Abstract This paper explores the root of the criminally accused from the Declaration of Independence through the Federal Rules of Evidence. The paper also reviews case law concerning the specific questions of application of the constitutionally protected rights, including the exclusionary rule and other remedies for governmental violation of the rights of the accused. Finally, it reviews the Federal Rules of Evidence in the context of the relevance and reliability of the evidence presented in court, including hearsay and its exceptions.
Table of Contents:
Abstract
The Sword of the Law
From the Paper "The rights of the accused are natural rights that are created at the birth, as proclaimed in the Declaration of Independence. There are several of these privileges that cannot be surrendered in the interest of creating a government, and these are outlined specifically in the Bill of Rights, and became enforceable against the individual States by virtue of the 14th Amendment. The specific applications of these protected rights are interpreted by the Courts, and at all times the rights of the citizen against improper conviction are kept paramount, sometimes at the expense of the victims. The Congress enacted rules of evidence to control what is presented in court to ensure that it is relevant and reliable. The 3rd President of the United States, Thomas Jefferson phrased it best, "the sword of the law should never fall but on those whose guilt is so apparent as to be pronounce by their friends as well as foes" (Kelly-Gangi, 2004, p.61)."
Abstract This paper shows how Ariel Dorfman's play and Roman Polanski's movie, "Death and the Maiden", strongly indicate that Paulina's accusations that the man in her house is the same man who tortured and raped her twenty years earlier. The writer points out that the use of sound and isolation create an atmosphere where the audience must use its imagination, thus encouraging audience members to accept the man as Paulina's accuser. While there clearly is some room for the audience to consider Paulina's actions as invalid, both the clearly sympathetic portrayal of Paulina and the dramatic movement of the play and movie ultimately lead the audience to believe her accusations.
From the Paper "Dorfman's play and Roman Polanski's movie share a common plot. They are set in a South American country as a democratic regime takes over from a brutal dictatorship. Paulina is a woman who was repeatedly raped and tortured during the regime, who comes to believe that a man who stumbles onto her home is the man who tortured her in the past. While the general details of the plot remain true between the play and movie, there are important differences as well."
Abstract In this article, the writer first notes that when examining the reasons why Henry was accused of heresy, looking at how one defines a heretic is absolutely crucial, because to establish why Henry was accused of being a heretic and if in fact Henry was a heretic are intertwined. The writer looks at different definitions of a heretic and chooses to define a heretic, as a challenger to orthodoxy, or a publicly shared belief system. The writer believes that Henry was accused of heresy not only for his religious beliefs, but more importantly because of the implications they had on the established social order of the time. The writer concludes that heretics were redefined as enemies of society and consequently repressed, as Henry was.
From the Paper "This was due to the fact that the Bishop was absent in Rome for a time and upon his return saw that Henry had thrown the clergy out of the city, which was indeed a heretical action.
Henry's heresy was that of an evangelical nature, being based on the Bible, particularly the Gospels and the Book of Acts in the New Testament. Henry, like many others wanted to imitate the early church and establish the Apostolic ideal.
"Consequently, Henry fell foul of the established church for criticising the clergy and for insisting on the right of the lay people to preach and to read the Bible. Coupled with this were his notions that it was not a prescription of the gospel to go to a priest for penance, instead emphasising the individuals responsibility to the beliefs attributed to him, the rejection of prayers for the dead and the affirmation of salvation for infants who died unbaptised, thus dispelling the fundamental Catholic viewpoint surrounding the notion of 'original sin'."
Abstract This paper discusses the code of Hammurabi, which was the first, extant written record of law in human history, designed to govern people in a harsh land, under harsh conditions. Its purpose was that the strong should not harm the weak. With this in mind, and also the strict punishments present in the rest of the code, the law-giver was careful that his judicial system itself did not become a weapon in the hands of the accusers. Unlike our own system of justice, Hammurabi's Code has equally harsh penalties for those who bring false accusations as those who commit crimes. This paper looks at how the present day issue of protecting defendants against prosecutorial misconduct against offenses that are questionable has become an issue in cases of rape. However, as the paper asserts, the punishments meted out to false accusers are not comparable to those suffered by an individual who is convicted of an offense of rape in our society.
From the Paper "Why not prosecute the woman, given that it is possible to prosecute individuals for bringing about false allegations? Hammurabi's Code specifies only one punishment for all crimes of unfair allegations--death. However, in our society, we have begun to understand that there are different levels of criminal intent and criminal activity. A woman may believe she was raped but although she feels hurt, what she experienced may not meet the legal definition of rape. She may have felt emotionally manipulated or pressured to engage in sexual activity, but for a rape to exist legally, more than a vague sense of discontent must be present. In the Duke case specifically, in direct contradiction to her story, the two DNA tests conducted by the prosecutor's office found no match between any of the three students accused of rape and the accuser ("Duke Lacrosse prosecutor faces ethics complaint," CNN Law Center, 2006)."
Tags: law history punishment rape, false accusations, protection
Abstract This paper examines why courts may dismiss cases on a "technicality" and why the American legal system has afforded technicality dismissals to accused defendants. The author looks at reasons for dismissals, such as failure to provide counsel, unreasonable searches and seizures, and failure to Mirandize the accused.
From the Paper "It is certainly true that cases are often dismissed during a preliminary hearing or at some other early point of a trial. This may be because evidence has come to light between the time of the arrest and the time of a preliminary hearing. But charges may well also be dismissed because of "technicalities". The next question must thus be what the nature of these technicalities is. They vary widely from case to case, of course, given that every case is different, but they can be generally categorized."
A look at the crisis that the Catholic Church in the United States is undergoing as a result of accusations that some priests had sexually abused children.
Abstract This paper explains that the current crisis in the Catholic Church is not so much a result of the accusations that some priests have sexually abused children, as it is a result of the response of the Catholic Church to the accusations. The paper contends that it is time that the Church be made aware that, although such crimes are often handled quietly, the public perception may be quite different than perception by Church leaders and that the Church should respond to public perceptions.
From the Paper "The Catholic Church in the United States has come under severe scrutiny not because a few priests have sexually abused children but because the public perception has been that the Church's response has been to try to hide the facts, buy off the victims, and not deal effectively with priests who hove committed these crimes. Those who have dedicated their life's work to the service of God by becoming priests may not fully recognize the effects these crimes have had not only on the general public but lay Catholics as well. This may be partly due to the media, who quite naturally cover events in their own immediate area more than national news of individual crimes. Even within the Catholic Church we may not be fully aware of the large amount of time this scandal has covered so far. The Church has often chosen to deal with charges of sexual abuse quietly and privately, and have taken an attitude of "hate the sin but love the sinner" toward priests who have committed these crimes."
Abstract This paper examines the incident involving medical scientist Hwang Woo-suk, who was falsely accused of falsifying information in his stem cell research papers. The paper shows how this accusation led to Woo-suk's reputation being destroyed, resigning his position, becoming so stressed that he had to be hospitalized. The paper then details how it was later discovered that Woo-suk had been the victim of teammates who had falsified their data and journalists who had embellished the story. The paper analyzes the incident and provides recommendations for the situation proposing how the ethics could be upgraded.
From the Paper "In one of the more publicized incidents concerning ethics in recent news, South Korean stem cell scientist Hwang Woo-suk, a professor at Seoul National University, acknowledged and apologized for publishing fake human stem cell research..."
Abstract This paper discusses how cases of driving under the influence (DUI) have been regarded by American society and how the severity of the offense has changed over the last thirty years. The paper looks at some of the reasons why a person who is charged with DUI may be falsely accused and how these false accusations can impact that person's life.
From the Paper "As Taylor points out, an "average" person hitting the mid-range in all statistical respects is an impossibility and doesn't exist. Women in the world outnumber men, the Chinese outnumber all other nationalities, and certainly there are more people who are deceased then alive. One could argue that the mythical "average" person is female, Chinese and dead. The concept of "average" is simply too vague when .01% means the difference between being found innocent or guilty. Yes, drunk driving is awful, and yes, penalties need to be severe. But before having a glass of wine at a nice restaurant turns into something which can ruin your life, strict scientific guidelines need to be established which define the boundaries of impairment."
Abstract This paper examines the Confrontation Clause of the Sixth Amendment to the US Constitution, which discusses the right of an accused person to cross examine his accuser. The paper discusses the history of the Confrontation Clause and looks at the use of the Confrontation Clause in past and present court rooms. It also provides a few case examples of how the Confrontation Clause is put into practice.
From the Paper "The use of the Confrontation Clause in past and present court rooms has served the court system well although when to use it and often times how and when it applies has proven to be a little blurry. The Confrontation Clause allows accused defendants to cross examine their accusers to gain as much insight as possible as to the factuality of their accusations except in situations where a child, person on their death bed, or a person who is deceased in concerned then testimony collect by law enforcement or stated in previous court cases is admitted in lieu of personal account. This clause will in effect prevent anyone from simply accusing us of a crime without the chance to defend ourselves in front of our accuser."
Abstract This paper argues that the current energy crisis in California has been manufactured by politicians through the intentional manipulation of the availability of energy sources for consumers. The author includes explanations for this accusation.
From the Paper "The Californian energy crisis is quickly demonstrating to politicians, environmentalists, and economists that there are certain flaws in the structure of how energy is produced and delivered to the people of the United States. Thus far, this problem has manifested mainly on the West coast due to several key factors in overall energy use statistics. These factors shall be examined later in this paper. However, the current issues of the energy crisis are often distributed between blaming economists for bad energy management strategies and blaming politicians for providing sanctions that open up the minimal power reserves for additional use. This paper shall examine this problem from the perspective of the economist, where it will be clearly shown how the meddling of politicians has resulted in the current energy crisis in California."
Tags: companies, company, economy, electric, management, wilson
Abstract This paper discusses the controversy surrounding the African American boxer who was falsely accused, convicted, and imprisoned in reference to the Bob Dylan song. . The author examines the movie "Hurricane" and how it portrayed the racism in America that condemned a successful black man in the worst way.
From the Paper "Rubin "Hurricane" Carter was born on May 15, 1937 in New Jersey . He was a rough street kid from a lower-class family in the inner city. After having run-ins with the law at an early age, he joined the Army and later became one of the greatest boxers of all time. He should have been the middle weight boxing champion of the world, but instead spent almost 20 years in a New Jersey prison for a triple homicide that he was falsely accused of in 1976."
Abstract This paper examines how the author, a specialist in child care and a teacher of special need children, addresses the sensitive issue of a child abuse victim being accused of a horrible crime to another child. This paper discusses the sensitive issues of the book and how it can be used as a guide for both a teacher and a parent when addressing children with special needs.
From the Paper "The book One Child by Torey L. Hayden details the psychological and physical rehabilitation of a young girl named Sheila who had committed a horrific crime against another child. Sheila however, was herself the victim of a crime. Sheila was abandoned by her mother on a highway. The author of this nonfiction, first-person account named Torey Hayden, the girl's teacher, had to deal with both the young girl's loss of her mother, which motivated the girl to commit such an action. Hayden also had to deal with losses the girl experienced because of the unconscionable living environment she finds herself in. This book is instructive for a student of nursing as well as a student of teaching because it illustrates how loss is not always a concrete event, especially in the life of a child. Rather, loss becomes part of the development of the child's personality unless intervention and proper counseling occur."
Abstract The paper begins by claiming that Caroline is the most evil of the characters in the novel, and then goes on to argue this point. It explores the nature of sibling relationships and focuses on the communication between the sisters in the novel. Following the plot of the novel, it gives reasons for the claim that Caroline is the most evil character ? her accusations and her denial of her sisters? pain. The writer's arguments are supported by quotes from the novel.
From the Paper "The grief process that accompanies child sexual abuse is often a grief process that is delayed well into adulthood. For this reason one of the most important steps in that grief process has to do with gaining validity and acceptance from your peers, often siblings. The dynamics of parent-child relationships, even in rather large families often makes it feel to the individual person that each sibling grew up in an entirely different household. In this narrative the most evil character in the novel is Caroline because she does not lend the support her sisters need when they are beginning the healing process. Yes, the father is evil, yet he is lost to the girls already. There will be no reconciliation because he is to angry and afraid to handle his own demons and he eventually gets lost in dementia so he never has to make amends. The healing the women need must take place in the present, with people who they will know for the rest of their lives, mainly their sisters."
This paper discusses the image of the Greek philosopher, Socrates, as presented by his student Plato and from the satire of him written by Aristophanes.
Abstract The paper states that the images of Socrates as presented by these Plato and Aristophanes are quite different. The author states that Socrates' student Plato reflects admiration for Socrates, but Aristophanes expresses a contrary view similar to the accusers who brought Socrates to trial. The author states that Plato's view of Socrates is as a follower, but Aristophanes' view is as a social critic.
From the Paper "Socrates defends himself first on the grounds that the charges are not true and then that these charges show prejudice against him. The fact that the prejudice is widespread is shown by the character named Socrates in the play "Clouds" by Aristophanes. Socrates goes to some lengths to describe that play and the behavior of the character to show what the view of him is. He says that Aristophanes may not have intended for his play to be taken seriously, but it is clear that many people have done just that."
Abstract The writer specifically discusses two legal tactics portrayed in the movie. The first involves the use of plea bargaining and the second whether or not someone witnessing a violent crime, such as rape, has the personal responsibility and legal liability to try to stop the rape. It also examines whether the legal tactics portrayed would work in a real court case.
From the Paper In the real case, two of the onlookers were charged as accessories to rape and were acquitted. The film presents a different verdict. Incidentally, after the real life acquittal, both Massachusetts and Rhode Island passed "duty to rescue" laws. The film version centers around the character of Sarah Tobias (Jody Foster) who convinces Assistant District Attorney Kathryn Murphy (Kelly McGillis) to battle the legal system. Ironically, the reason Sarah wants to bring the bystanders to justice is because Murphy agreed to a plea bargain which reduced the rape charges to reckless endangerment which makes parole easier and thereby prevented Sarah from her day in court. An outraged Sarah, deprived of justice and what she considers fairness, convinces Murphy to bring charges against three of the young men who cheered on the brutal rape."
