences. This statement encourages us to abide by the law, and entrust it to make decisions that are best for us as individuals and as a community. Due to the formalism of law, it must be emphasized that there is a need for a compassionate component, to even the playing field. One way the law incorporates compassion into its system is through the use of juries. Juries are a random, unbiased selection of people who will be asked to sit in a trial and decide a verdict of guilty or not guilty. The Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms guarantees that “a person accused of criminal activity ‘has the right

    Read More

  • The Criminal Trial Process

    1108 Words  | 3 Pages

    A jury is a panel of citizens, selected randomly from the electoral role, whose job it is to determine guilt or innocence based on the evidence presented. The Jury Act 1977 (NSW) stipulates the purpose of juries and some of the legal aspects, such as verdicts and the right of the defence and prosecution to challenge jurors. The jury system is able to reflect the moral and ethical standards of society as members of the community ultimately decide whether the person is guilty or innocent. The creation of the Jury Amendment Act 2006 (NSW) enabled the criminal trial process to better represent the standards of society as it allowed majority verdicts of 11-1 or 10-2, which also allowed the courts to be more resource efficient. Majority verdicts still ensure that a just outcome is reached as they are only used if there is a hung jury and there has been considerable deliberation. However, the role of the media is often criticized in relation to ensuring that the jurors remain unbiased as highlighted in the media article “Independent Juries” (SMH, 2001), and the wide reporting of R v Gittany 2013 supports the arguments raised in the media article. Hence, the jury system is moderately effective in reflecting the moral and ethical standards of society, as it resource efficient and achieves just outcomes, but the influence of the media reduces the effectiveness.

    Read More

  • Procedural Limitations

    1380 Words  | 3 Pages

    Subsequently, one of the main components of the procedural limitation is innocent until proven guilty, which brings about the right to a Grand Jury- a panel that determines whether or not there is a need to go to trial. As a result, a guilty verdict in criminal cases is determined with evidence that is sufficient and that must be proved “‘beyond a reasonable doubt’” (pg.131), so there is an immense need to increase the chances for the respect of “reasonable doubt” (pg.

    Read More

  • Should Juries Be Abolished?

    1260 Words  | 3 Pages

    ...tood. This problem has persisted through many cases, clearly highlighting the lack of expertise of juries, and if they do not understand the process and basic rules, then they cannot be a reliable body in determining innocence. Jurors incapability of following evidence inevitably leads to guess work with jury’s finding defendants guilty because ‘he looked like he did it’ and ‘he looks like a nonce so he must of done it’. Moreover, cases have been reported of incredulous juries using absurd methods to ascertain a verdict, like in R v Young 1995, where a Ouija Board was used to determine if the defendant was guilty or not. It is clear that it would be better and far more effective to abolish the jury system, and leave the experts and qualified legal professionals to try defendants, as they understand the process and possess the expertise to make balanced decisions.

    Read More

  • Arguments For and Against Juries

    692 Words  | 2 Pages

    The adage is a sham. This stemmed specifically from the proposition that lay persons may not be competent to evaluate particularly complex evidence, and. was certainly fuelled by acquittals in well-publicised cases, such as that involving the Maxwells in the UK (see e.g. Doran & Jackson,. 1997).

    Read More

  • The Argument For The Bench Trial

    1323 Words  | 3 Pages

    Most countries in the world today do not use juries, and only a small percentage of cases in the United States are decided by juries. So it has been proven successful and holding trials without juries are certainly a possibility for our future. In may in fact be in society’s best interest to change or rather improve a system that is outdated and doesn’t always serve the people justice. A person has a right to choose between a jury of his peers of a bench (judge only) trial. It’s likely that citizens may prefer a jury trial as they may feel that pool of random citizens may be less critical or harsh than a judge, but in all honesty, if we’re talking about fairness, a judge who is an informed and trained professional definitely has a better idea of how to sentence a person on trial and looks at the evidence in a holistic way. A bench trial is better because it’s more efficient and cost-effective, judges are well-educated professionals, and juries may be biased or incompetent.

    Read More

  • Lord Of The Flies Rules Essay

    686 Words  | 2 Pages

    This leads to fairness of judgement and actions. If someone has murdered another in the United States, they will go to a trial and receive a sentence saying whether the accused person is guilty or innocent. The way innocence is determined is the same for everyone based on a set of rules and laws the jury and judge must follow. This ensures each trial is fair and equal. Without this equality, many people would do what they feel like.

    Read More

  • Guilty Case Defense

    528 Words  | 2 Pages

    The belief in demons and evil spirits has been around since the beginning of mankind, but should it be considered an applicable defense in the courtroom? Lawyer Robert M. Minnella thought so in the case of Arne Johnson. This case not only shocked the small town of Brookline, Connecticut, but took the nation by storm for one reason, the plea: guilty by demonic possession. After all the debacle over the case, the judge refused to accept the plea, and Johnson was convicted and sentenced to twenty years in prison.Through all the commotion of the trail, fame arised for many people involved and stories about what really happened started to emerge. Regardless of all the beliefs and conspiracies about demons and ghosts, demonic possession should not

    Read More

  • Criminal Courtroom Visit

    1385 Words  | 3 Pages

    ... up with a verdict for the accused person (Lamb, 2013). This is because the jury is filled with laymen who do not have any understanding of the law, and if they are allowed to deliberate on the evidence produced in court, then they may be misguided and may at many times find the accused person innocent while in the real sense they were guilty.

    Read More

  • Law of Evidence: R v Kearley

    2110 Words  | 5 Pages

    middle of paper ... ... [1986] 86 Cr App R 105 [15] DPP v Kilbourne [1973] AC 726 per Lord Simon at P756 [16] [1993] 13 Legal Studies 54, 65 [17] Law of Evidence (1999) Page 528 [18] [1993] 56 MLR 138, 146 [19] Per Lord Griffiths in Kearley at Page 348 [20] [1993] CLJ 40, 41 [21] ibid no. 19 [22] The Modern Law of Evidence (4th Edition) (Butterworths) [23] Wright v Doe D Tatham (1837) and Teper v R (1952) [24] [1993] 13 Legal Studies 54 59 [25] [1993] 56 MLR 138, 140 [26] Law of Evidence (1999) [27] [1992] NLJ 1194, 1194 [28] [1993] 56 MLR 138, 148 [29] [1993] 56 MLR 138, 151-152 [30] [1994] 110 LQR 431, 438 [31] Report No. 245: Evidence in Criminal Proceedings and Related Topics (1997) [32] Pattenden, Rein - (modified version though), and Cross [33] [1993] CLJ 40, 42

    Read More

  • Fair Trial In Australia

    1323 Words  | 3 Pages

    With this, the testifiers are able to testify the truth freely, ensuring the validity of a “fair” trial. The victims and witnesses are not the only parties that may benefit from the services of Police prosecutors. Simultaneously, Police Prosecutors also have the responsibility of ensuring the police are abiding the law and treating the accuse fairly during interrogation. It is because Police Prosecutors also have the responsibility of advising correct policy and procedures and guarantee the system is also fair towards the accused whilst they still have not been proven guilty beyond a reasonable

    Read More

  • Importance Of Right To Fair Trial

    712 Words  | 2 Pages

    A Fair Trial is the best way to extract the guilty from the innocent. Fair Trail is perhaps the best means to protect the innocent against injustice. The concept of right to a fair trial is a norm at the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, 1948, the features

    Read More

  • Whats The Difference Between Insane And Non-Insane

    475 Words  | 1 Pages

    This case says the defendant has taken a substantial proportion of drugs mixed with the consumption of alcohol, the charges being brought by the prosecution was ABH and three counts of assault the defendant claimed he had no recollection to his violence due to intoxication, he was found guilty of all charges. He appealed the verdict contending that he could not be convicted when he lacked the mens rea of the offence due to his intoxicated

    Read More

More about Guilty Trial

Open Document