9) The testimony of the woman who lived across the el tracks a) The woman testified that she witnessed the murder being committed through the window of her home and the moving el train while in bed. Juror Four recollected that the woman “‘went to bed at about eleven o’clock that night. Her bed was next to the window—and she could look out while lying down and see directly into the boy’s window across the tracks.
Once someone steps in the court room to oversee a trial of this caliber (or any caliber) they must not and will not let the media dictate their perspective of events. Scott Peterson’s jury saw the burden of proof provided by the prosecution and were left with no doubt in their minds by their own deductions he was guilty. The Casey Anthony jury on the other hand took all of the evidence into consideration, but they still were not completely convinced she was capable of the charges being filed against her, leaving them no other decision but to provide a not guilty
On the 14th of October 2011, Mr Rayney had submitted an application for a trial which only involved a judge without a jury present. This was due Mr. Rayney assuming that a strong bias had been manifested pre-trial as a result of the subjective publicity revolving around the death of his wife, Corryn(The Conversation, 2012). Therefore, the jury and any member of the public would already have preconceived views in favour of Mr Rayney being guilty of murdering his wife. The trial was successful for Mr Rayney where he was acquitted of murdering his wife. Similarly, this issue is somewhat common as it had also occurred in the case Evans v The State of Western Australia [2011] WASCA 182, in which both appellants had made appeals after being convicted for murder.
In June 21, 1973, Miller was convicted on the ground of advertising the sale of what was considered by the court as adult material. He was found guilty as he broke the California Statute. The California Statute forbids citizens from spreading what is considered offensive in societal standards. The question that was being asked was that if the action of Miller was Constitution thus is protected under the law. However, he lost the case due to a vote of 5 - 4.
Potential flaws in the American judicial system have been highlighted by the Casey- Anthony trial. The mother of murdered Caylee Anthony has been apprehended. Many people were shocked by the 2011 decision to find Anthony not guilty. The trial brought to light issues with the American justice system, including the inability of the poor to afford legal counsel, the influence of random selection on the composition of jurors, and the effect of biased media on public charges of crime. The efforts of those in the criminal justice system saved a potentially disastrous consequence.
I was fourteen years old when the jury began on May 9th 2011. Even though I was young and I wasn't too sure of the things that happened because I did not watch the trial. But, I do remember my mom talking about it and I also remember it being on tv a whole lot, in the headlines keeping everyone updated on what was going on.
This may cause the jury to be indecisive between what the actual case and what the media portrays it to be. The amount of media released for cases creates a negative impact within the courts and makes it difficult for a fair trial. When juries are uncertain about a case or a suspect, they result to social media platforms and news coverage that will provide them with more information and depth into the case. ‘’But if the case unfolds in the media, by the time a case gets to court, the supposedly impartial jury (or even the judge) may have already heard information and allegations (not admissible by court standards) that have caused them to seriously prejudice the parties’’. (Nedim, 2014).
“The boy is five feet eight inches tall. His father was six feet two inches tall. That’s a difference of six inches. It’s a very awkward thing to stab down into the chest of someone who’s half a foot taller than you are. ”-(Juror two, 54)
Your rights might not be protected as you think. Specifically, the 4th Amendment has been failing its promises to the country and its citizens. The 4th Amendment protects citizens from illegal searches, but is frequently violated by the police, FBI, CIA, etc. It’s hard to imagine law enforcers to break the law, but it is very possible and has ruined the lives of two people.
To be committed of a crime the judge or jurors must have enough evidence that there is no other possible explanation, this is referred to as beyond a reasonable doubt. If this is held true, how can someone still be wrongfully convicted? According to Sphohn, Cassia (2014) in 2008 more than 1.6 million United States citizens was imprisoned (p. 5.35). If only .5% of those individuals were innocent that would mean that 8,000 people are wrongfully convicted. That also means there are 8,000 people who are guilty of those crimes free among society.
Civil liberties are rights guaranteed to citizens in the Constitution that the government cannot interfere with, however, in the name of national security, they do. The government sometimes finds it necessary for Americans to give up some of their basic rights to keep the nation protected, but many people find this unnecessary. A law-abiding citizen’s extremely personal information should not be essential to finding terroristic threats within this society. Under no circumstances should an American citizen’s civil liberties be violated in a time of war or crisis, because those are assured rights that are most valuable to their freedom during national conflicts.
Additionally, the media got into the investigation by asking questions about the events before the murder. The National Enquirer, for instance, took a different angle to investigate the case; however, by doing this, the media almost made it impossible for proper investigations to be held by the criminal justice system. Ogletree Jr. maintains that the press failed terribly by trying to assume what the lawyers or witnesses thought at different times of the trial, which was a fail (Ogletree). Consequently, there should be a level of protection from the media. Public figures should not have their cases aired or followed to prevent tampering of evidence or misconceptions.
I think that I would like to be on a jury and experience what is required of a juror, I think everyone should be a member of the jury at least once in their lifetime. Having to experience the juries’ duties on a civil or criminal case, in some instance would be hard. Especially in a murder case involving children or battered women. When the judge gives you direction to please disregard that statement. How can you disregard information that you have heard?
Over 2 million people are currently being held in United States prisons, and while the U.S. may only hold 5% of the world’s population, it houses 25% of its prisoners. In the past few years, America’s prison system has fallen under public scrutiny for it’s rising incarceration rate and poor statistics. Many Americans have recently taken notice of the country’s disproportionate prisoner ratio, realized it’s the worst on the planet, and called for the immediate reformation of the failing system. The war on drugs and racial profiling are some of the largest concerns, and many people, some ordinary citizens and others important government figures, are attempting to bring change to one of the country 's lowest aspects.
Lately there has been a grand concern towards the diets of children throughout the whole world where many support the idea that the media has a big impact when it comes to children’s food choice while some do not agree with this idea of influence. This is a burden that generates highly debates that are far from over. With this being said, this study will analyze three different points of views regarding adolescents’ food choice being influenced by media. To begin with, The Oxford University Press published a journal based on the social influence and food choice. According to Oxford`s journal, there are currently several researches that have found that the social media can either affect positively or negatively the choices people make towards
