The Origins of Reasonable Doubt

The Origins of Reasonable Doubt PDF Author: James Q. Whitman
Publisher: Yale University Press
ISBN: 0300116004
Category : Law
Languages : en
Pages : 286

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Book Description
To be convicted of a crime in the United States, a person must be proven guilty “beyond a reasonable doubt.” But what is reasonable doubt? Even sophisticated legal experts find this fundamental doctrine difficult to explain. In this accessible book, James Q. Whitman digs deep into the history of the law and discovers that we have lost sight of the original purpose of “reasonable doubt.” It was not originally a legal rule at all, he shows, but a theological one. The rule as we understand it today is intended to protect the accused. But Whitman traces its history back through centuries of Christian theology and common-law history to reveal that the original concern was to protect the souls of jurors. In Christian tradition, a person who experienced doubt yet convicted an innocent defendant was guilty of a mortal sin. Jurors fearful for their own souls were reassured that they were safe, as long as their doubts were not “reasonable.” Today, the old rule of reasonable doubt survives, but it has been turned to different purposes. The result is confusion for jurors, and a serious moral challenge for our system of justice.

The Origins of Reasonable Doubt

The Origins of Reasonable Doubt PDF Author: James Q. Whitman
Publisher: Yale University Press
ISBN: 0300116004
Category : Law
Languages : en
Pages : 286

Get Book Here

Book Description
To be convicted of a crime in the United States, a person must be proven guilty “beyond a reasonable doubt.” But what is reasonable doubt? Even sophisticated legal experts find this fundamental doctrine difficult to explain. In this accessible book, James Q. Whitman digs deep into the history of the law and discovers that we have lost sight of the original purpose of “reasonable doubt.” It was not originally a legal rule at all, he shows, but a theological one. The rule as we understand it today is intended to protect the accused. But Whitman traces its history back through centuries of Christian theology and common-law history to reveal that the original concern was to protect the souls of jurors. In Christian tradition, a person who experienced doubt yet convicted an innocent defendant was guilty of a mortal sin. Jurors fearful for their own souls were reassured that they were safe, as long as their doubts were not “reasonable.” Today, the old rule of reasonable doubt survives, but it has been turned to different purposes. The result is confusion for jurors, and a serious moral challenge for our system of justice.

Beyond a Reasonable Doubt

Beyond a Reasonable Doubt PDF Author: Larry King
Publisher: Phoenix Books Incorporated
ISBN: 9781597775038
Category : Law
Languages : en
Pages : 463

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Book Description
Selection of Larry King's interviews with leading lawyers, judges, jurors, and others on the issue of reasonable doubt in America's legal system.

Beyond Reasonable Doubt?

Beyond Reasonable Doubt? PDF Author: David Yallop
Publisher: Constable
ISBN: 1472116577
Category : True Crime
Languages : en
Pages : 417

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Book Description
On 17th June, 1970, in a small farming district, south of Auckland, New Zealand, Harvey and Jeanette Crewe were shot and killed in the lounge of their home. Five months later, a neighbour, Arthur Allan Thomas, was arrested, charged and found guilty of their murder. He was sentenced to life imprisonment. A retrial in 1972 ended with another guilty verdict. David Yallop, author of To Encourage the Others and The Day the Laughter Stopped, two already celebrated books which dealt with miscarriages of justice, spent over a year in New Zealand investigating the case and became convinced of Thomas' innocence. in an open letter to New Zealand's Prime Minister, he demanded Thomas' release on the grounds that he 'has not been found guilty beyond reasonable doubt. He has in fact been found innocent beyond reasonable doubt.' In 1978, as a direct result of Yallop's intercession and the publication of this book, Thomas was granted a royal pardon and, in 1980, awarded nearly 1 million dollars in compensation for the nine years he had served behind bards. Beyond Reasonable Doubt? is both a riveting work of high drama and a compelling insight into the machinery of criminal justice. A Number One bestseller in hgardcover and the subject of a widely-acclaimed film, it is a lasting testimony to David Yallop's reputation as the world's greatest investigative author.

The Palgrave Handbook of Applied Ethics and the Criminal Law

The Palgrave Handbook of Applied Ethics and the Criminal Law PDF Author: Larry Alexander
Publisher: Springer Nature
ISBN: 3030228118
Category : Philosophy
Languages : en
Pages : 794

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Book Description
This handbook consists of essays on contemporary issues in criminal law and their theoretical underpinnings. Some of the essays deal with the relationship between morality and criminalization. Others deal with criminalization in the context of specific crimes such as fraud, blackmail, and revenge pornography. The contributors also address questions of responsible agency such as the effects of addiction or insanity, and some deal with punishment, its mode and severity, and the justness of the state’s imposition of it. These chapters are authored by some of the most distinguished scholars in the fields of applied ethics, criminal law, and jurisprudence.

Beyond All Reasonable Doubt

Beyond All Reasonable Doubt PDF Author: Malin Persson Giolito
Publisher: Other Press, LLC
ISBN: 1590519191
Category : Fiction
Languages : en
Pages : 483

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Book Description
Best Thriller and Mystery of the Year – Washington Post Best Thriller and Mystery of the Year – San Francisco Gate From the award-winning author of Quicksand, a gripping legal thriller that follows one woman’s conflicted efforts to overturn what may be a wrongful conviction. I'm giving you a chance to achieve every lawyer’s dream, said Sophia Weber’s old professor. Freeing an innocent man. Thirteen years ago, a fifteen-year-old girl was murdered. Doctor Stig Ahlin was sentenced to life in prison. But no one has forgotten the brutal crime. Ahlin is known as one of the most ruthless criminals. When Sophia Weber discovers critical flaws in the murder investigation, she decides to help Ahlin. But Sophia doing her utmost to get her client exonerated arouses many people's disgust. And the more she learns, the more difficult her job becomes. What kind of man is her client really? What has he done? And will she ever know the truth?

United States Attorneys' Manual

United States Attorneys' Manual PDF Author: United States. Department of Justice
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : Justice, Administration of
Languages : en
Pages : 720

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Book Description


The Law and Practice of the International Criminal Court

The Law and Practice of the International Criminal Court PDF Author: Carsten Stahn
Publisher: Oxford University Press, USA
ISBN: 0198705166
Category : Law
Languages : en
Pages : 1441

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Book Description
The International Criminal Court has significantly grown in importance and impact over the decade of its existence. This book assesses its impact, providing a comprehensive overview of its practice. It shows how the Court has contributed to major developments in international criminal law, and identifies the ways in which it is in need of reform.

Reasonable Doubts

Reasonable Doubts PDF Author: Alan M. Dershowitz
Publisher: Simon and Schuster
ISBN: 068483264X
Category : Law
Languages : en
Pages : 276

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Book Description
One of America's leading appeal lawyers, Alan Dershowitz was the man chosen to prepare the appeal should O.J. Simpson have been convicted. Now Professor Dershowitz uses this case to examine the larger issues and to identify the social forces - media, money, gender, and race - that shape the criminal-justice system in America today. How could one of the longest trials in the history of America's judicial system produce a verdict after only hours of jury deliberation? Was this really a case of circumstantial evidence?

Beyond Reasonable Doubt and Probable Cause

Beyond Reasonable Doubt and Probable Cause PDF Author: Barbara J. Shapiro
Publisher: Univ of California Press
ISBN: 0520359968
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 384

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Book Description
This title is part of UC Press's Voices Revived program, which commemorates University of California Press’s mission to seek out and cultivate the brightest minds and give them voice, reach, and impact. Drawing on a backlist dating to 1893, Voices Revived makes high-quality, peer-reviewed scholarship accessible once again using print-on-demand technology. This title was originally published in 1991.

Guilty Acts, Guilty Minds

Guilty Acts, Guilty Minds PDF Author: Stephen P. Garvey
Publisher: Oxford University Press
ISBN: 0190924349
Category : Law
Languages : en
Pages : 335

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Book Description
When someone commits a crime, what are the limits on a state's authority to define them as worthy of blame, and thus liable to punishment? This book answers that question, building on two ideas familiar to criminal lawyers: actus reus and mens rea, usually translated as "guilty act" and "guilty mind." In Guilty Acts, Guilty Minds, Stephen P. Garvey proposes an understanding of actus reus and mens rea as limits on the authority of a state, and in particular the authority of a democratic state, to ascribe guilt to those accused of crime. Garvey argues that actus reus and mens rea are necessary conditions for legitimate state punishment. Drawing on the work of political philosophers, moral philosophers, and criminal law theorists, Garvey provides clear explanations of how these concepts apply to a wide variety of cases. The book charges readers to consider practical examples and ask: whatever you believe regarding the justice of the rules, did the state act within the scope of its legitimate authority when it enacted those rules into law? Based on extensive research, this book presents a new theory in which the concepts of actus reus and mens rea mark the limits of state power rather than simply describe the elements of a crime. Making the compelling distinction between legitimacy and justice, Guilty Acts, Guilty Minds provides an important perspective on the limits of state authority.