Friday, July 22, 2011

Denver criminal defense lawyer / reasonable doubt

With the prominence of the Casey Anthony "trial of the century" action, reasonable doubt as a reason to acquit a defendant has been sort of current. Regardless of the news though, I think reasonable doubt remains one of the least understood, yet most powerful, tools at the disposal of attorneys. That's frankly probably because it is not very well defined.

Ask ten different Denver criminal defense attorneys, judges or prosecutors, and you will probably get ten different responses as to what reasonable doubt actually is. There are about a hundred different definitions that can be read to the jury and have been approved under the United States constitution by the Supreme Court. However, only two things are really known about it for certain: it's the highest level of proof required in the American justice system (higher than "some evidence" (yes this is an actual standard), a preponderance (a majority), and clear and convincing evidence. Of course, this hierarchy is of little help since the courts steadfastly refuse to assign numerical probabilities to any of the standards, except for a preponderance, which is simply 50.00001% either way.

In lieu of anything actually concrete or helpful, the courts have devised a variety of explanations they can tell the jury. One is to say it's the level of confidence you use in your closest and most important private affairs. This strikes me as a good instruction for a Denver criminal defense lawyer to seek out. Drawing a comparison to the juror's personal affairs is a good way to bring out the uncertainties in the case. If the prosecution's primary witness has a lengthy criminal record, the attorney can point to that and say: would you trust this man in your most important personal affairs? With your money? To babysit your kids? While that kind of personal appeal to the jurors may seem below board, it is important to make sure the jurors understand the gravity of the situation, and understand just how hefty a burden the prosecution must bear to put a fellow citizen in prison.

Although there are a number of other explanations the court can give the jury as to what reasonable doubt is, frequently they just leave it to the jury to figure it out. In that case, the lawyers have very little to work with, except to sort of explain what they think reasonable doubt should mean in the particular case, and why it's the best definition. In that case, there will be no clean resolution except the jury's verdict.

Stay tuned to the Denver criminal defense lawyer blog where next I will be taking on burdens of proof as related to circumstantial evidence.

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