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Code Penale Francaise, Constitution Haitienne, South American...

Toussaintfreedom Says...

Code Penale Francaise, Constitution Haitienne, South American and African mercenaries to Enforce the Law. (Loi De L'etat) (Venezuela

Anyone and everyone that has ever watched a crime show on TV can tell you that the standard of proof in any criminal case is "Beyond on a Reasonable Doubt." Most people, intuitively, think they know what that means -- until they actually stop to think about it. It is one of those phrases we all know innately (much like Miranda), and yet we all think we understand it until we are placed on a jury and have to decide someone's fate using it -- or, if our fate is being decided by a group of strangers that are supposed to understand what it means equally.

If you are a prosecutor, you sell the standard to the jury as easily achievable, and if you are a defense attorney, you argue it's a standard so high (the highest in any area of law after all), that it is incredibly difficult to reach.

And, to complicate things, while beyond a reasonable doubt applies equally to all criminal matters, it becomes more laboring to consider when a case comes down to he said/she said or testimony alone vs. a case with DNA, video, etc. Jurors seem to have little difficulty wrestling with what that standard means on a simple misdemeanor trespass case with little consequence if they get it wrong but apply it to a delayed report child molest case with no other physical evidence and a defendant facing life in jail, and you'll find jurors spending hours discussing what the standard actually means.

At first blush, I think most people believe it means: "do I

Posted December 1 2023 at 6:22 PM

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