The accused in a criminal trial is allowed to introduce evidence of his good character; that is, character witness, as a general rule.
Character witness is a person who testifies to another person’s good reputation in a court of law. The character witnesses therefore provide evidence about the good reputation of the accused in the community such as being calm, careful, compassionate, considerate, generous, gentle, honest, sincere, reliable, and others. Evidence of character is, without a doubt, imperative to the accused. It can show whether the accused is a person who are capable of misconduct or not.
The court in addition will consider the character of the accused, along with other evidences, before giving a verdict. The good character of the accused hence may influence the outcome of the trials.
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It is to uphold the assumption the accused is innocent until proven guilty.
Once a witness has given testimony on the good character of the accused, the prosecution nevertheless may cross-examine the witness. The prosecution will take the advantage of the cross-examination to challenge the good reputation of the accused in which the accused has attempted to claim. This is to prevent the accused from creating a false impression which may mislead the court.
In view of that, it is necessary to consider the evidence submitted by the defense as well as the rebuttal by the prosecution when determining whether to accept the accused as a person of good character. It is, however, crucial to notice that the good character evidence does not excuse the misdemeanor of the accused. This is if the crime is proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.
Character evidence is just similar to any other evidence nonetheless. It is just one aspect of evidence in a criminal trial. Depending on the testimony of the witnesses, the weight of the evidence is up to the court to
What does the prosecution need to prove in the courtroom for a person to be convicted of a criminal offence? (2 marks)
Justice is the concept of moral rightness that is based on equality, access and fairness. This means that the law is applied equally, understood by all people and does not have a particularly harsh effect on an individual. In Australia, the adversary system is used as a means to achieve justice by proving the accused, beyond reasonable doubt, committed the crime. The criminal trial process has many features which aim to fulfill the requirements of achieving justice. These elements, though considers equality, fairness and access, are flawed in practice. Flaws such as the handling of evidence, jurors not understanding instructions, inadequate funds for legal
Answer: Permitting jurors to discuss the merits of a case being tried before the evidentiary phase of the trial has been concluded.
The role of the judge in the adversary system of trial, unlike the inquisitorial counterpart, has less involvement in the establishment of facts and the analysis of evidence in cases brought before the court. In the inquisitorial system of trial, the judge has a much more active role in relation to the handling and evaluation of evidence, and where relevant, can actually cross examine and question witnesses if they feel crucial evidence may have been missed. While the inquisitorial system of trial has a seemingly more intrusive judge, having an added legal expert questioning and raising areas where evidence may have been missed, is a significant improvement over a judge who may know evidence has been missed but cannot intervene such is the
Still sometimes, prosecutors might be persuaded that they have the correct respondent and a totally precise charge with respect to what crime(s) he or she carried out, but secure a conviction might be flawed. This obviously is valuable for the two sides to mastermind a determination of the issue without either side taking the risk that the body of evidence may conflict with them if it somehow managed to go to trial.
In the play The Crucible many of the characters learn things about themselves as well as others. Discuss the insight gained by the characters of Elizabeth Proctor, Reverend Hale, and John Proctor.
If a defendant introduces evidence of good character, that opens the door for the prosecution to offer potentially damaging character evidence it would have otherwise been prevented from presenting to the jury.
In The Crucible by Arthur Miller, John Proctor, the protagonist, is a farmer in his middle thirties. The author gives little to no detailed physical description of him, but from Proctor’s speech, we can still picture him as a strong and powerful man who is able to keep every situation under the control, the kind of personality which earns him deep respect and even fear from the people in town. On the other hand, Abigail Williams, the antagonist, plays an inferior role as an orphan who has no social status in a place like Salem. Over the course of the play, John Proctor is absolutely awakened and transformed by Abigail Williams. In the end, he overcomes the crucible by releasing himself from his guilt of
In our modern-era of a technology based democracy, most if not all (people) are exposed to trials by jury’s in diverse forms of media. Less than often, we rarely give these legal inquiries a second thought but every so often there comes a trial that captures our attention and we become apprehended until a verdict is handed down. This sequence has been continued throughout centuries and regardless of the lack of media, in the past there were still specific trials that everybody spoke of. The treatment of the defendant by the courts has always been under scrutiny and either criticised for being too compassionate or too abrasive (?). It is rare as most prefer a skillful lawyer to defend them but it does happen that defendants do represent themselves
Character is not a personality someone claims they have. Character is how people see you. If you flaunt and boast saying you have character there is is no consistency neither direction. True character is not going around saying or boasting you character, but by living it. The best way to be an example is to live one and that will speak for itself. True character is having integrity and not just when others are watching but when you are alone; are you still going to behave the same way. Nelson Mandela and Socrates both exhibited true character. Whether to take a stand for what they believe or to go against the status quo of society even if it meant death through their beliefs, values, and actions.
The advent of the CJA 1898 allowed the accused to be a competent (but not compellable) witness in his own defence for the first time. Although the Act did not provide a definition of bad character it was widely accepted to mean both reputation and disposition. If the accused elected to give evidence, he had a shield against cross-examination about the commission or conviction of offences not covered by the indictment, and about his bad character generally. The shield could be removed in situations explained in s.1 (3) such as an assertion of good character or giving evidence against any other person charged in the same proceeding .
2. Prior bad acts or crimes can be utilized as evidence to prove character when it’s purpose is to
There are many character traits that make someone successful in life. Some traits you are born with, other traits are mindsets. There are a few character traits that coaches, teachers, bosses, or any other significant figure looks for in particular. One of the most important character traits is a hard-working attitude. You aren’t born with a hard-working attitude. It is a mindset. You may not be the best employee, but an employer will be more willing to work with someone that works hard than someone that can do the job but is lazy. Although I am not the best at everything, I give 100% effort in everything that I do and believe that working hard is the most important trait a person can possess.
What is character? Character is something that is hard to explain. It is who we are, the way we act, and the kind of person we truly are and want to be. Character is what you are in the dark. But if character is the kind of person you are when no one is looking, then why does it matter? Character matters because even when we think no one is looking, they are. People are always watching us and the way we behave and many will look to us in admiration and inspiration, so it is our job to constantly be a role model of good character. A couple of ways that we can show our character are through gratitude and respect, but we can also look up to others, such as Benjamin Franklin, as role models for good character.
In order to have a proper trial, judges will have to bear in mind that