It is the most direct and impactful way for citizens to participate in the process of bringing
It is the most direct and impactful way for citizens to participate in the process of bringing
It isn’t arduous to see why some may question the efficiency of trial by jury and whether it should, and is able to, continue to discover innocence or guilt. Regarding the trial of Vicky Pryce, the failure of the jury within the hearing conjured ridicule and disdain from the judge and the media. The case deeply unsettled the trust of many in the system. The eight women and four men were dismissed after illustrating “fundamental deficits of understanding” (Jacobson, Hunter & Kirby, 2015, p. 55). Their profuse questions for the judge were deemed as unintelligent and unnecessary and so a costly re-trial was required. Consequently, this ordeal provoked a stronger desire for the abolition of trial by jury, to be replaced by a single judge as a more…
When examining the facts in issue within an offence, individuals are looking at substantive law. Essentially, the facts in issue are similar to the elements of the offence; however, facts relevant to the facts in issue can help increase the credibility of the facts in issue. In the Lethbridge College Mock Court Exemplar video (2004), understanding the facts in issue, as well as, facts relevant to facts in issue can help the Crown when creating their package to prove beyond a reasonable doubt the accused committed the offence.…
The reason I chose this case was due to the fact it was a popular case throughout my childhood and because my cousin was a quadriplegic and had a form of cerebral palsy where she was limited to being taken care of by medical and hospital staff I was just a small child at this time my family would have regular visits with her One summer she got extremely sick and went into a coma my aunt then had to make the decision to keep her on life support or to let her go So this case is very relevant to what happened but under different conditions and circumstances.…
Greeting courtroom members, I am Shaneka Lewis apart of the Defence Attorney and I will be representing my client Donovan Tisi pleading not guilty upon the robbery and bodily harm charges. On December 5th 2013 at 5:30 PM, Anver Williams had claimed to be walking home from his basketball practice where he perhaps had been wearing his brand new basketball sneakers. As Mr. Williams was walking home he decided to take a short-cut home from a dark alley way that leads to Eglinton Ave. As Anver Williams was walking he seemed to come across a group of older men. Anver Williams explained how the young men approached him and toke away his hat and his sneakers after while being brutally attacked. My question and argument court, is to why my client Donovan is being called upon out of all of the young men who had claimed to be there during this dispute, is there enough proof or evidence to show that Donovan Tisi had been there or even took part in this crime, that Anver Williams is not sure of who had harmed or robbed him? As we are gathered here court I would like you all to investigate or try to find real evidence to prove that it had been my client Donovan that shows his participation in this act.…
Narrowing the judges’ focus to only punishment and retribution would not serve the initial purpose of having a justice system at all. Certain members of the public may believe the opposite. These individuals believe that judges in our court system are too lenient on sentencing the accused. However, how knowledgeable are these individuals in the Australian justice system? In contrast to the expertise judges and Australian judicial workers have learnt through years of experience, must the public’s contradicting, non-expertise opinion determine the outcome of individuals accused of crime? Certainly, the law must take into account the values and expectations of the community. However, it is fundamental to our system of justice that there is the right of an offender to a fair trial must exist – this is protected in our current sentencing system. Under Section 5 of the Sentencing Act 1991 (Vic), a court should consider a number of objectives to determine the appropriate sentence; punishment, deterrence, denouncement, rehabilitation and protection. Sentencing legislation also specifies matters that courts must take into account when passing sentence, such as mitigating factors and the offender’s personal circumstances.…
In Virginia State, Jay Lentz was convicted by a jury in July 2003 for the kidnapping and murder of his wife. The jury recommended that Mr. Lentz spend life in prison; however, the United States District Judge Gerald Lee dismissed the kidnapping charge due to lack of evidence. Two weeks after the judge convicted Mr. Lentz of murder, he found evidence of prosecutorial misconduct therefore the judge ordered a new trial for the alleged murder charge.…
Despite the advantages of a majority verdict, such a verdict can also have negative implications on the accused if it happens to be that within a jury, the rogue juror is the only individual making a sensible and responsible verdict based on evidence presented in court. In this case, the verdicts of the other jurors would outweigh that of the rogue juror, potentially resulting in a wrongful conviction or ‘not guilty’ verdict. Thus, the law significantly reflects moral…
As we walked into the jury room, after hearing the case of Commonwealth v. Miller, I had already decided how I would vote and, honestly, I determined I was not going to be swayed. We swiftly chose a foreman by appointing the one, who had been given the jury instructions, to that position. Next, we read the jury instructions out loud, in order to remember and understand the definition of each charge. Debate over the meaning of the instructions ensued for a short amount of time before we dove into determining guilt or innocence. Everyone was given a chance to discuss the case and, personally, I felt comfortable entering the discussion and debating the case. After discussion, we voted and were evenly split among guilty or not guilty. Next, we…
The United State’s Criminal Justice system allows people to be put to a fair trial within a court of law. This means that everyone has the right to be tried for the crimes that he or she is being charged with and has the right to an unbiased trial. Though everyone has this right, many people do not know how the trial process works, or do not know what the courtroom personnel do. The purpose of this paper is to explain how the major personnel of the courtroom work and the rolls and responsibilities of each person.…
Juries have been regarded as the cornerstone of our criminal justice system in Australia since 1824 when juries were first introduced, however many argue they are an outdated form of determining the outcome of trials. Some of the reasons why juries are outdated are that jurors don’t realise how long some trials go for and there are too many complex documents to consider in coming up with a verdict of some trials. Another reason is the people that serve on juries are the least qualified people.…
12. Do you not agree that if you have suspicion that your own child is doing steroid or any other drug use they should be taken to a doctor?…
“Gentleman of the jury, be merciful. For God’s sake, be merciful. He is innocent of all charges brought against him. But let us say he was not. Let us say for a moment he was not. What justice would there be to take this life? Justice gentleman? Why I would just as soon put a hog in the electric chair as this”. (Chap. 1, pg. 8) My analysis of this story weighs on multiple dynamics:…
Juries are considered to encompass a fundamental role of the criminal justice system, however , there are setbacks regarding their role in determining whether the accused is guilty or innocent. Juries are a representation of public confidence, as the right to be tried by peers has people confident that their impartiality and fairness does improve access to justice. Impartiality of the jury is supported by the process of random selection which usually result in a cross-section of society, therefore prejudices are…
We have all gathered here today to bring justice to a poor old man, who was murdered in his own house. Everyone in the court was brought here to decide if this man is guilty of being insane or guilty of murder. The murder confused to stocking this old man and claimed that he killed him because of his eye. The murders cut of all his limbs after killing him and hide him under the floorboard. When police came to his house he confused after a few minutes of silence. After a few days, lawyers, jurors, a judge, an expert, a witness, the murder, and I have all gathered here to bring justice to this old man. From my point of view, as the documenter, this trail seems like a tough decision. As of now I feel like the murder is guilty of 1st degree murder. Now at 1:44 PM the prosecution lawyer begins.…
The significance of observing this courtroom trial was to see the way our federal courts systems work. In this case I saw a criminal law trial, which chapter 15 explains as the branch of the law that deals with disputes or an action involving criminal penalties that regulates the conduct of individuals, defines crimes, and provides punishment for criminal acts. Chapter 15 gave me a better understanding of how…