Presumption of innocence

Personal Statement Growing up in East Los Angeles, a low-income Latino community, it seemed like no road existed to obtaining a career. I was accustomed to seeing that the only form of living was to earn a wage completing physical labor. I grew up hearing my neighbors and father start up their trucks at dawn, and not to be heard of again until dark when their bodies were covered with dirt and dust. In a community where every adult male owns a pair of work boots, I grew up believing that I would…

evidence. Deirdre Enright, Director of Investigation for the Innocence Project at the University Of Virginia School Of Law, and a team of law students analyze the case against Adnan Syed. Deirdre thinks the evidence against him was "thin". She advises Koenig to keep revisiting all the evidence, allowing uncertainties to remain until there is a tipping point once her queries are resolved. They start with a presumption of Syed's innocence, and ask whether or not they can discover who really…

Brandon Betterman, the petitioner in this case, pleads guilty to jumping bail after not appearing for his court date on charges of domestic assault. Between his conviction and his sentencing, Betterman waited fourteen months due to a delay within the institution (Betterman). He believes that fourteen months should be taken off of his sentencing. This began the ultimate constitutional debate concerning what he considered his right to a speedy trial. The ruling claimed by the Montana Supreme Court…

Forensic Psychologists are employed to assist the court in determining the guilt or innocence of an accused. They are trained to apply principles of psychology to the justice systems. They are used in criminal cases (but can be used in other instances as well) to assess an accused’s mental state and criminal capacity at the time of the alleged criminal event. Have an understanding of the legal approach to important issues of guilt, criminal capacity, intent, negligence and the sentencing of an…

Adultery is the sexual relationship between an individual who is married and another person who is not that individual’s spouse. Latey defines “adultery” as willing sexual intercourse between a husband or wife and one of the opposite sex while the marriage subsists. In law’s perception, adultery is viewed as an offence injurious to the public morals and also a mistreatment of the marriage. Under s.54(1) of the Law Reform (Marriage and Divorce) Act 1976, one of the reason that may lead to the…

In the article, Kassin (2005) explicates on the interrogation process of accusers in crimes and the psychology behind innocent individuals who falsely “confess” to those crimes. Kassin also explains the results of multiple studies that test the accuracy of police investigators in the pre interrogation interview, the tendency of the accused to waive their Miranda rights, and the likelihood of detectives presuming the suspect’s guilt after the first two prior steps. With such cases such as the…

LAW2211 written assignment: Advice pertaining to the unconstitutionality of s15 (1) of the Evidence Act 1977 (Qld) A client’s lawyer has requested for an advice regarding a successful appeal against the client conviction of a criminal offence in the District Court of Queensland; due to the trial judge’s exercise of s15 (1) of the Evidence Act 1977 (Qld). Your question, my answer to your question, the background of and the rationality behind my answer are presented below. Question and…

Perception of a group or an individual can affect what is considered deviance. Laura Browder a single mother was held responsible for her deviant act. What makes this a controversial case is the fact that Browder is an African American woman whose deviant act was defined as a criminal offense. Several factors shaped the concept on why Browder was seemingly guilty and her reasoning for committing that violation. Deviance is a violation of the social norm; the severity of the action can vary by…

Unfortunately, Jerry Hobbs is among the thousands of people wrongly convicted because they confessed to a crime they didn’t commit. Even though the idea of falsely confessing is seemingly ludicrous, it happens way more than society would like to admit. The Innocence Project, a nonprofit legal team committed to exonerating the wrongly convicted, proclaims that “false confessions have played a role in at least 25% of DNA exoneration cases”, leading people to wonder and analyze exactly what brings…

designed to only benefit men? Shakespeare suggests that innocence, humor, marriage, and love can be used as tools for women to navigate in this difficult world. While Beatrice is the one who takes the most advantage of these tools, other women in the play also participate in using these tools in the hopes of bettering their situations. The assumption that women are innocent, naïve, childlike beings can usually be a barrier for women. These presumptions make it nearly impossible for women to…